Column: The Very Reverend John Dobson, Dean of Ripon monthly reflection - The need for change

​This was the very last such service before the district gives way on April 1 to the new North Yorkshire Council, 49 years to the day since it was created.

Some temperaments naturally find change more challenging, coping less well with uncertainty; the proverbial glass seeming ‘half empty’. It was the great 19th century Cardinal Newman who famously wrote, ‘To live is to change, to be perfect is to have changed often.’

At the cathedral, we believe that our plans for a significant development, now with the planning authority, would bring essential change to both cathedral and the city which we serve.

Why is it needed? Our national class choir has nowhere safe and appropriate to rehearse. Amazing parts of the cathedral are closed to the public because they are used for storage. It is bewildering to people that we do not have toilets or anywhere to get refreshments after worship or during concerts. This simply cannot continue if the cathedral is to have a sustainable future.

Business consultants advise that this project will bring at least 33,000 extra people to Ripon, supporting hotels, cafes, restaurants and shops.

We are delighted with the strong support received from Historic England, the most senior public body looking after England’s historic environment. They state, ‘Historic England supports the location and design of this proposal, which will make a positive 21st century contribution to Ripon’s wonderful historic environment… There is also a welcome aspiration to integrate the cathedral more into the life of the city, to provide facilities to continue with its choral traditions and to provide some basic facilities which are currently lacking to all types of cathedral users. We very much welcome these aims and acknowledge the importance of putting the cathedral onto a sustainable financial footing for the future.’ This support, and that of Ripon City Council, The National Trust and other statutory bodies, is very welcome after years of expensive exploration of all possible options.

Why this location? We are left with only the proposed site - across Minster Road, not connected to the cathedral, but close enough to be viable. The toilets, including the only adult changing room in the city for those with disabilities, must be so close. The song school needs to be close-by to safeguard our choristers. We simply cannot have them walking through a dark piece of open ground past disused toilets.

The Ripon City Plan asked the cathedral chapter to draw up a vision for a cathedral quarter, retaining the Old Deanery as a vibrant and much-needed hotel. The cathedral committed itself to this, and still does. Please, look at the plans on our website or come to the cathedral and find out first-hand what they actually consist of.

They consist of a vast improvement of the area of Minster Gardens to the north of the cathedral, retaining and enhancing the memorial garden, increasing public open space, more trees, more biodiversity and a much better welcome from the cathedral car park.

With colleagues, I will be available to discuss these proposed changes in the cathedral during the Sights and Sounds event this Saturday, 11am-2pm.