York Sea Cadets put crane demolition plans on hold

8:54am Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Mark Stead, mark.stead@thepress.co.uk

Plans to demolish the crane next to the York Sea Cadets building have now been shelved Plans to demolish the crane next to the York Sea Cadets building have now been shelved

PLANS to demolish an historic waterfront crane in York have been shelved.

York Sea Cadets applied to City of York Council in November for permission to demolish a gantry which juts out from their Skeldergate base, on the western bank of the River Ouse, because it had been deemed a safety risk after standing there for more than a century.

But the move led to appeals for the Queen’s Staith crane, which is believed to have been built during Victorian times, to be preserved as it forms part of York’s riverside heritage. A decision on whether it should be pulled down was due to be made early this year, but the application has now been withdrawn.

York Sea Cadets were unavailable for comment yesterday on the reasons for withdrawing the application and whether it would be resubmitted in the future. The charity needed planning permission to demolish the gantry because it stands within York’s conservation area.

The iron structure, which stands next to a larger crane connected to the old Woodmills building, was once part of the industrial port along the Ouse.

When the Cadets applied for permission to remove it, its chairman Paul Sutermeister said it had “long been redundant” and the council’s building control department considered it to be “a dangerous structure”, adding that demolition would take away the need for management and maintenance costs.

However, the Micklegate planning panel, which covers the area where the crane stands, subsequently asked for talks to be held about whether the gantry could be kept in some form, as it was “a reminder of the industrial past of the area” and its disappearance would be “deeply regretted”.

The North Riding Branch of the Inland Waterways Association also wrote to the council to say approving the plans would mean part of York’s industrial history being wiped away, while York conservation campaigner Alison Sinclair said in a letter to The Press that demolishing the gantry would be “detrimental to the character” of the conservation area.

Comments(15)

Garrowby Turnoff says...
9:17am Wed 23 Jan 13

Quite right too. The contraption is interesting to the eye and gives character to the Quay. It reminds us of York's manufacturing history and busy river trade. I remember the Evening Press receiving its raw paper every day from a barge on the Ouse when its print shop and offices were in Coney Street. River traffic was commercial up until the 70s when tourism took off and we started to play on the river instead of using the river transport to import and export products.

This crane is a symbol of that era. Long may it wave at us all on York's quayside.

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bob the builder says...
9:39am Wed 23 Jan 13

Someone thought it would be easy to take down and sell for scrap, profit before heritage, perhaps their new motto as they should be renamed River Rats. What does this teach young people - value your heritage from all periods of history, don't look to destroy it because it might be a bit of work to look after it.

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pedalling paul says...
10:26am Wed 23 Jan 13

Seems that the sea cadets are caught between two Council departments. One says knock it down because it's dangerous. The other says preserve it. That will cost.
So if it stays, who pays...?

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kryten says...
10:43am Wed 23 Jan 13

Quite simple really, if the Sea Cadets cannot remove it due to the councils decision and the council deems it dangerous to the public. The council have accepted responsibility for the safety of the public and should be responsible for the repairs to return it to safe and any further ongoing maintainance. I was a Sea Cadet many years ago and I have to say it would be a shame to see it go but surely safety comes first?

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peterstreet says...
11:48am Wed 23 Jan 13

bob the builder wrote:
Someone thought it would be easy to take down and sell for scrap, profit before heritage, perhaps their new motto as they should be renamed River Rats. What does this teach young people - value your heritage from all periods of history, don't look to destroy it because it might be a bit of work to look after it.
?? buffoon!

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Big Bad Wolf says...
2:17pm Wed 23 Jan 13

peterstreet wrote:
bob the builder wrote:
Someone thought it would be easy to take down and sell for scrap, profit before heritage, perhaps their new motto as they should be renamed River Rats. What does this teach young people - value your heritage from all periods of history, don't look to destroy it because it might be a bit of work to look after it.
?? buffoon!
Bit harsh?

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Mr Anderson says...
4:49pm Wed 23 Jan 13

Of course it should be saved. For christs sake people! What if the Minster was pulled down due to lack of attendance? Cliffords Tower and the city walls pulled down due to lack of invaders? Etc etc etc. the crane is an important part of Yorks heritage and should obviously be preserved like the rest of our significant structures.

For those that disagree. Sod off to Coventry or the like!

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nearlyman says...
6:56pm Wed 23 Jan 13

It could be used as a modern day stocks to attach self serving councillors to. What an attraction that could prove to be.

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yorkborn66 says...
7:10pm Wed 23 Jan 13

Mr Anderson wrote:
Of course it should be saved. For christs sake people! What if the Minster was pulled down due to lack of attendance? Cliffords Tower and the city walls pulled down due to lack of invaders? Etc etc etc. the crane is an important part of Yorks heritage and should obviously be preserved like the rest of our significant structures.

For those that disagree. Sod off to Coventry or the like!
Lets put this into context: It’s a bit of metal with some history that know ones prepared to pay for.
Order a skip .

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the butler says...
7:57pm Wed 23 Jan 13

Why do the cadets not bring the unit up to snuff then make use of it to raise and lower their cutter, this would be an ideal project for the cadets?..

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YorkieTalkie says...
12:03am Thu 24 Jan 13

I agree it's part of York's industrial heritage, but it has been sadly neglected. Just take a walk past, and you'll see the ironwork is riddled with holes. It needs some prompt TLC before it falls down...

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brahma says...
7:29am Thu 24 Jan 13

Mr Anderson wrote:
Of course it should be saved. For christs sake people! What if the Minster was pulled down due to lack of attendance? Cliffords Tower and the city walls pulled down due to lack of invaders? Etc etc etc. the crane is an important part of Yorks heritage and should obviously be preserved like the rest of our significant structures.

For those that disagree. Sod off to Coventry or the like!
In most urban archaeology sites are excavated, recorded and then lost, with any key artefacts being transferred to a museum. Kirk even did it with an entire street. Do the same with this; record, dismantle, then sell it for scrap or reassemble it elsewhere.

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brahma says...
7:44am Thu 24 Jan 13

Mr Anderson wrote:
Of course it should be saved. For christs sake people! What if the Minster was pulled down due to lack of attendance? Cliffords Tower and the city walls pulled down due to lack of invaders? Etc etc etc. the crane is an important part of Yorks heritage and should obviously be preserved like the rest of our significant structures.

For those that disagree. Sod off to Coventry or the like!
PS Mr Anderson, you are an intemperate oaf. Coventry is not responsible for the loss of its historic core - it was bombed flat by Herman Goering's boys.

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kirchheim says...
9:47am Thu 24 Jan 13

I am sorry to carp, brahma, but Coventry was reduced to its present state by a joint effort involving the Luftwaffe and post-war planners who saw the bombing as an ideal opportunity to clear away the remaining nasty, old-fashioned buildings and make the city 'modern'! Think what York did in the 50s and 60s in order to ensure 'modernity'!!

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Woody G Mellor says...
1:12pm Thu 24 Jan 13

brahma wrote:
Mr Anderson wrote:
Of course it should be saved. For christs sake people! What if the Minster was pulled down due to lack of attendance? Cliffords Tower and the city walls pulled down due to lack of invaders? Etc etc etc. the crane is an important part of Yorks heritage and should obviously be preserved like the rest of our significant structures.

For those that disagree. Sod off to Coventry or the like!
PS Mr Anderson, you are an intemperate oaf. Coventry is not responsible for the loss of its historic core - it was bombed flat by Herman Goering's boys.
Just reading back through the comments. Where does Mr A say that Coventy is responsible for the loss of its historic core?

Or has that comment been deleted?

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