TALKS should be held to try to save a riverside crane in York from demolition, it has been said.

The Press reported earlier this month that York Sea Cadets have applied to City of York Council for permission to tear down an iron gantry attached to their Skeldergate building next to the River Ouse. They say it is now considered dangerous and the move would save maintenance costs.

Micklegate planning panel has now written to the city council saying its loss would be “deeply regretted” as it is “a reminder of the industrial past of the area”. The panel has asked for discussions to be held about whether the gantry can be preserved “in any way”.

The crane, believed to be more than a century old, stands in Queen’s Staith and the council is expected to decide early in the New Year whether it should be removed.