Ripon councillors unite against £8m cathedral annexe referendum

Ripon Cathedral's plans for an annexe in Minster Gardens have attracted opposition

Ripon councillors have said they oppose plans for a public referendum on the cathedral's proposals for an £8m annexe.

The referendum, which would not be legally binding, is to be discussed at a meeting on 18 March.

However, city ouncil leader Andrew Williams described it as a "circus" which would deepen divisions.

About 2,000 people signed a petition opposing the annexe, and the planning application was paused in January.

The cathedral said the pause would allow further consultation on it plans for a building to house the choir school, cafe and accessible toilets.

Resident Stanley Mackintosh is behind the plans for a referendum, or parish poll, and has obtained enough signatures for a meeting to take place.

He said it would allow people to "express what they really think, but in secret, free from establishment pressure".

If, at the meeting, just 10 electors vote in favour of the poll it would likely be held in April.

Council leader Andrew Williams described the proposed poll as a "circus"

However, at a full meeting of Ripon City Council on Monday, councillors voted unanimously to denounce it.

The motion described it as a "waste of money", as the council would be expected to bear the estimated £10,000 cost of the vote if it went ahead.

However, the figure is one which Mr Mackintosh has rejected, saying it was "baseless and disingenuous".

Mr Williams said he had received angry emails from residents who incorrectly believed it was the council proposing the referendum.

"We should categorically record our views so it's quite clear to the public that one individual is orchestrating this circus," he said.

He said they needed to find "common ground and bring people together" instead of "dividing further with this nonsense of a parish poll".

"It makes my blood boil that money can be frittered away on something like this, it is ridiculous."

Stanley Mackintosh said a parish poll is a "rare and precious" democratic tool

Fellow councillor Barbara Brodigan also voiced concerns about the poll, asking what the council would have to cut to pay for the estimated cost of a "vanity project".

Mr Mackintosh told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Let us count our blessings that our imperfect system still has jewels of pure democracy like the parish poll, where electors can express what they really think, but in secret, free from establishment pressure.

"The parish poll is a rare and precious democratic tool that establishments seem to fear and hate intensely, and try to derail by all means possible."

The parish meeting will take place at Holy Trinity Church on 18 March at 18:00 GMT.