VICTORIA House is being dismantled, piece by piece. York will not mourn its passing. This building, an unhappy mix of Victorian and Sixties architecture, was never attractive even when it was bustling with shoppers.

Having lain empty for years, it has declined into one of the city's ugliest eyesores.

Micklegate traders, who have long complained that Victoria House is a blight on business, might have preferred that the building was riddled with dynamite and demolished in one big bang.

That is impractical, not least because the hotel rising in its place is built around the frame of the Co-op structure. Instead, building workers are performing a delicate piece of cosmetic surgery, removing a blemish from the face of the city.

Businesses are hoping the change will be far more than cosmetic, however. This ancient street, for centuries the royal entrance to York, has much going for it. Its history and architectural grandeur for one; a range of diverse, independent shops and restaurants for another.

But it is removed from the retail heart of York, which means traders have to work that much harder to attract shoppers and tourists.

At present, visitors get as far as Victoria House, and the equally unattractive former Presto supermarket, and believe they have come to the city limits. Soon their perception will be very different.

The creation of a £6 million hotel continues the regeneration of the district begun with the opening of the Queens Hotel last year. Another hotel is earmarked for the former Presto site. Micklegate will become the first stop, rather than a last resort, for tourists.

Archaeologists are relishing the changes almost as much as the traders. Excavations on the site of the Queens Hotel revealed a major Roman building. More ancient secrets may well be lurking under Victoria House.

It seems the redevelopment of the former Co-op is good news for York past, present and future.

Updated: 10:28 Tuesday, May 22, 2001