PLANS to close part of York’s historic bar walls to traffic have been welcomed by local traders.

Today, Thursday, Councillor Jonny Crawshaw will propose to City of York Council that Micklegate Bar should be closed to outbound traffic, in a bid to preserve the historic entrance to the city.

Julian Smith, from Cafe 84 in Micklegate, said he and other traders in the street approved of the move, which he believed could help transform the street into a more continental destination.

He said: “We were looking at trying to make Micklegate into more of a cafe culture, getting seating out into the streets and that doesn’t go hand in hand with two-way traffic. You want to slow that down as much as possible. When it was closed, we seemed to have more pedestrians around here. I don’t know why, but it was obviously much quieter through-traffic as it was only coming through the Bar and down.”

Mr Smith said traders involved with the Micklegate Business Initiative aimed to improve the street’s reputation, and the closure to traffic would assist that.

He said: “It’s a Jekyll and Hyde street, as it’s beautiful during the day, but can get a bit messy at night, so we’re looking to regenerate that. We think this can only help as we have a lot of eating and drinking places, some of which have spaces outside at the moment, which is great to see. It’s not the ‘Micklegate Run’ it used to be, and this would change it further.

“Ideally, as traders, we would like the pavements extended out slightly and if it’s one-way traffic, that would be better. There are no dissenting voices, which is unusual really.”

Cllr Crawshaw said: “Micklegate Bar is one of the jewels in the crown of our historic city. Its heritage value is hugely significant not only to York but nationally too, and we cannot afford to put that at risk. We want the council to move quickly to assess the implications for closing the Bar to outbound traffic - which travels underneath the Bar itself - before considering the possibility of closure to inbound traffic - which travels under the Bar walls - in the longer term. This would protect the historic structure and minimise cost to the council taxpayer in the future.”

The motion will go before the council at a meeting later today.