Library lawn, 30 March 2022

Next to York Explore, the city’s main library and archives, there’s a lawned area. It’s a place I’ve often sat for a while, on one of the benches, after visiting the library. It’s one of those ‘steeped in history’ places, very special. From the benches you look at the Multangular Tower on one side, the Roman wall in the middle, and the remains of what was St Leonard’s Hospital in the other corner. Or just enjoy the greenery and quiet.

Like all the land here in central York between the river and the Minster it has a long and complex history.

In the reports and articles I’ve been reading while compiling this page I’ve seen many references to this area being ‘underused’, ‘overlooked’, that people don’t know it’s there. The word ‘underused’ should probably ring alarm bells, as it often seems to mean that only the locals appreciate it and that it isn’t making any money, so some commercial activity is probably looming. As seems to be the case here.

There’s a nice description of this place included in documents on the planning portal:

The green colour of the grass is the dominant colour of the area, contrasting strongly with the orange brick of the library and the greys of the ruins. As a quieter secluded space from the surrounding business of the Museum gardens and shopping streets, it is used by local people in fine weather. It is enclosed and intimate and ‘off the beaten track’.

– Design and Access Statement, p18 (PDF)

Library lawn, 30 March 2022

When I first heard mention of plans for a mini-golf course here I thought it was an odd and inappropriate idea, and seemed so odd that I thought it was just one of those things that wouldn’t progress any further.

But it did, and now there’s a planning application. A rather controversial one.

Planning application

21/02758/FUL | Change of use of land to form a 12 hole mini golf course for a period of 7 years | Central Library Gardens Museum Street York

I’ve been reading the pre-application advice included on the planning portal, and was struck by the response from the council’s Development Management Officer, given back in March 2021, which wasn’t exactly encouraging:

In conclusion, officers advise that the principle of the development in this location would not be supported and we would not support the grant of planning permission. If however, notwithstanding this advice, you intend to submit a formal application, we would advise referencing the full advice from the conservation officer […]
Please note this advice does not negate his and our fundamental objection to the principle of the proposed scheme and notwithstanding, an improved design would similarly not be supported by officers.

– p23-24, Design and Access Statement (PDF)

Since then, and despite this rather negative response, work has clearly progressed on the application, which was submitted in December.

The application, submitted by York Mini Golf Ltd, states:

The presence of the mini golf course will mean that a currently much underappreciated area of York that is rich in heritage will be known and enjoyed by a wider audience, including people who wouldn’t normally visit a historic space.

It clearly isn’t underappreciated, as the large number of objections makes clear, as reported in an interesting piece by Gavin Aitchison in York Mix, on 2 Feb.

There’s plenty of information available about the significance of the site and the various buildings and structures around it, for anyone who wants to know more.

Having read some of the comments made by residents, I was interested to see what the statutory consultees had to say in response to the planning application. As with all planning applications involving sensitive historic sites and buildings, various relevant organisations are invited to have their say. And of course they have a defined remit for any objections, based on the organisation’s area of expertise.

Historic England and the Council for British Archaeology have no objections to the plans. There are no concerns about damage to archaeology, or to neighbouring historic structures. Historic England’s response states:

The mini golf proposal offers an interesting ‘meanwhile’ use for a limited period. It has the potential to serve as an introduction to the history of York, but in a different and entertaining manner that could appeal to a wide range of people and age groups. The York heritage ‘offer’ is certainly broad enough to accommodate different approaches.
(source – PDF)

Sense of place

Yes, it is an interesting idea, and yes, different approaches can be accommodated. But perhaps not on one of the most sensitive and profoundly interesting bits of the city centre. And this isn’t just for one summer, it’s for 7 years, perhaps longer.

I’ve been thinking a lot about why some places matter so much to so many people, and in particular thinking about that deep connection some of us feel to certain places just as they are. And why it is that other people, looking at the same place, see it differently.

This area is so historically significant and resonant that there’s probably nothing much that could ‘improve’ it as a long term intervention. Just my view. Shared by others though, I think.

I wonder how many of us who appreciate this place as it is would want to sit there in future with a mini-golf course in the middle of it. It will of course fundamentally alter the nature of the place, making it a different place entirely.

The ruins of St Leonard’s Hospital, at one side of the site, will also be utilised:

It is anticipated that part of the room in St Leonard’s undercroft will be used as a ticket office and place where players can collect and return their clubs

Library lawn, from St Leonard’s hospital, 30 March 2022

That doesn’t seem appropriate either.

Several comments on the planning application suggest other more appropriate locations. But clearly the proposed visitor attraction is intended to help raise funds for the library, which is why this location has been chosen.

Ownership, income and the ‘disposal of open space’

I’ve wondered before about the ownership and management of this area of land next to the library. It is owned by the council, but was recently leased to York Explore, as reported in York Mix in October 2020.

There was apparently a public consultation, in 2020, and advertising, as required by law, of ‘the Council’s intention to dispose of open space’.

The Section 123 Open Space notice was published in the York Press on 13th August and 20th August 2020. … Only one comment/objection was received in response to the Notice
(Library lawn lease report, 22 Oct 2020, PDF)

I wasn’t aware of this at the time, and perhaps not many people were, if only one comment was received in response.

A council Executive meeting on 22 Oct 2020 (agenda item 51) agreed:

“That approval be given to grant a lease of Library Lawn and the St Leonards Hospital Ruins (Store) to Explore York and Archives Mutual Limited (Explore) until 31 March 2034 … To allow Explore to use the space in connection with the operation of York Explore library and to sub-lease to third parties in order to generate income.”

The current planning application is presumably a result, with a third party putting forward proposals to generate income.

In July 2020 another possible ‘new flagship attraction’ was also suggested for the area, though so far only the mini-golf idea seems to be at planning application stage.

Thoughts, queries

Many thoughts and queries have come to mind over the time I’ve been writing this page.

I’ve wondered what’s wrong with a place just being quiet and serious, as this place is. We all recognise the appeal of what would be called ‘fun activities’, and York is full of them, but they’re surely better placed in areas where there’s nothing much of interest there already. I’ve wondered why imposing some intrusive intervention into a place like this is seen as somehow necessary and beneficial. Why not wait for appreciation of historic places to happen naturally, as it usually does? And with so much information available so easily now, via the devices so many of us carry with us, surely it’s possible to provide more information, linked to place, in small-scale ways, for anyone wanting to understand more?

Would this not be a good place for outdoor plays, over the summer months? Like the Mystery Plays that were held in the Museum Gardens, but on a smaller scale? That could bring in income and seems to fit with the setting. Maybe that has already been considered and dismissed.

I’ve wondered too about what’s going to happen to the Anglian Tower, just behind the library, a rather magical and atmospheric place which I’ve written about before, some years back.

Maybe you have to visit at the right time to find places magical and atmospheric. Maybe I’ve just been lucky to have seen the Anglian Tower and the buildings around library lawn in particular light, at particular times, when there’s been no one else around, when the history and complexity of it is so apparent.

The kind of moment you won’t probably get next to a mini-golf course full of people.

But then of course there’s no money to be made in people just wandering through or sitting and quietly appreciating. And we have to fund our libraries somehow, as libraries too are special and important places.

Your thoughts?

There have been comments in support of the planning application, alongside the objections. You can add your own comments or read the other comments and documents on this link to the planning application. And of course comments are welcome here on this page, below.

. . . . .

Welcome to everyone who has joined the mailing list recently, I hope notification of this page has reached you. Thanks too for your ko-fi coffees, which are always appreciated, either in recognition and support of the large archive of pages hosted here on York Stories, or to power more pages in the present time. There’s a lot to cover as I try to catch up. For various reasons this page has been in draft form for many weeks, and it’s good to get it published at last. Rougier Street next I think …

The post Library lawn to mini-golf course? appeared first on York Stories.

Sheds for Christmas market, Parliament St, 16 Nov

York’s Christmas market is back again this year. It’s apparently judged to be ‘the third best in the UK’.

I’m rather baffled by this. I don’t mean the ‘third best’ thing, who cares, I mean the fact that once again there are a lot of sheds crammed into Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square.

Back in 2019 the Christmas market here was so popular that it ended up being a bit of a nightmare. The Press reported the ‘festive queuing and shuffling’.

I wrote about it, and the dangers of ‘overtourism’, back then. It feels like four years ago, but I’ve realised that my perception of time has been quite distorted by the recent stresses, so that two years feels like four. Not alone in that, I think?

Strangely, in 2021, we’re once again encouraging a lot of people to cram themselves into one part of the city centre, and because of this it’s apparently then necessary to surround it with a ‘ring of steel’ – the return of the ‘hostile vehicle mitigation and pedestrian barriers‘ we saw back in 2019.

Barriers by All Saints church, 16 Nov 2021

They’re meant to protect the city centre against terrorist attacks, and to make us feel safe. They just make me feel despondent. So does the Christmas market. Am I just an old misery? Perhaps.

This old misery took herself into town a few days ago, to have a look at the festive sheds and the barriers, before the market opened.

Parliament Street, from Piccadilly end, 16 Nov 2021

Weren’t we supposed to be building back better, or at least differently? This looks just like 2019 to me. Same old thing.

But a bit more confused, as there’s so much mixed messaging, so many contradictions. And perhaps quite a bit to feel angry about, in terms of what this all costs, and who it benefits.

The Christmas lights switch-on event in the city centre was cancelled because of fears about Covid spread, as a lot of people would then be gathered together at one time.

A spokesperson for Make It York said: “After much consideration the decision has been taken in partnership with York BID not to hold a physical light switch on event this year.

The event is always hugely popular, drawing in large crowds over a short period of time – and to ensure the safety of all visitors and residents we will instead focus on showcasing our winter light scheme via our online channels.”

But clearly the Christmas market – also drawing in large crowds over a short period of time – is thought to be a good idea. Presumably because it makes a lot of money, for some people involved with it. Though Make it York, who organise it, keep asking for more.

The Christmas market is clearly popular with visitors, but is seen by many York residents as something tedious and problematical imposed on us, rather than being something to get excited about. Many residents just quietly avoid it, and go elsewhere.

All things considered, I’m really surprised to see the Christmas market resurfacing this year. ‘Roll up, roll up, come and queue and shuffle round our festive sheds, at the third best Christmas market!’

‘My City Centre’

Its arrival seems to go against a developing trend of trying to encourage more residents back into the city centre. The city council recently asked for our views, in ‘My City Centre York’. It aims for ‘a new city centre vision':

A vibrant city centre, where a wide range of people want to spend time, live and work; a place where businesses thrive, sustainable communities grow, and a varied cultural and social life flourishes…

I didn’t respond to the ‘My City Centre York’ survey, but it looks like a lot of people did. On the council website there’s an interactive map, with comments added about particular streets and areas. I thought I’d have a quick look at Parliament Street, which has a lot of ‘thumbs down’ markers over it. The first one I selected reads:

This whole area is becoming a no-go area for residents and is now just a showground for MIY events that drive out residents and local traders

And another:

Always seems to be hired out to out of town travelling trades. Doesn’t support the local economy. Would be the best cafe / restaurant street.

And another:

St Nicholas Market disrupts city centre too much

I could find no comments saying that the Christmas market is a wonderful thing really valued by local residents.

So another contradiction – the council wants to encourage more residents back into the city centre, wants to make it more inviting, so it’s not ‘just for tourists’, then Make it York (agency owned by the council apparently dependent on council money/bailouts) plonks in the middle of it something that appears to be designed to attract more tourists. This then needs expensive barriers erecting around it, which make it harder not just for vehicles to access it, but funnels pedestrians and wheelchair users through narrow channels between big lumps of metal. How odd.

Shopping spree …

When not preoccupied with fears about Covid, and before the new festive anti-terror barriers arrived to remind us to also be fearful of terrorism, we may have found time to be fearful about climate change and the effects of our behaviour on the planet.

Many of us have recognised for some time that there are easy ways to lessen our impact, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to not buy loads of stuff we don’t need. Or to feel at certain times of year that we should buy stuff for other people that they don’t need or want. I got the impression that many more people were agreeing, between families and friends, to stop the Christmas gift-giving for us older people with enough stuff already. Particularly if you’re going to get in a car and drive miles to buy the stuff, rather than shopping locally, as I thought we were being encouraged to.

There are, of course, many shops in York, interesting independent ones, there all year round, where you could do your Christmas shopping, as you want to/have to.

But apparently there’s still enough demand for York to once again have its big Christmas market, and we should just ignore all of that. Maybe go back to hand-wringing and grand words and promises after the festive sheds are packed away.

How it could be …

We’ve had one year when we saw how it could be different. Last year, because of Covid, Parliament Street didn’t fill up with festive sheds and shuffling queues. It had the carousel, and some food stalls, and very nice it was too. When I walked through it one afternoon in December it had a very pleasant, gently festive atmosphere. I haven’t forgotten this. It was a glimpse of how York’s Parliament Street could be a gathering place for festivities that felt like they were part of York, naturally growing from it, rather than being plonked upon it.

Parliament St, 23 December 2020, with carousel

Even the problematic Parliament Street paving looked better, reflecting festive light, and giving us more room to move than is usually the case here at this time of the year.

Parliament St, 23 December 2020, without the festive sheds

Last year at this time things seemed quite quiet in town. This year, earlier this week, even before the market had opened, the city centre already seemed very busy. I was also in town briefly in half term, and the city centre was full of people of all ages out enjoying a mild autumn afternoon. I walked through King’s Square, where crowds were gathered to watch one of the street performers. Just like the old days, and good to see.

The city centre would presumably have continued to flourish without the tourist-pulling overcrowded Christmas market.

It’s possible to avoid the Christmas market, of course. But if you want to go into the city centre for some other reason, it’s quite difficult to ignore the barriers set up at many points around its periphery, and these are what prompted me to write this page. To me they’re depressing, essentially pointless, questionable at best. And they cost. And again, Make it York needs ‘support’ from the council to pay for them: “support with the cost of counter-terrorism measures during the Christmas market period, at a cost of £78,900.”

Hope all tax payers are happy with this.

– – – –

Apologies if I’m not able to post pages on here so often, and that when I do I sometimes seem to be repeating myself. Some problematical/questionable things need looking at and questioning more than once. I’ve lived in this city for a long time, and this resident’s record of York and its changes continues. Comments below and coffees via ko-fi are welcome, as always.

The post The festive sheds and barriers are back appeared first on York Stories.

Apparently, it’s the tenth anniversary of my joining Twitter. I knew it was this month, but wasn’t sure of the exact date. Today, apparently.

In itself it’s not particularly important, but it’s led me to think back, to think about why I joined Twitter in the first place, and reminded me that it’s all to do with a tree.

And reminded me that it’s ten years today since York Stories was mentioned/quoted in the Guardian, in the Northerner, in a piece by Martin Wainwright, on a tree in Irton that was the focus of protests in late September 2011.

‘An extremely good website York Stories sets out the full history of this saga and is well worth visiting’.

It includes a quoted part of that page:

“Everyone who thinks trees enhance a place should care about this case. we should all be bothered. This is probably just the start of it. If you care about a particular tree in your neighbourhood and it’s close to someone’s wall, or a drain – as it probably is – practise your tree-climbing skills …”

Originally, it was through local radio – BBCYork – that I heard about the first protester who had climbed up the tree in Irton, and occupied it, to protest against the proposed felling.

The whole Irton tree saga was thought-provoking, and inspiring. Back then, in September 2011, I was still making old-style handcrafted pre-blog-style pages for York Stories, like the one linked to above. A few more pages followed, on the subject. I even sent a card/note in the post, to the tree and its occupier. All very old-style. Nice to remember it.

The article in the Guardian, on 30 September 2011, included the Twitter account for the tree (@IrtonTree).

I hadn’t wanted to get involved in the social media thing, I had my own website and domain name, had people who read my website regularly, and didn’t want to get distracted by Twitter and the like. I didn’t use Facebook (still don’t), but was drawn in to wanting to follow the progress of the case of @IrtonTree.

So signed up to Twitter. It was a Friday night, apparently. I vaguely remember looking at some tweets and having that feeling like I’d gone to a late night party where I didn’t know anyone and had no idea what they were talking about. I think I encountered some ‘HT’ and ‘#’ and felt baffled. Probably got a recommendation to follow Stephen Fry.

Didn’t actually say anything much publicly on Twitter for quite some time.

But once I’d signed up the tree @IrtonTree followed me back. Or rather, the @IrtonTree account that was defending it did. I remember that I found this funny, amusing, touching. The word ‘follow’ seems quite daft, when it’s about a tree, the point of which is that it’s firmly rooted in the ground. That’s why we care about them, grow to love them, precisely because they stay put, anchor themselves in. Or they do if they’re allowed to. There was a magical, fairytale element to it, an appreciation of the spirit of trees, the idea that they’d get up and walk if they could, and follow souls who cared about them.

I’m not sure who it was doing the tweets from @IrtonTree back then, several people perhaps, but many of the tweets – particularly around the time of the tree’s felling, not long after – were brilliant, like poetry, so poignant and expressive, within the very short Twitter format.

And so I ended up feeling truly drawn in to the spirit of a tree and a place and the people who cared about the tree, even though I’d never seen the tree, never been to the place, didn’t know any of the people involved in the protests.

But there was something universal about it, and that’s what I tried to convey back then.

Now, in 2021, I can’t help thinking about the people who climbed up the tree, and how they’re doing now, ten years on. And all that’s changed since, on Twitter, and elsewhere.

But for now, pleased to be remembering a truly impressive campaign to save one particular tree, and how pleasing and rewarding it was, back then, to be able to find out so much about it, and the case surrounding it – despite being some distance away – because of the available information online in general, and @IrtonTree on Twitter.

 . . . . .

Yes, it has been a long time. Anyone who appreciates staying power can support this website/blog at present via ko-fi.com. (Suggested amount – the ko-fi default – can be altered if you’re feeling rich.)

The post A tweeting tree … and ten years on Twitter appeared first on York Stories.

New hotel, Piccadilly, May 2021

I’ve been thinking about York as it is now, and how it might be in the future. I’ve been thinking about property, all the parcels of land that make up this place. The way people born and brought up here often feel a sense of ownership, and whether we should. About York as a place for investing in, and profiting from. As a place for living in, freehold or leasehold. Whether it’s mainly for people passing through, or for people who want to stay here and put down roots – and whether they can, and if it matters.

Visitors …

Having recently visited a hotel that opened in 1971, as a purpose-built place, and earlier a hotel that opened in 2021, in a former office block, I’ve been thinking about how many hotels have opened in York recently, and how many more are planned.

Just one element of a fast-changing place. A place that has increasingly tilted towards the needs/wants of visitors.  It has felt at times like things are increasingly out of balance, perhaps best captured in a memorable photo of the new hotel on Terry Avenue showing it looming over the neighbouring terraced streets. Something I was reminded of recently by a photo of one of the cruise ships visiting Venice.

There’s clearly a lot of demand, and a lot of profit to be made, despite the recent pandemic situation. More hotels are planned. Plenty of money available for investment in these, for those in York for a holiday or on business.

Also plenty of money available for investment in purpose-built student accommodation. The pandemic situation doesn’t seem to have affected that. With York’s increasing student population there’s clearly been a lot of money to be made from providing accommodation for students, for the duration of their courses, before they move on. So many blocks of purpose-built student accommodation have appeared in recent years, and there are plans for more.

Student accommodation on the site of the former coal yard, Mansfield St

Owners … ?

Perhaps some students, after finishing their studies, will want to stay in York, lovely place as it is. If they’ve lived in the student accommodation on Hallfield Road, or the Coal Yard, they might want to stay in the Layerthorpe area, and if so, might be interested in a residential apartment block that has been built recently on the corner of Redeness Street. Not far away, a massive new residential development is underway on the remainder of the huge gasworks site. Many, many apartments being built, here and on other ‘brownfield’ sites. The Rowntree factory building will contain hundreds more.

I’ve wondered if there’s really that much demand for apartments. The smaller and less expensive ones perhaps serve mainly as ‘a foot on the housing ladder’, a way in to property ownership in an increasingly gentrified and expensive city.

… Or, increasingly, as properties to rent out to the many people who haven’t been able to get to the first step on that climb.

On the gasworks site, for example, the Press reported

Four hundred of the homes will be ‘built to rent’ properties – new developments designed specifically for renting.

Often, when walking through the streets in my area of town, I look at the kind of housing we used to build, and what’s generally being built now, and it doesn’t seem like progress. Council houses that were built between the wars look substantial and solid, with surprisingly spacious garden areas front and back. All that land that was available then. Now we’re having to reclaim old brownfield sites like the gasworks, and pile large blocks of flats on them, with most having communal garden areas rather than your own private space.

I assume that many people still want to live in a traditional house, with a bit of backyard or garden? But of course, here in York, that’s increasingly out of reach, with ludicrous property prices and not enough good wages to enable wider access to that kind of property.

I’ve sometimes wondered, in recent years, if I’m the only person who generally hasn’t felt delighted and proud when York has featured in one of those ‘best places to live’ features, like one in the Times, earlier this year.

When a family gets tired of London and starts yearning for the North don’t be surprised if they set their sights on York.

I couldn’t help thinking that it would probably mean loads of people on better money than the people already here, relocating perhaps from a more expensive place, rushing to buy property in this increasingly desirable and ‘vibrant’ place. Which appears to drive house prices up even higher for those already here who can’t afford it. And that seems to be what’s happened.

In past decades it seems it was generally possible for most people who wanted to buy a home in the city they’d grown up in to buy one, if they put the hours in at work and saved a bit, particularly if a couple worked towards that goal. I think it’s generally recognised now that this is no longer the case in York, unless you’re on good money, working in certain well-paid sectors.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this, how important it is, how it fundamentally affects a place, the feel of a place, if more and more people occupying it don’t have a real foothold in it. If their ownership isn’t freehold, but leasehold. Or if they’re only able to rent. And if an increasing number of people occupying a place are just ‘passing through’ – whether for a holiday, or for a few years as a student.

How will it affect how the city fits together, how it looks and how it feels, if most of the people in it have no real foothold here?

It’s some years now since I first heard the term ‘gentrification‘, and then saw it appear in a headline in relation to the Stonebow House redevelopment. ‘Gentrification’ maybe sounds like a nice thing, like everything’s going to be made nice and pretty, maybe with the local vicar cycling along and raising his hat to friends and neighbours, or some kind of 21st century version of that. But actually, of course, it means people being pushed out, to make way for the new things, the new money, to come in. And that might not be obvious, might not matter, until something that’s gone is something you’ve personally valued.

So, for many people, they might be missing seeing live music at the Duchess, or at Fibbers, since the Stonebow redevelopment brought an end to music there, and a planning application for the Toft Green building meant an end to Fibbers in that location. I wonder when gentrified York will get around to some kind of replacement venue. I guess it depends how much money there would be in such a venture.

Occupiers

Mention of the former Fibbers building on Toft Green brings me to one of the interesting happenings of recent months – the group of squatters who recently occupied the building. Before that, earlier in the summer, they first came to public attention by occupying the empty site near the Barbican Centre.

Even if I’m not writing about York on these pages, I still check the local news every day, to keep up with happenings regarding York and its buildings – the usual planning applications for hotels, student accommodation, coffee shops and bars opening – and this was refreshingly different. So much so that I ended up going over there for a look at the Barbican Centre site. They’d been evicted by then, but had drawn attention to the issue of ‘land banking’, and that this Persimmon-owned site had been unused for quite some time.

Sign on the occupied site, Barbican Road, June 2021

I’ve been reminded of the Rainbow Peace Hotel, set up by squatters in 2003 in the long-empty White Swan in Piccadilly. The group also occupied Burton Croft for a time. Both featured in my ‘York Walks': ‘Watch this Space‘, back in 2004.

What was particularly interesting about the recent Barbican Community Centre occupation, in its original site, was that it was on open land, not within a building. They appeared to be doing no harm, and trying to do some kind of good, but were, inevitably, evicted, by the landowner.

And in the end, it all comes down to this, to land ownership, property ownership.

Something I didn’t think much about when I started thinking about York and its changes, but in recent years recognise as the most important aspect of how the city develops, and who benefits from these developments. Who owns what is at the root of how the city fits together and how its land and buildings are used, and by whom.

Future … ?

Several articles in recent months have highlighted the purchase of properties on Coney Street by the Helmsley Group. North Star also seem to be acquiring property in the city centre. Both companies say that they’re locally based and that they care about the future of the city. If this really is the case, then that’s probably better than most of the city centre premises and building plots being owned by massive investment companies with no local connection. Perhaps the Helmsley Group will be able to remodel the riverside area where Coney Street properties back on to it, something that seems to have been an aspiration for some time. Perhaps North Star will be able to provide a music venue.

Since coronavirus came along and shook everything up, I guess we’re still waiting to see how the pieces fall back into place. It wasn’t like anything was certain before, and it isn’t now. But buying property of any kind in York seems a good investment, for those that can afford it in 2021, and residential property increasingly so.

Shame more people can’t afford just the one fairly humble home, while those with millions to invest can own so much.

Clearly this successful city has no problem in attracting investment. It’s going to make good money for quite a lot of people. But when I think about York’s present, and future, I think that things might look clearer, and brighter, if more of the people already here, who understand the place, and care about it, could afford to make a decent home on a bit of its land.

. . . . .

This carefully compiled cornucopia of content continues .. (with gaps). Been a long time. Ko-fi coffees contribute, and sustain it, thank you.

The post Visitors, owners, occupiers appeared first on York Stories.

I’ve just cycled through town, or part of it, Friday evening. A mild September evening. Up Bootham, passing the quiet dark space of Bootham Park, shaded by trees, guarded by rusty railings, soon to be smartened.

Past the grand Georgian buildings, and the smaller buildings clustered by the old wall of the abbey, with the noise noticeable, building along Bootham, with more light and noise in general, and music. Just past the bright lights of the Sainsbury’s Local, live music, from the Bootham Tavern, breaking out into the street … ‘And the world, and the world, the world drags me down’. A song I remember from the Roxy, a few doors down, decades back, as I whizz past it in the cycle lane, past the traffic.

A green light ahead. A focus on the road, and the cars to the side of me, I’m heading straight on, through the bar. Big beautiful floodlit Bootham Bar. Haven’t been through it much recently, and wonder why not. Haven’t been into town at all much recently, and wonder why not. Tonight High Petergate is full of pedestrians wandering, some clearly not wandering in a straight and controlled manner, and there’s a car behind me, and I’m trying to negotiate around the pedestrians as speedily and considerately as I can. Passing another busy pub with music playing. People in there too, lots of them. Enjoying mid-September mildness, thin summer clothes, no shivering when leaving indoor spaces, lots of people lingering in the outdoor spaces, as well as enjoying the indoor ambience.

In there and out here, it’s all quite ‘vibrant’. It’s a vibrant Friday.

I’m whizzing past the end of Duncombe Place, about to pass by the Minster, looking even more impressive at night rising out of the gloom than it does in the day reaching up to the sky. There’s a row of bollards with gaps between for pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrians meander across, I’m crossing their path, they’re crossing mine, I’m aiming for the gaps in the bollards. There’s only one available gap in the bollards, because the other cycle-wide gap is occupied by one of those bloody annoying and now essentially pointless nagging council signs about wearing a face covering. A jarring note is struck. I wonder about stopping, getting off the bike, and moving the stupid obstruction, throwing it over the railings. I think this might make me feel better. But instead I pedal on, more sedately now with no cars behind, past the Minster’s great bulk, gazing up, still amazed, at the stained glass, lit from the inside and shining in the night, so vivid, so huge, so high above street level.

A van turning round, as I approach the other end of Duncombe Place, so I slow down and wait, briefly, while this manoeuvre takes place. Just as so many motorists have slowed down for me, on the narrow streets, on this journey and others. It’s not rush-hour, it’s a Friday evening, a vibrant Friday evening, at the tail-end of summer, good to appreciate it if you can. While I wait I think about all the online comments in the Press I see that suggest that cyclists and motorists are forever at war. Doesn’t seem that way to me. Consideration all round.

Moving on again, round the corner, past the Cross Keys, busy with pedestrians at the end of Goodramgate, negotiating round them. More live music from another pub. Lights, music, action. Noticing newly opened places, old businesses still there, on this vibrant Friday.

Then turning right into the quietness of Aldwark, passing the relatively restful residential sleepiness of Bedern, and St Andrewgate. Locking the bike, going to the supermarket. Held up at the till by a woman who has just bought a bottle of what appears to be champagne/fizzy wine, and is writing the card for it while still at the till. This is negotiated around, eventually, by moving to another till. It’s a vibrant Friday night, and a generally smiling one, with room to accommodate, with just a few raised eyebrows. Real life is often like that, isn’t it, though if you look at Twitter a lot you might not think so.

Back on the bike, heading home, deciding to go the same way as I came, past the music, and the Minster with its massive bulk, looking again at the light from within through its stained glass.

Past the end of Gillygate, onto Bootham, with cars at the lights, and from the Tav, the same band still playing, doing a cover of Led Zeppelin this time, ‘Hey hey baby when you walk that way’ – I do a mild kind of head-banging thing as I cycle past, laughing at myself, heading home, thankful that life is back to encompassing the noisy, wandering, meandering, fast and slow, the messy and vibrant reality.

The post York in 2021: vibrant Friday appeared first on York Stories.

Marygate, looking towards Bootham, 8 Jan 2004

It’s 8 January 2021, which means that it’s now 17 years to the day since I went for my first digital-camera equipped walk on the local patch. As documented on this very old page in the archive of York Walks, 2004, and pictured above. I bought the domain name for this site later that month, and put my photos and words online during the early months of that year.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how York has changed over these years, while I’ve been paying it more attention. It’s hard to know where to start, really. I’ve had several attempts, and got overwhelmed/sidetracked, but it’s a bit clearer now.

In an age where we’re increasingly bombarded with breaking news on things happening, and subjects ‘trending’, I find I appreciate more and more ‘the long view’ on various subjects, and thought I should perhaps add to that, in my own small local way.

Does 17 years count as a ‘long view’? And if I’m being honest, though there were additions to this website in the years 2005-2010, I’ve only really been doing a ‘blog’/more regularly updated thing on here since 2011, so that’s nearer 10 years.

On the other hand, it’s about 30 years since I bought a couple of local history books and started to understand aspects of local heritage. And, overall, I have been around in York now for more than 50 years … Half a century.

All those things considered, it seems most logical and perhaps useful/interesting to write some notes on the  more important and significant changes I’ve noticed since I first took photos with a digital camera in York, in January 2004.

– – – – –

I’m really glad I started this project when I did, taking photos, thinking more about the place, walking around its familiar and less familiar streets. I’m glad because I feel like I saw the end of a time where York still had something, held something, that connected to my earliest experiences of it, as a child, back in the 1970s, and linked through the 80s, 90s, early years of the 21st century. At the time, of course, there was no grand plan, no sense of how things would change so much, but I liked the way that with a camera I could frame certain things, particularly the small and perhaps less significant things, and that the act of taking photos felt like a crucial part of better appreciating/understanding my home city. And then writing something to accompany the photos meant reading and researching to find out more.

It started with buildings, and details, and expanded into a wider appreciation of the effects of planning applications, and various plans for ‘improvements’, and the impacts of those schemes. And of course, the more you walk about, and look, and read, and pay attention, and the longer you’re doing that for, the more you notice the changes, and how there are certain longer term themes/trends/changes.

Apartment blocks

A major change to the built environment in the time I’ve been paying proper attention. So many, since 2004. Quite different from the homes built in the early to mid 20th century. Many on the ‘brownfield’ sites inside the city walls, most notably the Hungate area. Taller – but smaller, in terms of living space/outdoor space, still apparently much sought after.

Student accommodation

The main change to the built environment in the time I’ve been paying attention. So many purpose-built blocks, and some older properties renovated, to provide accommodation for the city’s much larger student population.

An increasing divide …

Unlike the other two noticeable changes, this isn’t about what structures have risen up since 2004, to change the skyline. It’s something you see more in shop doorways, in terms of people sleeping in them, or down at street level in general, in terms of expensive cars parked, houses being stripped out and remodelled, skips outside.

The most striking change I’ve seen in the streets of York in the years 2004-2021 is more visible wealth, and more visible poverty, and a clear and massive gulf between the richest and the poorest. From my perspective this is the major change in the place I grew up in and loved, and seeing this change has meant I’ve not felt as fond of, as connected to, the old place, as I used to be.

Like I said, I’m glad I paid proper attention when I did.

The post York 2004 – 2021, observations … a ‘long view’ appeared first on York Stories.