CHANGE OF PLAN FOR THURSDAY'S TALK

There's a change of plan for this week's meeting, on Thursday at Allhallowgate Methodist Church. Mark Whyman, who was due to speak to us about Spas, is unwell. The Society's Chairman, David WInpenny, will instead give a talk called 'Portuguese Palaces and Libya's Legacy'. He's recently visited the two countries (just before the Libyan uprising!). The talk will look at architecture in Lisbon and Sintra, and at the extensive Roman and Greek remains in Libya.

Ripon Civic Society is launching a new PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION for young people up the age of 18. It's called 'Quirky Ripon' and is looking for odd or unusual images of the city. The winning entries will be displayed in the city for Civic Day on 25 June.

More information from http://www.riponcivicsociety.org.uk/

WELCOME RETURN FOR CABMEN'S SHELTER

The Cabmen's Shelter is back on the Market Square after its refurbishment. It is looking good (though why it stll says RIPON WALKING TRAILS on each side, and why it still contains some odd bits of rubbish, is unclear).

We now look forward to seeing a schedule of inspection and regular repair, so that it never again becomes so dilapidated as it was before the work was done.

CHAIRMAN IN MANCHESTER FOR CIVIC VOICE

The Society's Chairman will be in Manchester on Saturday (19 March) at Civic Voice's Spring Network. He's been asked to talk about the importance of effective communication for civic societies, though websites, newsletters, blogs etc.

He'll answer questions on the experiences with Ripon Civic Society, then lead a group, made up of members from other Societies, through a short discussion/workshop about the strengths and weaknesses of their own society and its communication.

The invitation comes after Ripon Civic Society was runner up in a national competition for Civic Society websites, organised by Civic Voice.

CHANGE OF SPEAKER FOR MAY

Our scheduled speaker for May, Malcolm Neesam, is unwell. We are pleased to be able to welcome Richard Willis from Ripon Scenic Cruises in his place. Richard will speak on 'Wonders of the Waterways'. We are grateful to him, and we wish Malcolm a speedy recovery. The meeting takes place at Allhallowgate Methodist Church Hall on Thursday 5 May, starting at 7.30 pm.

RIPON CIVIC SOCIETY BOUNDARIES

The Chairman has written the following letter to a number of local parish councils, setting out how the Society will interact with them as we extend our boundaries:

• 
  At our Annual General Meeting in November the members of Ripon Civic Society voted to change its constitution so that our ‘area of interest’ was changed from ‘the City of Ripon’ to ‘the City of Ripon and surrounding area.’ The change has been approved by the Charity Commission and means that for the first time the Society will be able to make its voice heard, where appropriate, on planning and environmental matters outside the city. I enclose our current leaflet to give you a flavour of what we do.
  
  The purpose of this letter is to assure you that it is not our intention to comment on matters within your parish without regard to local feeling. What we aim to do is to be available to you to offer our help and advice on significant matters that you feel would benefit from wider support.
  
  So if your council would like us to discuss important planning matters with you, please let us know, and if we feel we are able, we will add our voice to yours. Of course, we cannot guarantee that we shall always see eye to eye with you, but we shall ensure that we have all the facts before we make any public comment on a matter.
  
  The change also means that for the first time our Annual Awards will be open to projects outside the city of Ripon. The Awards are held each year in October, and around Easter-time we begin to look for the winners. So if you have any developments or projects that have been completed within the three years up to 30 April 2011 that you think could be considered for awards, we should be pleased to hear. You can find a complete list of the Award categories – and other information about the Society – on our website – http://www.riponcivicsociety.org.uk/.
  
  Please let me know if you have any comments or questions about these changes, or if you want more information about the Awards. We look forward to working with you.

RIPON A SHINING EXAMPLE

A new report from English Heritage called 'Valuing Places; Good Practice in Conservation Areas' has just been published - and Ripon is one of the shining examples provided. Our committee member Richard Taylor is quoted, in his capacity as Chairman of the Ripon Museum Trust, as saying 'In a small place, you have to be resourceful to make things happen.'

The Ripon Gazette has asked for a comment, so this is what Chairman David Winpenny has sent:

• 'It’s excellent that the improvements to Ripon have been recognised by English Heritage as good examples of what can be achieved when different agencies and groups work together. The English Heritage document looks back over what has been achieved – which is a great deal, and the Civic Society has always been at the forefront of such changes. But Ripon cannot rest on these laurels – it’s too easy to slip back into old ways. There is still much than can be done to make the city even better, and the Society will continue to push for further improvement. '

The full report can be downloaded at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/valuing-places/valuing-places-good-practice-conservation-areas.pdf