Dame Judi Dench calls for threatened trees around Ripon Cathedral to be saved

Dame Judi, who is an ambassador and patron for the Woodland Trust, has intervened ahead of councillors on North Yorkshire Council making a decision on whether the scheme should go ahead. This could come at a meeting later this year.

Ripon Cathedral submitted plans in December 2022 for a two-storey structure on part of the public open space known as Minster Gardens. The cathedral’s chapter argues the building is much-needed and will provide a new song school for its choir, a cafe, toilet facilities and disabled access.

The plans have proved to be controversial in the city as it would involve loss of a veteran beech tree as well as 10 other trees on the gardens.

Dame Judi is a household name due to roles in films such as Shakespeare in Love and Skyfall as well as TV and theatre work. She has been an ambassador for the Woodland Trust since 2011 and in 2017 she fronted a documentary series for the BBC about her passion for trees.

Dame Judi said: “I fully support the campaign to protect the veteran tree in Ripon, along with the other healthy urban trees under threat. As an ambassador for The Woodland Trust, which rightly views veteran trees as a priority, as they are irreplaceable habitat, I hope a solution can be found to protect this conservation area.”

Campaigners have continued to invite people to sign a petition that protests against the felling of the trees. More than 2,700 people have put their name to the petition at the time of publication.

Ripon Cathedral’s chapter has pledged that new trees would be planted at the site and elsewhere to mitigate for those that would be lost.

The Dean of Ripon the Very Rev John Dobson previously said: “No one takes a decision to cut down a tree lightly but we believe this new development will bring a wide range of benefits to the city. We are planting 14 trees around the development and a further 300 on land which has been made available to us at Studley, as well as increasing the biodiversity of the green space created.”