Views across York from 100ft crane (From York Press)

Views across York from 100ft crane

9:17am Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News By Mark Stead, mark.stead@thepress.co.uk

MILK, two sugars, a sprinkling of vertigo and spectacular views across York – that’s what you get on the city’s highest tea-break.

A cuppa demands a head for heights for the construction teams working on a £14.7 million city-centre development, which will house 258 rooms for York St John University students from October.

The building work by Miller Construction is almost finished and its completion is set to be marked with a “topping-out” ceremony within the next few weeks, after which attention will shift to fitting out the inside of the building.

The Carmelite Street project, led by York developers S Harrison, has seen a 100ft crane tower over the area and become a feature on York’s skyline during recent months.

The team behind the scheme, next to the Hungate development site, gave The Press a chance to take a stroll around the roof and capture pictures of York from a different angle, and crane operator Dave Kettleborough showed even his lofty position in the cab doesn’t cause any problems when it comes to being supplied with elevenses.

“The team have all worked for us over many years and are the same people who worked on the project to build the Hampton by Hilton Hotel in Toft Green,” said Miller’s project manager Adrian Kelly.

“The view you get from the top of the student accommodation building is one not many people get the chance to see. It gives you the opportunity to see York in a way you can’t see it from elsewhere.

“From the roof, you can get a different slant on the Minster and even pick up on smaller things - there is an arched bridge across the River Foss which, until I came up here, I didn’t realise existed. It’s also interesting to see how the view of the city changes as the building has got higher and more levels have been completed.”

S Harrison and Miller Construction have previously worked on student accommodation for York St John in the Walmgate area, as well as the Toft Green hotel and the £32 million transformation of West Offices, formerly a railway station, into City of York Council’s new headquarters.