CONCERNS have been raised about the risk to heritage from 'jostling delivery vans in the heart of the city' after a driver hit one of the most photographed street lights in York. 

City of York Council reported that a private vehicle had collided with the ornate street light in historic Minster Gates on Monday morning.

Council engineers and police went to the scene to keep everyone safe and 'to remove the light as quickly as possible'.

The authority has now confirmed that the lamppost 'will be replaced in due course with a light in keeping with the style of the area'.

"The costs for these works will be covered through insurance," said a spokeswoman.

She was unable to confirm how old the street light was, but said: "Our teams will be looking at ways to prevent similar issues in the future.”

She added: “Police and council teams attended, and the damage was assessed as serious enough to warrant the removal of the post, which has now been taken down.

"There has also been some damage sustained by a nearby junction cabinet. Our teams have been working with Northern Power Grid to try to keep everyone safe and secure the site.

"Thankfully no one was hurt during the incident."

Paula Ellis, who works at Shared Earth on the junction of Minster Gates and High Petergate where the incident happened, said she arrived at work and saw the damage.

"The driver came running over," she said. "There was nobody about so no one was hurt."

York Press:

She added: "He needed to be down Stonegate. He had turned into Stonegate, not realising it was one-way and had to reverse back.

Anne Braithwaite, whose Braithwaite Gallery in Low Petergate is close by, said: "I came in at about 8.50am and it was already on the floor when I got here.

"It looks like an HGV has backed into it. It's amazing it hasn't gone into a shop front to be honest. The workman said it was just luck that it had gone down the street rather than into Shared Earth, which could've been a major disaster. Nobody was hurt."

Anne voiced her dismay that the street light had been 'chopped up into little pieces that one man could carry' and put into the back of a van.

"It was probably the most photographed lamppost in York - gone in a few minutes."

York Press:

The ornate street light which was damaged by a delivery vehicle, featured here in Silent Night by Minster Gates by York artist Mark Braithwaite

Anne quickly got in touch with York Civic Trust and The York BID in the hope that at least the top part of the light could be preserved. Failing that, she said she hoped the light would not simply be replaced with 'some horrible utilitarian thing'.

York Press:

An historic image, dated from 1872, of a more traditional Victorian-esque lamp in the foreground, looking down Stonegate Picture: York Civic Trust

"That was such a beautiful lamppost. Once you've lost the history it's gone forever."

Dr Duncan Marks, Civic Society Manager, York Civic Trust, told The Press: "The 'downed' lamp on Minster Gate is a small but important part of our city's character and charm.

"Whether it is original or even if proven to be a replica of an older, historic lamp, it adds to the phenomenal view of the Minster beyond when approaching along Stonegate; a quintessential picture postcard of York.

York Press:

This photograph of the lamp, or its predecessor, at the junction of Minster Gates and High Petergate, thought to be dated from the 1930s.

"While this destruction acts as an unfortunate reminder of the risk to heritage from jostling delivery vans in the heart of the city, we welcome and support CYC in the future restitution of the lamp."