Sheffield, Devon, Windermere, Sycamore Gap – places all synonymous with tree-felling ‘vandalism’ and a list that Ripon does not want to be included on. Today, weeks before the North Yorkshire planning committee decision on the proposed expansion which would witness the felling of 11 trees, Ripon Cathedral made an unexpected statement outlining their plans to put a temporary hold on the annex development.
“Ripon Cathedral has taken the decision to pause the planning application for its proposed north side development for a number of months.”
National attention was focused on the tree-felling plans of Ripon Cathedral, as Channel 4 were days away from visiting to film and interview campaigners. This announcement from the Cathedral today, is being viewed by campaigners as a well-earned victory, but also as a tactical retreat from the Cathedral, who are fully aware that national press stories would have been problematic for their development plans.
The £6mn annex would have contained a large refectory, toilets, song school, and would have offered storage space. It would have been built on land which is a conservation area in the heart of Ripon. The proposed site is owned by North Yorkshire Council and is one of the few public green spaces in the city – a green space which conservationists argue needs to be kept, as the benefits of urban trees are well documented.
Ripon Cathedral: the unnecessary felling of trees
Local campaigner, Jenni Holman, who organised the petition against the proposal, told Yorkshire Bylines:
“The process of challenging the Cathedral plans to build an annexe on Minster Gardens has been a long one, taking up the best part of a year since I launched a petition – not only to try to stop the unnecessary felling of a number of beautiful mature trees, but also to raise awareness of the project within the city.
“This has involved digging deep into the planning application by some extremely diligent and knowledgeable individuals, who have been beavering away and getting to the bottom of the application. This could have been avoided if there had been the promised public consultation.
“The petition on its own has so far reached over 2080 signatures, which I have been assured that the planning committee will take into account. In addition to that, I am assuming that the committee will read in full not only those public objections from private people, residents and visitors alike, but from official bodies including the Woodland Trust, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and the Civic Society.
“If national coverage means that in future councils will not be so gung-ho in felling trees and if the upshot of this campaign also means that more people across the country see what a wonderful place Ripon is to live in, with a friendly and caring and environmentally aware population, then that can only be a bonus.”
Multiple planning issues raised at Ripon Cathedral
Another leading campaigner, Pat Waterfall, told Yorkshire Bylines that for her, there were multiple planning issues that should have been addressed before the proposal even got close to the planning committee stage:
“First is the complete lack of any proper public consultation, particularly given that it is public land they want to build on rather than using their own ample supply of land and buildings.
“Secondly, under planning regulations, any planning application must be rejected if it involves the removal of a veteran tree ‘unless there are wholly exceptional circumstances’. Can anyone reasonably argue that making more money constitutes exceptional circumstances? Despite the Cathedral’s attempts to list various benefits the new annex would bring to Ripon, they have produced absolutely no statistical evidence to support any of them and neither is there any financial appraisal of the viability of the scheme, which could well prove to be a liability rather than an asset.
“Those trees are vital for absorbing large quantities of carbon dioxide, reducing air pollution, providing a cool oasis during the summer heat, homing a wide variety of birds, insects and fungi, improving mental health, reducing stress and, not least, preventing thousands of gallons of water dissolving the underlying gypsum and leading to sinkhole development.
“Whilst any publicity for Ripon at a national level would normally be considered a good thing, I think it’s a cause for embarrassment that we would have been added to the list of places prepared to contemplate the destruction of 11 healthy, mature trees for the sake of making more money for the Cathedral which, as reported in the financial section of its recent review is ‘thriving’. Is this just another case of expediency triumphing over integrity?”
The Cathedral statement outlined that “additional consultation” would follow in the coming months.
“During this period, there will be opportunities for additional consultation, where we will once again be able to listen to comments and concerns from the people of Ripon.”
England in danger of losing its ‘green and pleasant land’
The choices of councils around England perhaps reflects the wider picture of the UK’s attitude to deforestation and the removal of trees.
A government report published in 2024 concluded:
“The UK is a significant consumer of commodities linked to deforestation”.
It highlighted a study that “found that over 40% of the UK’s overseas land footprint was in countries with high or very high risk of deforestation, weak governance arrangements and poor labour standards. While the UK is only the 15th largest contributor to tropical deforestation in global terms, the intensity of UK consumption (in terms of footprint per tonne) is higher than that of China.”
This international approach to deforestation is mirrored in the national findings. The Woodland’s Trust report of 2021, State of the UK’s Woods and Trees, paints a perilous picture. It noted that, “Just 7% of Britain’s native woodlands are currently in good ecological condition”. It also highlighted the slow growth over the last 25 years around the UK.
“[T]he rate of woodland expansion has slowed dramatically in recent years; since 1998 only a further 1.2% (c. 290,000ha) of the UK is now woodland. Almost two-thirds of this woodland expansion occurred in Scotland, a quarter in England, a tenth in Wales, with very little change in Northern Ireland.”
More interestingly, the Woodland Trust report called for protection for veteran trees as a priority action to enhance existing trees and woods.
“We urgently need to: enhance and rigorously implement protections through the planning system for ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees, including improved direction and guidance for planners and developers.”
Will North Yorkshire Council lead on environmental concerns?
It remains to be seen how North Yorkshire Council will signal their environmental resolve and commitment as a newly formed body. Their choice in allowing planning permission or not, is a binary one. They can decide in favour of the conservation of trees and follow the urgent guidance of the Woodland Trust, or they can decide in favour of felling trees protected by national planning guidance. Once the application is finally placed before them, they may well add Ripon’s name to the growing list of places where ecological damage deliberately happens.
Campaigners are enjoying the short-term reprieve but are conscious that the decision is yet to be made.
