WORK starts on Monday to completely repave an historic street in the heart of York.

For the first time in a generation Stonegate is being repaved with City of York Council spending £500,000 to fully repave the entire length of the famous street, with natural Yorkstone paving and concrete foundations.

The council's traffic order says that vehicles won't be able to use or wait in the Stonegate and they'll be stopped from waiting on the western side Blake Street between its junction with St Helen’s Square.

Restrictions will also be in place on the southern side Duncombe Place between its junction with Low Petergate and the war memorial.

The works will be split into four phases with each phase taking around four weeks to complete and will start from January 6 until April 3.

Additionally, the one way traffic in High Petergate, between its junctions with Duncombe Place and Stonegate is suspended during the period to allow two-way traffic in Low Petergate while the closure is in effect.

In 2016, dozens of damaged flags were taken up in the street and replaced by a patchwork of black asphalt, which sparked a storm of protest.

It is estimated that a scheme of this size would normally take around four months to complete. The council will aim to do as much work as possible, weather permitting, before the Easter break, when work will stop.

As previously reported, more than 20 retailers and businesses fed back at a session in November to say they would prefer the council to carry out this scheme in the quieter months of January to March.

This feedback has been taken on board and works will stop before the Easter holidays start and the council will come back in early 2021 to fully complete the scheme (around an additional four weeks) – if the council is unable to complete the works beforehand.

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times and the council is installing ‘Stonegate businesses are open as usual' messages clearly across hoardings too.