Stanley Mackintosh, who called for a referendum on Ripon Cathedral’s controversial £8m annexe, has withdrawn from the process and requested the parish meeting that was set to debate his own proposals be cancelled.
However, the meeting at Holy Trinity Church is still set to take place on Monday at 6pm without his support.
This is because a notice has already been published and advertised, according to Ripon City Council.
Mr Mackintosh told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he would not participate in the meeting 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 voluntarily attended an interview and was released under investigation to allow further enquiries to take place.
Mr Mackintosh told the LDRS he now wants to take a “back seat” as it would “not be appropriate” to comment publically on cathedral matters at present.
It now means the referendum, also called a parish poll, is unlikely to take place and the parish meeting could be a short one.
Gauge opinion
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the LDRS that it was “not Stanley Mackintosh’s meeting to cancel so it will have to go ahead.”
He said the council had booked the church at a cost of £400 which would have to be honoured. He described the parish poll proposals as a “complete waste of council time and resources”.
Cllr 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.
The referendum was design to gauge opinion on the new building. It is due to include around 12 yes or no questions on topics including the felling of trees, open space and impact on businesses.
Ripon Cathedral says the proposed annexe on an area of public space called Minster Gardens is crucial to offer 21st-century facilities including a cafe whilst safeguarding the future of its choir.
But it has paused its planning application to North Yorkshire Council in order to take stock and listen to suggestions from the public following criticism of the new building’s location, the felling of 11 trees and its impact on local businesses.
On Friday, the Save the Trees campaign group issued a statement that came out against the parish meeting and poll.
It said: “We feel that this public meeting and this poll both detract from the main issue of saving the trees and we are concerned that this process would serve only to fuel the existing and often toxic dissension within the city.”