YORK Minster is advertising for its first paid ‘head of bell tower’ as it prepares to recruit a replacement band of bellringers.

The cathedral, which controversially axed its entire team of 30 volunteer ringers last autumn over safeguarding concerns, is looking to pay an annual salary of approximately £7,000 for the job, which was previously unpaid.

Its job description says the successful applicant will help the Minster recruit and establish a new band of ringers, and they will work for an average of 10 hours per week, including a practice session, ringing on Sunday mornings and special services and festivals.

A spokeswoman told The Press the head of tower was being paid at a level reflecting the significant time commitment needed to recruit and induct the new band and plan bell-ringing activities for the next 12 months.

Asked whether regular bellringing would resume by Easter Sunday, she said: “Whilst we won’t be rushing this process, we are very much looking forward to the resumption of regular ringing at the Minster.”

More than 17,000 people signed a petition calling for the Minster’s axed ringers to be reinstated last autumn but the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, backed the decision by the Dean of York, the Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, and chapter. He said the team was disbanded because some members of the Minster Society of Change Ringers had consistently challenged Chapter’s authority over safeguarding issues - a claim which the society denied.

The bells rang out again before Christmas, despite Minster claims that people offering to help had been intimidated. The axed ringers denied intimidating anyone.