Dame Judi Dench supports campaign to save at risk trees near Ripon Cathedral

Dame Judi Dench, from York, is an ambassador for the Woodland Trust. Credit: PA

Dame Judi Dench has joined calls to protect trees from being felled near Ripon Cathedral.Almost a dozen would be cut down if plans for a new £8million annexe at the site are given the go ahead.

The award-winning actor, from York, is an ambassador for the Woodland Trust. She has contacted the Save Our Trees campaign group, saying she hopes a solution can be found to save the trees.

The cathedral says it will plant replacements.

North Yorkshire Council is due to consider and make a decision on whether the application gets the go ahead in December.

Ripon Cathedral submitted plans in December 2022 for the new two-storey structure on part of the public open space known as Minster Gardens.

It claims the extension is needed to provide a new song school for its choir, a cafe, toilet facilities and disabled access.

However, the plans have been controversial in the city as it would involve the loss of a veteran beech tree as well as 10 other trees on the gardens.

The actress 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.”

Dame Judi Dench says she hopes the trees can be protected. Credit: PA

More than two-and-a-half thousand people have signed a petition protesting the felling, and almost £7,500 has been raised to pay for legal representation for campaigners in the fight to stop the trees being cut down.

The Dean of Ripon ,the Very Rev John Dobson, has said previously: “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.”

Dame Judi Dench is a household name due to roles in films like James' Bond's Skyfall and Shakespeare in Love.

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.

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