The cobbled path leading to York’s historic Shambles Street is currently in the process of being torn up by the City of York Council, despite opposition from English Heritage, local residents and students.
The council has announced plans to completely resurface King’s Square, replacing the medieval cobbles with modern paving, over both concerns about the mobility problems they cause some people, and to allegedly transform the area into a “world class space”.
However, leading experts at English Heritage have decried the scheme. Calling for the retention of the centuries old cobbles – or “setts”, as well as highlighting wider concern’s for the preservation of this ancient area of the city.
A spokesman for the body said: ‘The Square is an important part of York’s Conservation Area and the setting of numerous listed buildings.’
The current street layout has been in place since 1937, although much of the stone work is likely older, the Council claims that the layout changed several times in the last 100 years and thus is not historically significant enough to rule out such changes or redevelopments.
The plans have also met with criticism from University of York students, who, like English Heritage, have voiced grave concerns about ensuring that the period features of the area immediately leading to The Shambles, arguably the most authentic and beautiful medieval street in Britain, are properly preserved.
One Second year History Student told Vision “I think it’s a real shame that the council does not seem to have more appreciation for the history and culture of the city. One of the main reasons I chose to study at York was because of how it looks and this move seems to set a dangerous precedent in regards to keeping the way the city looks”.
Second year Sociology Student Tom Fennelly said of the scheme: “I don’t see how the reasons listed by the council can justify ripping up a key part of the city’s image. The problems of mobility and the need for a “world class space” really can’t be that severe considering that the cobbles have been there for years. To be honest it all sounds a bit fishy to me”.
Despite this, York council shows no sign in halting its plans for the £500,000 redevelopment, citing that their plans are the best thing for both tourists and locals.
i live in a courtyard off aldwark, it is owned by a housing assotiation who put in a planing aplication to replace our windows and doors with brown upvc double glazed units. planning has been refused,they say anyone walking along the city walls,would be able to see that they are not made of wood.and as we are in a conservation area any replacement has to be like for like there is no exception to this rule. and our houses were only built in 1984 so how are they allowed to please themselves in what they do.
Instead of ripping up part of the City’s Heritage and wasting tax payers money, I believe the money would be better spent in cleaning up the gum stained streets in the centre of york, and stopping Coney Street being used as and thus smelling as a urinal.Surely this would create more of a world class city that we can take pride in and save the ancient paving,which makes York what it is and attracts thousands of people from around the world to the City.
Comment from City of York Council:
This is incorrect. The cobbles on the street leading to the Shambles were placed there in the 1970s, prior to this date the pavement was made up of tarmac and brick set – the cobbles are not medieval.
The raised area of King’s Square is being retained and refurbished and granite runners up to a point just beyond the raised area, next to Daisy Taylors store on the edge of King’s Square only.
No changes or works are being proposed for the Shambles.
Darren Richardson, Director of City and Environmental Services, said: “The quality of York’s public spaces are fundamental to sustaining the city’s present and future prosperity and it’s important to everyone who lives, works, visits and invests in our city
“Our Reinvigorate York initiative aims to both improve and enhance the quality of our city’s public spaces – including the circulation in the city centre, restoring and enhancing the city centre’s public spaces (street furniture, signage, paving, clutter) and achieving other improvements that will help enhance the tourist, retail, business and cultural experience of visitors, residents and people working in the city centre. Residents and businesses have and will continue to be consulted on all six schemes as they progress.”
Full details about the scheme can be found at http://www.york.gov.uk/reinvigorateyork
@City of York Council
I’ve heard more than one source saying the cobbles are older than 1970… And whether the actual stone work is medieval or not, they’re still old.
And that’s not the main point anyway.
The point is that it’s an unnecessary expense during a time when we’re constantly reminded how little money there is. It’s blatant pork barrel politics and political correctness, appealing to a tiny minority.
I’ve heard nothing but bad things about this and it’s still going ahead. That’s democracy? Does the council have a mandate to do this?
There’s clear ignorance of how this looks to tourists. People don’t visit to see one street, they come to see a historic city so a certain scene has to be set and maintained. How long until you actually do tear up the Shambles in the name of accesability?
“It’s blatant pork barrel politics and political correctness, appealing to a tiny minority.”
So, disabled people are a ‘tiny minority’ whose needs are less important than the fetishisation of heritage of questionable authenticity?
Get over yourself.
Probably one of the most embarrassing and badly thought out decisions to ever be made by York council.
The decision makers are clearly so removed from reality and lacking in common sense.
this represents inept performance of the highest order and a disgusting waste of money
Both are right – there’s a picture of the street about a century ago where the current paving on the shambles and the market area stops at the corner. However, if it was laid in the 1970s, it was done in a way that matched the design of the rest of the street it connects to including the shambles. What is happening now is the continuity from the market and shambles is being broken to create a 2013 design for the whole square, using natural traditional materials but freshly cut and laid, as has been done in the piazza outside the Minster on Deangate.