Ripon Cathedral: Man pulls out of own referendum on expansion plans

People who signed a petition against the scheme said a veteran beech would be cut down to facilitate it

A man who called for a referendum on Ripon Cathedral's £8m expansion plan has withdrawn from the process.

Stanley Mackintosh had asked for a parish poll to be held to gauge public opinion on the development.

However, he said he was no longer able to participate and called for a meeting to discuss the vote to be cancelled.

Ripon City Council leader, Andrew Williams, said the 18 March meeting was "not Stanley Mackintosh's to cancel" and would go ahead.

The cathedral submitted proposals in December 2022 to build an extension, which would house a choir school, cafe and toilets.

Following the announcement more than 800 people signed a petition objecting to the scheme, with most concerns relating to the potential loss of 14 trees.

In January the cathedral announced it was pausing the planning application to allow for more consultation.

The extension in Minster garden would enhance the city, the Dean of Ripon previously said

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service Mr Mackintosh, who proposed the referendum last month, said he would not participate in the meeting to debate the proposal, after he received legal advice related to an alleged assault on him last year.

The incident is under investigation by North Yorkshire Police following a complaint by Mr Mackintosh.

A police spokesperson confirmed a man had voluntarily attended an interview and had been released under investigation.

Mr Mackintosh said he now wanted to take a "back seat" as it would not currently "be appropriate" to comment publicly on cathedral matters.

Meanwhile, Mr Williams described the referendum as a "complete waste of council time and resources".

He said the council had booked the church at a cost of £400, with the meeting at Holy Trinity Church set to take place on 18 March at 18:00 GMT.

Mr Williams suggested that Mr Mackintosh had lost the support of the 10 people needed at the meeting to call the poll.

However, Mr Mackintosh disputed this and said he was confident he would still have had the backing.