At its recent A.G.M. the following officers were appointed:

Chairman - Mark Whyman 
Treasurer - Peter Cardwell
Secretary - Mary Pepper

For committee membership see the Committee Page

Latest news from Save Our Shire:  September 2008

When SOS was first formed, its constitution was written as follows:

• to work to protect the history and heritage of Richmondshire.

Early on, we realised two things:

1. In order to save Yorke Square from development we might need to take legal action against the District Council who owned it, had granted itself planning permission, and were determined to sell it for development.
   
   
2. In order to do this, we would be willing to work with anyone who supported our aim and had the ability or power to help us achieve it.

Thus we started a campaign that ran for two-and-a-half years before bringing us success in the High Court.  These are some of the people without whom we could not have succeeded:

1. Ward Councillors for Richmond all of whom gave moral support and passion in support of Richmond’s heritage sites;
   
   
2. Residents of Richmond and visitors to the town who gave both money and moral support;
   
   
3. Organisations linked with the town who supported our aims and could give money, advice and moral support;
   
   
4.  District Councillors under the leadership of Cllr. John Blackie who came to realise the mistake that had been made in granting planning permission to develop Yorke Square; they became determined to do something about it;
   
   
5. Our Member of Parliament who gave advice when we sought it;

As you know, the District Council finally decided not to fight the case.  This was based on legal advice which they had received, which must have made it clear that SOS would win in the High Court.  This led to SOS being awarded costs of about £17,500 which was what had been spent on legal advice and court fees.

This period (May 2007) coincided with major changes at the District Council following the local elections:

• Firstly the Chief Executive and several senior officers took early retirement, leading to a re-organisation of the officer-team.
  
  
• Secondly, the local elections produced a new majority group, mainly of Conservative councillors under the leadership of Cllr Melva Steckles.  There was a newly appointed interim Chief Executive Officer in charge.
  
  
• A new culture, instigated under Cllr John Blackie’s Leadership during the previous administration was consolidated along with a new political structure.  The important element in this as far as Yorke Square was concerned was a wish to consult residents openly about how to use Yorke Square as a community resource.

Clearly this gave SOS a challenge: the old enemy had gradually become the ally!

We realised that Yorke Square could only be fully protected if it became a successful car park used by residents and visitors alike.  Without this the District Council could decide to sell it at some time in the future and SOS’ work would be wasted.

This made our way forward clear: to work with the District Council on the Yorke Square project.  To make sure that the improvement work could start as soon as possible we offered some funding from the money paid to us as a result of the court case.

We feel that this is right because:

1. it is public money;
   
   
2. it helps protect the car park in  the long-term future;
   
   
3. the scheme has been given the backing of councillors and officers at the RDC;
   
   
4. it achieves the aim of developing Yorke Square along the lines laid down by the residents in the public consultation.

We now hope that everybody who gave us support in the early days will give us moral support in helping turn Yorke Square into a genuine asset for the community.

Having achieved our objective of saving Yorke Square from  development and protecting the surroundings of the Green and the historic Culloden Tower, S.O.S. members could simply disband. However, rather than doing this, we are continuing to work on the next stage: ensuring that Yorke Square both flourishes and survives.

The car park needs to become the centre of a riverside regeneration project attracting visitors to the very beautiful walks that the town provides; indeed this was one of the clear public wishes to come out of the consultation exercise organised by the District Council.

Characteristically, it was Cllr Blackie who articulated this vision at the recent Strategy Board meeting: praising the variety and beauty of Richmond’s riverside walks, he saw Yorke Square as the key to developing a tourism of the riverside, stretching from Easby in the East to Round Howe in the west.

S.O.S. will continue to work with the District Council to ensure that Yorke Square and the surrounding area will be protected and will survive and flourish. 

We promise to keep residents and visitors informed of progress through this website and in the local press.

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