'Eyesore' Ripon auction mart site to be developed after years of disuse

Previous applications to develop the site have been unsuccessful.

The green light has been given for 32 residential caravans on North Road, and residents have told the‘Gazette that they are delighted to see a city “eyesore” being tidied up after years of disuse.

Since the auction mart’s closure in 2001, several developers have tried to use the site for housing. Planning permission for 75 homes was refused in November 2013, and again in May 2014 over concerns about gypsum.

Ripon Residents Planning Group member David Ingham said: “As long as it’s safe, I think it’s got to be a good thing. Brownfield sites should be used for homes as much as possible, and this being such an eyesore, it has good potential to be used again - at last they are tidying it up.

"I think it’s a nice place to live, and it will bring people within walking distance of shops and the centre. It will generate more use of the Market Square.

"People living there shouldn't be using their cars as much to go into town, so it should be good environmentally as well."