Plans for £8m cathedral annexe withdrawn

Plans for the annexe at Ripon Cathedral received more than 500 responses in a public consultation

Plans for a new £8m annexe at Ripon Cathedral have been withdrawn after they failed to gain council backing.

The proposals for the two-storey structure to be built on part of the public open space known as Minster Gardens were due to be debated by councillors later this month.

But the cathedral chapter said it had been decided to withdraw the application after the plans were not supported by Ripon City Council at a meeting in December.

In a statement, the cathedral chapter said the debate surrounding the annexe scheme had been "challenging and difficult for everyone, but especially for cathedral staff and supporters".

'Eloquent arguments'

The proposals for the building, which would have contained a song school, cafe and toilets, had divided opinion within Ripon and the surrounding area.

Original plans for work on the site had included the felling of 11 trees to make way for the annexe's construction.

But under revised plans to be considered within weeks by North Yorkshire councillors, 12 trees would have been removed, a heritage beech tree would have been saved and 23 trees would have been planted in mitigation.

In its statement, the cathedral chapter said its members "were saddened" the council did not support the proposed annexe in its December meeting "despite the many eloquent arguments placed before them and the amendments that had been made to retain the beech tree".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the statement said the application had been withdrawn to "allow the further development and amendment of our plans to be discussed constructively and positively, balancing the many complex constraints and opportunities".

"We now look to work constructively with North Yorkshire Council and Ripon City Council on how the essential needs of the cathedral can be met and will be asking them to share their vision for how the Cathedral Quarter will be developed," it added.

'Meaningful discussions'

A spokesperson for the Save Our Trees campaign, whose members had fought the scheme, said the withdrawal of the plans was "a vindication for campaigners who have tirelessly fought for the past two years to protect the local park against a large development and developer".

Meanwhile, Ripon Civic Society, which has an advisory role on local planning applications, said the move by the cathedral chapter would allow "meaningful discussions" to be held with planners, the council, Historic England and local residents.

"The society has never denied the cathedral's needs, and looks forward to finding a way of meeting them that heals the present divide," it added.

Announcing the withdrawal, the cathedral chapter said it wanted to clarify that all costs for developing the annexe proposals had been covered by fundraising from supporters.

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