King’s Square and Colliergate with yellow lines added, December 2015

King’s Square … I feel a need to return to it, having just referred to it in a comment earlier.

I often feel a need to return to it. Both literally, because it’s a nice place to sit awhile, and in terms of writing about it on here. In the ‘tag cloud’ at the bottom of these pages it’s the biggest thing.

King’s Square was a place where, in recent years, what we might call ‘top down’ visions of ‘improvement’ met their match in what we might call ‘people power’.

Call it what you like, it seemed significant to me, the public reaction to this ‘reinvigoration’. In many ways significant. On many levels. Including a massive increase in visitor numbers to this site when I wrote about the Daily Mail article.

There are a couple of reasons to mention it again now. Partly that the square just had double yellow lines painted around it. And also because two years ago today I put together a page about the debate prompted by Michelle Wyatt’s petition on the ‘reinvigoration’ work here. Do have a look, it’s interesting, including many of the comments made by councillors (and it took hours to type out all those comments).

So that was then. And then we ended up with some compromise on some of the aspects of the square, and the raised area had only a light touch in the end, not the massive (mulberry tree-removing) overhaul originally planned.

Now, in late 2015, yellow lines have (re)appeared in the roadside bits of King’s Square. Pretty much similar to the yellow lines on the old tarmac that was here before.

Just a small thing, a detail. Well, kind of. Except that this paint is decorating really expensive stonework which we couldn’t really afford in the first place and didn’t actually need.

There’s been a problem with people parking where they shouldn’t. Before the yellow lines appeared in recent days, last month the benches were moved back, relocated, to try to discourage this.

And then, the paint.

Was it worth it, the ‘investment’ in King’s Square? It’s smoother, so therefore perhaps easier to walk across. Though not if it has wet leaves on it and you’ve got smooth-soled shoes on, as you may slip. On dry days, looking across from the raised area, it looked wider and paler and quite aesthetically pleasing, I thought.

But essentially we’ve ended up having spent tons of money on something where in the end we’ve had to paint the same old yellow lines all over it as it had before. Meaning that the smooth ‘world class’/’Milton Keynes’ (what it was supposed to look like/what people have said it looks like) look of it is now broken by lines of yellow paint.

Two years on from the council debate on the King’s Square work, I wonder how many of us have grown to like it where we perhaps didn’t like it at first?

Like or loathe it, the main point is:

‘You’ve spent half a million pounds, and the debt on that, the interest, is £45,000 a year for 25 years.’
(Cllr Paul Healey, speaking during the debate in December 2013)

Worthwhile investment?

King’s Square cart tracks and setts (2007) and replacement (2013)

More information

York Mix article on the reinstatement of the yellow lines

Steve Galloway’s blog post from last month on the traffic problems in King’s Square

. . . . .

Championing 1970s cobbles and spending hours and hours typing up comments made by councillors … that’s me that is … if you find these pages useful and interesting please consider supporting this ‘record of York and its changes’. Thank you.

Lisa @YorkStories

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So on Thursday we’re not just electing MPs for York Central and York Outer to go off to Parliament to represent York, we’re also of course electing local councillors. There’s a lot to think about, so let’s have a few quiet moments sitting in King’s Square, as I often do. Here it is pictured a few days back.

I wonder if passers-by have noticed a couple of small enhancements. You may have done if you’ve paused for a rest on one of the benches.

One of the benches has a new plaque. Or rather, a new copy of an old plaque. It’s a while since the King’s Square repaving and other work was completed, but it’s only recently that this plaque was attached to one of the benches.

And not far away, on the raised area, an older plaque has a new gleam. In the late afternoon light on a sunny day it’s now very visible from the Petergate end of King’s Square.

Someone has cleaned Paul Woosey’s plaque. Perhaps someone from Barnitt’s popped out with some Brasso, as hoped for in a page about this particular plaque some time back.

I walked past one evening recently and heard a group of people in a discussion prompted by the now very shiny and easily readable plaque. Talking about where they met their friends.

Let’s sit down on the benches in King’s Square, and perhaps have a pause for thought on the local elections, and who to vote for. I’ll be back in a bit, just off to get some fish and chips.

Have a read of this page, a record of what current councillors said about the ‘reinvigoration’ of King’s Square, a while back.

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‘Some of the paving is cracked already’ is one of the complaints about the new ‘Shambles Market‘. I thought I’d wade into this (being careful not to trip).

Do we mean here? The paving to the right of this photo, by the lorry, is, as far as I can see, the same paving as it was before the work started. That is, old, not new. Earlier photos show there were already a few cracked slabs. This photo shows that there are more cracked slabs. This is perhaps because this area, being older paving, has been used to park on/dump heavy stuff on. Maybe someone nearer who saw the work on a daily basis can confirm. Perhaps the plan was to replace these last. But everything’s taken longer than expected. Doesn’t it always.

Next to the cracked old bit, in this photo taken earlier this month, there are some new slabs, then there’s some temporary tarmac patching, then some more new paving. In front of it are the stone setts, also I think there before and not replaced.

I had a wander through yesterday, and admittedly it was dusk by then, and I didn’t crawl about on my hands and knees under the market stalls, but these cracked slabs were the only cracked slabs I could see. If you know otherwise, please add a comment.

Elsewhere, particularly along the new and rather wider ‘avenue’ between the run of stalls, the paving is really very nice. Looks to be the same stone slabs used in King’s Square.

The paving appears to be another successful mix of old and new, as we saw at the edge of the King’s Square work, where they ended up leaving more of the old cart tracks and setts than it appeared they intended to originally. Here in the market area, and assuming that they’re not going to rip it all up later, it seems that they’ve decided to keep a lot of the old setts on the ‘road’ parts. Which makes complete sense, and shows evidence of listening to public concerns. Isn’t that nice.

As illustrated here, more clearly.  A section of new paving right at the edge of the reinvigoration zone, on Newgate itself. It’s the area following on from the photo at the top of the page, to the left of that. There’s a section of the new slabs, neatly joining those old cart tracks and setts we demonstrated concerns about in King’s Square. They daren’t touch the cart tracks and setts in case Michelle hears about it.

So, isn’t that good.

Wet leaves, smooth paving, slippy shoe issues

While we’re on the subject of paving, let’s have a wander into nearby King’s Square.

Have a seat here on Paul Woosey’s bench, and please listen carefully as I provide a Public Safety Announcement.

One morning a couple of weeks back I went to sit in King’s Square to do some traffic-watching (more on that story later) and people watching and general city centre sunny morning appreciating, on my way to buy some veg from the market. And took a few photos, like that one. You’re probably looking at the nice blue sky, the Minster, maybe the man in his nice hat in the centre, maybe that big green van. Maybe that massive great clunking box on a trike thing Chocolate Story are still plonking by the tree in the square even though so many people think they shouldn’t.

Can I draw your attention instead to the smooth new paving to the right, which as you can see is wet in parts. There are also a few fallen leaves.

If you ever see this combination of things, slow down and tread carefully. Avoid the leaves, avoid the area entirely if you can.

When the old/new paving in this square was being hotly debated last year I said I couldn’t really see how all the alleged falling over on paving was occurring. Some said the old paving was a hazard. When the new paving went in other people said that would be a hazard. I couldn’t really see any of these hazards, until this particular morning when a woman fell over in the square right in front of me.

I’d been thinking what a lovely city scene it all was, when the woman, walking across that bit of the square perfectly normally was suddenly lying on the floor. Only briefly, thankfully. She got up pretty sharpish. People nearby gathered round and checked she was okay.

She wasn’t frail and elderly, she was probably in her fifties. She’d been striding along confidently when, I assume, she’d trodden on a wet leaf on that smooth natural stone. Because she slid, rather than tripping. Quite unlucky, as there were only a few leaves about for her to slip on.

I thought about mentioning it on Twitter at the time, but then in the current mood, and with so many people so annoyed at the King’s Square changes, I wasn’t sure I could cope with it if it all kicked off into ‘I told you so’ paving-related debate.

I’m mentioning it now because it’s that time of the year when there are a lot of leaves about, and because it made me think about ‘hazards’ in the urban environment, and whose fault it is if we fall. We could blame the trees, couldn’t we. Being messy, that thing they do of dropping their leaves. We could blame the council for not sweeping all the areas near trees twice daily in the autumn. We could blame the council for putting down that classy but clearly extremely smooth paving rather than more practical rugged tarmac or concrete or something.

The other factor, of course, is shoes. As I know from a slight slidey-not-quite-falling-over-but-looking-a-bit-silly incident on Bootham, with a similar combination of wet leaves on natural stone (old stone in this case, just pointing that out, it isn’t just new and expensive King’s Square paving where this occurs). I was wearing not my usual rugged-treaded footwear but something more like a traditional women’s winter boot. With not much of a tread. I expect there are more slipping incidents involving women, because of women’s more generally dainty and smooth-soled shoes.

So, ladies in particular, watch your step. We don’t want any more people falling in King’s Square or indeed anywhere, or we might end up blaming the trees and chopping even more of them down than we do already. More on that story later.

After that rest on Paul Woosey’s bench, time to wander off to something exciting nearby. Mind those leaves.

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It’s just over a year since I wrote about one of its benches. Instead of looking at the bench, here we’re sitting on it, looking at the view from it, across the new and controversial paving laid here since.

The paving has cleaned the scene, made the foreground paler and wider, light coloured stone instead of black patchy tarmac to the right and dirty stone slabs to the left. So the whole space here between the King’s Court buildings and the Colliergate buildings, a triangular space we call a square, seems opened out, and viewing from back here it draws attention to the fine cluster of buildings, Petergate tapering away to the Minster tower. The buildings of course are the same as they were, but the foreground sets them off more effectively.

Here’s a photo taken from a similar place, before the changes.

And a couple more photos of another ‘before and after’ view:

The square viewed from the end of St Andrewgate, in the summer of 2012.

The square viewed from the end of St Andrewgate, summer 2014. New paving has replaced the tarmac road area and widened the square.

Last year, around this time, the square was the focus of much attention, on this website and elsewhere. Its paving was being ‘ripped up’ (as journalists always phrase it) and the whole thing was undergoing a complete ‘reinvigoration’ (as the council called it).

I compiled a summary of what had happened and what was supposed to be happening. Michelle Wyatt organised a petition and spoke at a council meeting on the subject of the setts and cart tracks. All very interesting, provoking much debate.

A year on, I sometimes sit in King’s Square, late in the afternoon, if I’m passing on my way back from town, if there’s a bench free. King’s Square used to be somewhere I passed through on my way to somewhere else. I took it for granted, until the proposal by Chocolate Story to use some of the area for cafe tables, then the plans for its ‘reinvigoration’ focused my mind on the place, focused many minds on it. And perhaps it has led to greater awareness of and engagement with the cityscape and plans for future changes. So that’s a good thing. And I find it increasingly important to focus on the good things.

The new paving may be a ‘worthwhile investment’ or it may be a waste of money, it may have ‘destroyed the character of the square’ (a frequent criticism) or enhanced it, but it forced many of us to pay more attention, to what we value, and why, and to what our money is spent on. That’s a good thing.

It also showed how impressive ‘people power’ can be. The shouty misinformed debate provoked by a typical Daily Mail article didn’t achieve much, but the quiet persistence of Michelle Wyatt in collecting signatures, then speaking at the council meeting, was a truly impressive example of ‘citizen engagement’.

I was also quite ‘engaged’ myself, particularly regarding the plans for the raised area, which to me seemed more important than paving slabs.

The reason I like to sit in King’s Square fairly often these days is because this part, the raised area, hasn’t changed much after all. The mulberry tree wasn’t cut down. There’s still a plaque to Paul Woosey, on the bench by the tree. Near the same tree, the old (1970s) cart tracks and setts were left in a longer stretch than originally intended.

I’ve mentioned all these things before. But want to mention them again because I often think about them when I stop for a few minutes to sit in King’s Square. What we ended up with here is, in my view, a successful compromise.

The last couple of years have seen increasing ‘citizen engagement’ on all aspects of living in this shared place we call the city of York. Twitter and Facebook have made it so much easier to raise concerns and to publicise them, whether it’s your own individual concern that your bin hasn’t been collected or a major massive issue like the Local Plan. It’s very busy and very noisy. And often angry.

And it’s a good idea sometimes, I find, to step back a bit, to turn off, go offline, and instead find a quiet place at a quiet time, and just sit there and count some blessings. And I’ve found King’s Square is a good place to do that. It has retained its heart, here on the raised area, where we can still sit on Paul Woosey’s bench or near the mulberry tree.

A few years ago, during a heated exchange of views via email, the person I was debating with suggested that sites like this one you’re reading ‘don’t really achieve a great deal’. I’ve thought about this every now and then, including during the recent ‘offline’ time. About what I could achieve with photos and words on a website, if anything. If it needed to ‘achieve’ anything anyway. If it was okay to merely represent, observe.

The focus of this website has changed and evolved, over the years, as everything else around it has, and those changes continue this year because of changes in my own life. It’s harder to spend the time covering and commenting on the city’s changes, partly because of that, and partly because there are so many changes in the local landscape, happening already or planned.

I’ve had a few weeks break from writing about York but that doesn’t mean I stopped paying attention. There are many, many issues, large and small, to cover. They’re not always given enough prominence elsewhere, perhaps, or they get lost in the wider picture. So I’m hoping to carry on with this record of a city and its changes.

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King’s Square phase 2 work: Feb 2014 update, with mulberry tree retained. (c) City of York Council

The proposal for ‘phase 2′ of the King’s Square work has been released, and is online and available for public viewing on this page on the council’s website (with background information on this link).

The proposal for the raised area is rather different from the original plan approved in April last year. I’m assuming that the changed plan, though titled ‘proposal’, doesn’t have to go for Cabinet approval again, as the phase 2 work begins this week.

The main points of interest:

• The mulberry tree and its planter will be retained and refurbished, with the railings around the top removed
• The raised area  will be given a ‘deep clean’
• Broken flagstones on the raised area will be replaced, and some of the gravestones reset where necessary

Can I hear everyone shouting ‘hurrah’? Everyone who says the council never listens, everyone who said the square was basically fine as it was and just needed some cleaning and repair … I think it should be acknowledged that the way King’s Square will look is quite different to how it might have been, without input and comment from residents.

‘Option 1′ for King’s Square – with mulberry tree removed – approved in April 2013. (c) City of York Council

Council-bashing is very popular at the moment, particularly over the Lendal Bridge fiasco (and in that case, fair enough). But ‘the council’ is many many people in different departments. And here, in King’s Square, we see definite evidence of listening, taking note, adapting plans in the light of public reaction.

I guess we should reserve judgement for now, until we see how it actually turns out. I still fear that a forgotten memorial plaque might end up in a skip, because it’s small and dirty and not particularly visible on the bench it’s on. (Maybe Barnitts can take care of it and clean it up with one of their tins of Brasso.)

Just details – but meaningful ones – what makes the place – not the ‘visions’. This is York. It’s all about details, layers, all the centuries, and including the most recent. And the reminders of our lives within that context, in this place.

I don’t know how many people joined my ‘save the mulberry tree‘ campaign, sending emails of concern/protest. Thank you if you did. It was a very low-key campaign, but might have got more exciting, had the emails of concern failed …

@GSwinburn @YorkStories, @kelbirdy and I have discussed a chaining to the railings on this one. Pointless destruction.

— Julie Digs (@Julie_Digs) February 17, 2014

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King’s Square reflections. Photo: Tony Cole

The ‘reinvigoration’ of King’s Square is due to resume soon. Attention so far has focussed on the new, expensive, mirror-like paving. I hoped the photographic possibilities its reflections offered would be captured by someone. Tony Cole has, in these beautiful photos (used with permission).

We can see trees reflected here. If the phase 2 work follows the original plan then the smaller tree will be removed. I wonder if they’ll carefully cut it to pieces or just go at it straight through the trunk with a chainsaw.

Never a nice sight to see, but happening more and more to trees in the city centre, for various reasons. Usually for reasons of safety, because the tree is diseased, or leaning. Neither of these things applies here. There’s nothing wrong with the tree at all. Have a look, if you haven’t already. (It’s actually the best looking tree of the four, in terms of shape.)

Its removal was approved because someone – who? – decided the planter it is in is aesthetically displeasing. This may have been Sir Ron Cooke, or Dave Merrett, or the Reinvigorate York group as a whole.

King’s Square reflections. Photo: Tony Cole

But, you may be thinking, we were consulted on the plans. Not about the mulberry tree we weren’t. Its demise had already been decided. I responded to the consultation, along with just under 200 other people, but probably didn’t mention it either. Because at the time I was busy with other things, hadn’t looked properly, couldn’t picture which tree it was, thought it must be not worth keeping, trusted their judgement.

When I looked properly later, and every time I’ve seen it since, I’ve wanted to challenge whatever ‘aesthetic’ judgement led to the decision that the whole thing needs destroying.

Mulberry tree, King’s Square, June 2013

This tree which the ‘Reinvigorate York’ plans would remove is perhaps the most vigorous thing in the square. Certainly in summer, in full leaf.

It was planted in a ceremony mentioned in the Press (see below), and has a plaque marking that event. The plaque is on the railings, on top of the planter.

The whole ensemble does look ugly at present. But could so easily be improved, without chainsaws being involved.

The nasty railings could (should) be removed. The old Christmas lights still wrapped around the tree should have been removed long ago. Once the railings are gone, the litter and weeds and cheap-looking slate chippings around the tree’s base could be cleared away. Perhaps an ornate/attractive iron guard could be put there instead.

Metal bench around mulberry tree, King’s Square

The bench, metal, curved, is actually rather elegant, or could be, if cleaned and repainted. Perhaps extended further round the brick planter, if the brick planter is thought so ugly. I’ve sat here often and thought it was more comfortable than the standard wooden ones, which seem to be for people with longer legs.

It might be, of course, that following the largely negative reaction to ‘phase 1′ of the work here in King’s Square, the original plans approved may have changed in some ways. Here’s hoping.

Even if you’re not a soppy tree-hugger like me, I don’t see how anyone can justify destroying this perfectly healthy young tree because of the planter it was put in. And even if you don’t care about trees in the slightest, everyone should be thinking about, and perhaps questioning, whose ‘aesthetics’ decide such things, and whether we’re all happy to leave them to it.

If we’re not, then we should be filling in the questionnaire/consultation about the next ‘Reinvigorate York’ initiative, which will be remodelling another square soon.

Planting the mulberry tree, 2001

From The Press, 3 March 2001:

‘Pensioner to plant new tree in square

A NEW tree is to be planted in York’s King’s Square by a pensioner who remembers playing there as a child.

 

Joyce Douglas, 82, who is still a keen gardener, has been invited to do the honours at next Tuesday’s ceremony by City of York Council.

 

A weeping ash tree which stood in the square for 80 years was felled last year because of concerns over safety.

 

But a young mulberry tree has been given to the council by Lewis Tree Surgery of Wheldrake and this will be planted at a special ceremony by Mrs Douglas, who was born at 1 Shambles in 1919.

 

Her family ran the well-known George Ackroyd’s furniture shop and sale rooms at the top of Shambles.

 

She also remembers a church which stood near her home and said she often played in the churchyard that occupied King’s Square in the years of her early childhood.

 

The two remaining lime trees were also originally in the churchyard in the 1800s, well before the church was demolished in 1937.

 

Mrs Douglas said: “I was very disappointed when the tree had to be removed last year – I regularly walk through King’s Square and the trees bring some of the country into the heart of York.

 

“However I am delighted to be invited to help with this planting ceremony and hope that this new tree will bring much pleasure to residents and visitors in the future.”

 

Mrs Douglas will be helping the council to plant the tree at a ceremony with the Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Shn Braund, and the council’s arboricultural officer, Harvey Lowson.

 

Mr Lowson said: “We are honoured that Mrs Douglas has agreed to plant the tree and I would love to think that I will still be planting trees when I am in my 80s.

 

“The donated mulberry tree should make an attractive tree and not grow too large as the square is partially shaded by buildings.”

 

A safety inspection on the previous weeping ash tree in the raised brick planter last September established that it was in a poor structural condition and needed to be removed for safety reasons.

 

The new tree will have protective railings constructed around it and a commemorative plaque fitted to mark the occasion.’

People of York, we need to preserve Joyce’s tree, don’t we.

More information

Plan of preferred final design – My understanding is that this is the design option approved by Cabinet on 2 April 2013, though what we have as a result of phase 1 of the work doesn’t look much like this representation.

Footnote

King’s Square reflections. Photo: Tony Cole

I emailed Guy Hanson at City of York Council on 28 Jan to ask about the plans for the tree. I emailed again a few days ago as I hadn’t heard anything (and wanted to know whether I needed to write this page, or not). I had a brief reply saying they’re ‘reviewing the proposals’ regarding the tree and will get back to me.

I thought I should write this page anyway, after what happened with ‘phase 1′. When I wrote so many pages, last year, about the planned changes, it appeared that no one else (or very few people) cared about the paving. Turned out lots of people cared. Maybe no one cares about Joyce’s mulberry tree, but if you do, perhaps you’ll want to email guy.hanson@york.gov.uk and cllr.dmerrett@york.gov.uk and say so.

Update, 2014

The plans have been revised and the mulberry tree is to be retained.

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