Follow The Foss - 4 - Foss view to Foss Islands Bridge

This section of the Foss is where there is no section of city wall. The River Foss formed a large swampy area around here which was eventually cut into a drainage channel and the swampy area that is now Hungate was drained. Hungate is undergoing redevelopment and has been thoroughly dug over by the archaeologists who have turned up finds from Roman times through Viking up to the early 19th century. The first stage of the redevlopment is nearing completion and the buildings along Foss View are starting to be occupied.

Although the City Council have a rubbish collecting boat you can just see it in the distance beyond the covered section of walkway I have never seen it being used. The current state of rubbish in the river makes me wonder if it has been used at all this year.

Just out of the covered walkway gives a closer glimpse of the moored rubbish collection boat and the chimney from the former power station that used to generate electricity for the city now standing next to Morrisons. The power station building that housed the generators stood where Halfords and Staples now stands.

The cooling tower for the power station used to stand on the far side of the river behind the trees you can see in the above picture. Access to the cooling tower was via the little bridge painted blue.

Continuing upstream on the left behind the trees you can just about see the edge of the DEFRA site (or whatever they are calling themselves these days, they used to be MAFF) which stands on the former site of engineering firm Adam's Hydraulics. Straight ahead you can see one of the bridge structures of the Foss Islands junction. This junction used to be a learner's nightmare with two hump backed bridges and multiple junctions to negotiate.

 

 

Behind the bridge you can see the point where the city walls break at Layerthorpe Postern and the marshlands of Foss Islands provided the defence line for the city. On foot you now need to follow a complicated route to get yourself onto Fossbank, see map below. Turn left onto the bridge in the above picture cross towards Layerthorpe Postern but at the island in between turn right to take you past the lighting arrangement in the following picture and then left where you will be against the flow of motor traffic onto Fossbank.

View Follow The Foss in a larger map

Rowntree Wharf from Hungate

This phase awaiting development in the Hungate redevelopment area has been nicely landscaped with flowers and large photographs on the hoardings. The viewpoint is from the corner of Black Horse Lane and Palmer Lane behind the Ambulance Station and Black Swan Inn. Amongst the photographs on the hoardings are some balack and white shots of Leetham's Flour Mill which occupied part of the Hungate area and was one of the largest flour mills in the country. The Hungate area has yielded some interesting Archaeology dating back to Roman times. Hungate was once an area of high housing density a situation that looks to be repeated with the current developments on the site!

View soon to disappear - Minster from Rowntree Wharf

This view of the Minster will not be around for much longer, it has been opened up by the demolition of a number buildings in the Hungate area which is nundergoing redevelopment. Beyond the modern brick facade of Clavert's Carperts you can just make out the fine Georgian terrace in St Saviourgate.

Hungate Phase 1 Redevlopment - Foss View

Although I am not a fan of modern buildings I do have to admit that for high density dwellings these do look better in the landscape than the run down tatty brick buildings that existed in the Hungate area before the redevelopment started.

Ambulance Station - Hungate

The Ambulance Station in Hungate was also slated for demolition but is still standing and operational following the cancellation of the planned Council offices. In the background is the Rowntree Wharf building which was converted into offices and flats. The above photo was taken in March this year. The advertising on the hoardings has been changed in the meantime from a blue background to a greeen background, see the photo below.

Changing Face of Hungate

Here is one I took earlier this year in March, probably not much change since then except that I think the displays on the boarding has been changed. Work has been progressing on the flats in the background despite the recession whereas the flats next to the Woolpack building seem to be stuck in an almost finished state. The planning request for the Council Offices has been withdrawn, supposedly on the objections of English Heritage who said the development was not in keeping with the surroundings. They did not need English Heritage to tell them that, the citizens had already told them that what they had planned was a complete "carbunckle" to borrow a phrase from Prince Charles.

Hungate Outdoor Art Update

The outdoor art from primary schools has been changed recently and these photos show the new pictures. Notice the slow progress on the buildings in the background, but progress no the less! I notice that my last blog on the outdoor art in Hungate was back in March this year so there may have been several changes in the intervening months, apologies for missing them if I did.

Hungate Marketing Suite

Not much activity going on here at the Hungate development area with the credit crunch. I understand most of the building work has come to a halt as there are so few takers for the aprtments that are being built. The city council have even backed out of the planned monstrosity that they were going to put next to Black Swan Inn, supposedly because of objections from English Heritage, but it does seem a coincidence that the announcement was shortly after the building works around had slowed down.

Hungate Development slowed down

The development in Hungate has now ground almost to a halt. The credit crunch has meant that the demand for new accomodation has all but dried up.

Lamp-Post - Hungate Development Area

Before the buildings were knocked down I never really noticed the street furniture in this area but with the clutter removed this lamp-post stands out fairly prominently. In the background you can see the top of the BT Garden Place building with communications tower.

Hungate Outdoor Art

This seems a smart idea to me to reduce the likelihood of getting graffiti on these hoardings on the Hungate development site. The council have organised for school youngsters to create this outdoor art. It reserves the space and taggers seem to respect that somebody elses work is there. Or maybe it is just that this part of Hungate is a bit off the beaten track.

Hungate - Redevelopment - Archaeology - York Bedding

Probably one of the tattiest areas within the walls is now being redeveloped. Most of the buildings in this area have been demolished now with the exception of the ambulance station, the homeless shelter and the York Bedding Company. Negotiations are ongoing with the Bedding Company, but no agreement has been reached on a purchase price for the site and the council are having to consider using compulsory purchase powers. They might do well to remember the bloody nose they got when they wanted to demolish Gillygate in the late 1960s to develop a new inner ring road and having purchased most of the properties one bed and breakfast house owner refused to sell and was threatened with compulsory purchase. Gillygate is still standing and the useless inner ring road that would have blighted the interesting Gillygate which has some listed buildings and demolished parkland at Bootham hospital.

Having aquired most of the other buildings, demolition has proceeded around the York Bedding Company, shown above and as is usual in a historic city like York, the archaeologists have moved in to excavate the site.

Convenient view holes have been left in the fencing so the curious can see the work of the archaeologists as they dig holes with paintbrushes.