‘Visionless council officers’ criticised over efforts to save rare military huts at new housing scheme in Ripon

The barracks site includes seven training huts believed to be some of the last remaining of their type in the country.

There is uncertainty about what will happen to them before the homes are developed.

Guy Wilson from Ripon Military Heritage Trust addressed councillors at the Skipton and Ripon area committee in Skipton on Thursday (September 5) and pleaded with them to send a strong message that the huts should be saved.

He said they were of “outstanding significance” as what happened there during the Second World War helped play a part in the Allies’ victory.

Mr Wilson, who led efforts to build the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds during the 1990s, said the trust hopes to undertake fundraising to save the huts.

The trust believes there is space on the site for them to be re-erected away from the new homes and could become a tourist attraction.

But he said fundraising efforts have been hamstrung due to delays in drawing up a feasibility study that will look at potential options and if the huts can be saved.

As part of the planning approval for the housing, Homes England has agreed to pay £100,000 towards a heritage strategy.

Mr Wilson said: “They are wooden demountable huts that can be taken down and put up again.

"The longer we stick on feasibility, the less time we have to save the structures.”

Two planning committees have approved plans for housing at the site with both insisting that the heritage should be protected.

A petition signed by 925 people has also called for the huts to be saved.

Officers have been working with the developer on the strategy but Councillor Andrew Williams (Conservative Independents Group - Ripon Minster and Moorside) suggested the council had been passive in efforts to save the huts.

Councillor Williams said: “Elected members have given a strong message to officers that heritage should be preserved so it can become a potential visitor attraction.

“There’s a logjam in the planning department with visionless officers who frankly don’t get what is potentially achievable.

“We should not simply allow it to be destroyed for the sake of 1,300 homes when both can be developed.

"It needs more imagination and frankly support from our officer team.”

Ripon councillor Barbara Brodigan (Liberal Democrat - Ure Bank & Spa) also said she felt officers were not supporting the efforts of the heritage trust or the people of Ripon.

She said both she and Councillor Williams have had several meetings with Homes England and were left disappointed with their approach to respecting the city’s military heritage which has lasted for more than a century.

Councillor Brodigan said: “They talk about naming roads on the site after military leaders.

"It’s theme park stuff paying lip service to our military history.”

The committee resolved to write to the Ministry of Defence and Homes England with a strong plea to save the huts.

North Yorkshire Council planning officer Nick Turpin offered a firm rebuke to suggestions that officers were sitting by.

Mr Turpin said: “I’m not sure where the impression we have a lack of imagination has come from.

"We support the strategy, we’ve had a delay in information coming forward, partly because Homes England has to do a tendering process.

“When this comes through we’ll know more about the nature of buildings.

"This is going to take time, it won’t happen in a couple of months.”

However, Mr Turpin’s response failed to impress veteran councillor Robert Heseltine (Skipton East and South, Conservatives & Independents Group).

He remarked: “Listening to the officer’s response I didn’t think it satisfied the reasonable definition of enthusiastic.

"Someone needs to get their boots on and kick some arses.”