New public art works for part of the former ABB carriageworks off Holgate Road, York, will reflect its past and optimism for the future, local people have been told.

At the meeting at Poppleton Road School, artist Abigail Downer, left, shows her designs for Holgate Park to Christine Bainton, vice-chairman of the community advisory group of York Regeneration Partnership Picture: Paul Baker

The one-hectare section of Holgate Park may also include a memorial to former workers who died as a result of exposure to asbestos at the site.

A bid for £70,000 in Arts Lottery funding for the project is to be submitted shortly, and it is hoped a decision will be made by September.

Community representative Paul Osborne told a public meeting at Poppleton Road School one of the messages from local people was that any art work there should reflect the optimism surrounding the site. "The art should look to the future as well as the past," he said.

Artist Abigail Downer revealed her plans for the area, which she called Holgate Tracks, explaining that following research and talking to local people she was proposing laying steel tracks on former rail lines across the site.

The tracks could be inlaid, possibly with terracotta bricks or plants, both of which could involve local groups or schools.

On either side of a cycle track through the site there would be two structures - a carriage structure and an archway.

She suggested the archway might consist of glass sandwiched between steel, which could be lit to provide a glowing effect, and the names of people who worked at the site could possibly be etched in the steel to show up at night.

People would be able to walk up a slope and admire sights such as York Minster and the main railway. "There will be loads of train spotters up there," she said.

Chris Cowen, of Public Arts, said they should be optimistic about the project, but if the Lottery bid failed they would probably go for a reduced landscaping scheme at the site.

Derek Gauld, of York Regeneration Partnership, said afterwards the suggestion for a memorial was intended for those who had died due to asbestos-related illnesses. But he stressed it was just an idea.

The future of another York art project may soon be clearer, as the chairman of York Civic Trust, John Shannon, said they had submitted a planning application for a statue to St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, in St Helen's Square.

He said that if permission was granted they would instruct their sculptor to start work with a view to having the work erected and unveiled next may.

see COMMENT 'On the right track'

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