Green councillors welcome tower park vision

Local Greens have campaigned passionately for over a decade against the plans to build a shopping centre on the site next to the monument.

Now the panel of experts who have drawn up the York Economic Vision report has suggested the Castle area should be the site of a new park, and stressed the need to reclaim the historic environment from traffic.

Coun Dave Taylor, the city's Heritage Champion, said yesterday: "At last, we have a fully rounded, long-term vision of how York can develop and retain its historic uniqueness and high quality of life.

"This report has exactly the right sort of historic scope and global perspective. It considers the mark we leave on the environment and on history, rather than chasing self-defeating short-term economic aims."

The report champions the idea of the "protection and enhancement of Clifford's Tower by the development of a new world-class civic space, a grand city park".

Coun Andy D'Agorne said: "The report's focus on the city as a place to enjoy life, without needing to be travelling or shopping, is exactly in accordance with what Greens have been saying for years.

"The best thing about this report is that it moves beyond vague aspirations that cities should be successful and nice, and starts making concrete recommendations."

Other specific recommendations made by the report include creating more places where the City Walls can be crossed under or over, rather than through.

More measures that have delighted the Greens include extending the footstreets zone to the City Walls, transforming the inner ring road to a series of neighbourhood streets, parkways and grand avenues, and requiring the new central York development sites to include sacrificial flood levels.

As reported by the Yorkshire Post, the Vision document is intended as the guilding light of development for the next two decades to ensure York measures up to competition emerging from other cities, including Hull and Leeds.