Decision details

Permanent closure of the City Walls between Station Rise and Micklegate Bar for a 6-week period whilst the Sisk (the contractor) carry out piling works to the Queen Street bridge.

Permanent closure of the bridge versus closure whilst works are ongoing only:

Permanent closure due to the curious nature of the public. The piling rig mast is 20m high and will tower over the wall by around 10m. At its closest the rig will be around 3m in the horizontal from the wall. Piling works are inherently messy and our concern lies with the fact that members of the public will be too close standing near the work zone.

The contractor has stated that they are happy to reopen the wall outside of working hours (07h30 – 18h00, Monday-Friday) however there are a couple of situations below as to why this may be unrealistic:

• On very rare occasions, hydraulic hoses can spring a leak on the rigs. In most cases there are exclusion zones around the rig and so operatives are not affected, the worry is that if a hose burst on the rig that this could quite easily affect members of the public.

• As the auger retracts from drilling works, the debris will often stick to the auger. To combat this an attendant excavator is used to clean as much debris as possible from a safe distance. On site there is an exclusion zone to ensure falling debris does not cause injury.

The rig remains in place for the duration of the 6-week period. Our work will attract a lot of interest and there is no better viewing point than from the top of the wall. We would like to request permanent closure as there are numerous members of the public constantly leaning over the wall to a dangerous level to get a better view. If the walls reopen outside of working hours, we will not be able to manage the increased risk of someone taking a tumble over the wall or being affected by the piling works and/or rig risks stated especially when the site is unattended.

We will make sure that if closure is accepted that diversion signs as well as wall closure posters have been created and put in place for this duration.

Rejected the proposed closure whilst works are ongoing only.