MY HUSBAND and I live and work in Bootham, just a stone’s throw from Museum Gardens. We are conservationists who believe passionately that we also have a responsibility to keep York alive by promoting and sharing York with visitors.

That is exactly what we do; our home and business is a Grade II listed B&B.

It’s depressing to see so many charity shops and empty premises in our ancient streets. The City of York Council has a duty to stimulate York’s economy by approving the wheel.

To be successful, however, and attract additional visitors to York, the wheel must be situated close to our historic buildings, giving us all the opportunity of appreciating the beauty of our city from a new and much-needed vantage point. That is precisely why the London Eye is a massive hit. York’s proposed site, in a redundant area of Museum Gardens, at the back of the Art Gallery, fits the bill perfectly.

Les Ledson, Bootham, York.


• THE London Eye provides important information City of York Council should take into consideration: 1. It’s the most popular paid attraction in the UK, with more than 3.5 million visitors annually.

2. Lambeth Council approved planning permission for five years only. It’s now a permanent landmark and tourist attraction.

3. It has become the focal point for London’s New Year celebrations, with fireworks fired from the Eye itself.

4. It is 135m high; more than 2.5 times taller than the proposed York Wheel.

5. It’s located on the banks of the Thames, amongst some of London’s most historic buildings and monuments.

Sir Richard Rogers, winner of the 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize, wrote of the London Eye: “The Eye has done for London what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris, which is to give it a symbol and to let people climb above the city and look back down on it.

Not just specialists or rich people, but everybody. That’s the beauty of it: it is public and accessible, and it is in a great position at the heart of London.”

The council can provide a significant and much-needed boost to York’s economy by approving the wheel.

Al Edington, Bootham Terrace, York.


• SO THE proposed plan to place the big wheel behind the art gallery does not seem to please some residents living close to where it would be situated (The Press, January 14).

It didn’t take long for the anti brigade to start whingeing and whining. The wheel is not unsightly, as the chief executive of York Conservative Trust suggests. It has to be put somewhere, and this seems an appropriate site.

It doesn’t matter where the wheel is situated, it is bound to overlook historic buildings and people’s houses. If one does not like it, close the blinds or draw the curtains.

As for fears over light pollution, what a load of codswallop: everywhere you go in the country they have a wheel, so should we in York.

Tom Mitchell, Mendip Close, Huntington, York.


• I WAS not surprised to see the reported objections to putting the York Wheel at the rear of York Art Gallery. An excellent choice in my opinion.

As usual, the nimbys have surfaced.

Given the onset of financial difficulties of the next few years, York needs to do everything it can to attract more visitors. It seems to me that this attraction will benefit business in the immediate area, as well as providing views of the city for residents and visitors alike.

As for any invasion of residents’ privacy, can I suggest investment in nets or curtains like the rest of us if they are so concerned.

Regarding light pollution, the wheel will go unnoticed amid the current levels of light pollution generated by the city already. The notion that this structure is inappropriate with the surroundings is nonsense: look at some of the monstrosities constructed over the last 20 years which, unlike the proposed wheel, are permanent.

I understand that 22 objections have been received by the council, hardly a public outcry. I hope common sense prevails. The minority must understand that some things have to be done for the greater benefit. I hope the wheel is approved.

C Urquhart, Millfield Road, York.


• WHILE the exchange of views on the site suitability of the York Wheel in the Museum Gardens area rumbles on, I fear we are missing the most basic point: do we want to have a York Wheel in the first place?

York is a small, walled city with narrow streets that are easily and best explored by foot if one is to enjoy its many secrets.

A York Wheel within the city bounds will offer nothing more than an overview of the roofs, while marring the skyline to the detriment of our glorious Minster.

One wonders if visitors flock to York for a trip on the wheel or to enjoy our heritage. The wheel, sited amid our treasured buildings, will certainly not enhance our chances of becoming a World Heritage City.

Have we suffered a loss of revenue in the intervening years since the York Wheel was sited at the Rail Museum, or have our visitors simply not noticed?

I viewed the Edinburgh Wheel some weeks ago, sited alongside and totally dominating the Scott Memorial in Princes Street. Please do not inflict such an act of vandalism on York.

JA Whitmore, Springfield Road, York.


• WHENEVER I read articles in The Press about the location of the Big Wheel, I can’t help but feel that the tourism bosses and other powers that be seem to think this structure ought to be compulsory, as if it were a thing of aesthetic merit in itself, and that it would be inconceivable for us not to have one in our midst.

I would suggest that York’s skyline is far too beautiful to be blighted by this inappropriate structure. I suggest that this blot be relocated to Blackpool, where it can cheerfully rotate.

Mr DE Nicholson, Grange Garth, York.