WORKERS at a York-based insurance company have seen red over proposals to bring a new big wheel to the city’s riverbank.

World Tourist Attractions (WTA) hopes to put up a new wheel in North Street Gardens, next to the Park Inn Hotel, following the closure of the Norwich Union Yorkshire Wheel at the National Railway Museum (NRM) last weekend.

The wheel had a massively successful two-and-a-half year spell and over a million tourists and city residents had taken a ride on it since it opened in April 2007.

John Lowery, senior manager of WTA, said if the planning application went ahead, the company would be looking forward to “many more” successful years in the city.

But workers at York-based Norwich Union have hit out at the plans, saying it would be an “eyesore” in a scenic part of the city.

Anne Smith said: “I work at Norwich Union and it would be complete chaos if a wheel was built on North Street. This area is a lovely part of the city where people can go to sit to read, eat their lunch and watch the birds.

“I can not understand why somebody would want to put a huge wheel there. It would inundate the area with tourists, it would be an ugly sight to see and there are the obvious concerns over flooding.

“I’m not dead set against a wheel in the city and I didn’t mind the wheel in its old place at the NRM, but at North Street it is totally inappropriate “It is one of the few areas not built up and a wheel would destroy that.”

Mrs Smith said her feelings had been echoed by “several” of her fellow colleagues and said she may petition to stop WTA building the wheel.

“My fellow workers are of the same opinion that it will be a huge eyesore and I want our objections to be heard,” she said.

But tourism bosses in York have voiced their support to allow a big wheel to be put up at the River Ouse site.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of tourism body Visit York, said she was “very disappointed” when the Yorkshire Wheel left York last weekend.

“The wheel has been an excellent addition to York’s visitor attractions so we’re extremely hopeful that a solution can be found for a new location and we’d support an application to site the wheel at North Street gardens.”

Jonathan Meehan, general manager at the Park Inn Hotel, said he too would support a planning application. It would help regenerate this side of the river and it would be good to have another major tourist attraction within the Bar Walls,” he said.