Work begins to turn York Bar Walls into wildflower meadow

Council workers and volunteers began stripping away the turf on the embankment by the walls at Station Rise on Wednesday, September 25 before wildflower seeds are sown later this month.

City of York Council Ancient Monuments Manager Liam Dennis said the works were the culmination of months of planning to ensure that the end result lasts for months and not just weeks.

Council Environment Executive Member Cllr Jenny Kent said those sceptical of the project should wait until flowers begin to bloom to judge but added the changes were not irreversible.

The York Walls in Bloom project is inspired by the Tower of London’s Moat in Bloom and the council has worked with the organisation behind it.

Flowers will begin to bloom from March and the use of different species will see the meadow change colour from the spring until around October.

It is intended to manage greenspaces which would have previously been regularly landscaped in a way that is more environmentally and financially sustainable.

York Council workers on the embankment of York's Bar Walls at Station Rise, York. Picture: York Council

The council has adopted policies in recent years such as its Pollinator Strategy and has declared a climate emergency which commit it to do more to promote nature and wildlife.

Planting and cutting grass verges less often are also part of efforts to try and close a budget gap worth an estimated £30 million over the next three years.

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But the changes on the Station Rise embankment have sparked anger from some critics who claim the council has allowed the area and others to fall into neglect.

A petition calling for York’s parks and the Bar Walls to be restored to their former condition has been signed by 2,792 people to date.

But council monuments lead Mr Dennis said the area would still be carefully managed despite the change in appearance and the results would be worth the wait.

York Council workers on the embankment of York's Bar Walls at Station Rise, York. Picture: York Council

He added the transformation was the latest chapter in the use of the embankment at Station Rise which had previously hosted grazing land, railway tracks and other features.

Mr Dennis said: “This is the culmination of six months of really careful planning.

“We’ve picked a flower mix with strong colours that’s suitable for this location, we’ve also picked species which can out-compete the grass.

“The choices we’ve gone for will create months of contrast, this won’t just be for two weeks, we’ve worked really hard on the colours.

“What we’re doing now is more sustainable, it doesn’t need watering as often and the flowers won’t need removing at a later date.

“We want it to look as fantastic as it has done in the past but in a way that’s fit for the future.”

Cllr Kent said they were waiting to see the results of the project next year but the same method could be applied elsewhere depending on the results.

The environment executive member said: “We’ve seen the results at the Tower of London and the River of Flowers in Rotherham, we’re looking forward to this being our show-stopper.

“We will possibly roll this out to other parts of the city, we’re also doing this at the Red Tower and we’ll be looking at the management of the whole of the walls which is two miles of garden that we have.

“We know that our residents are concerned about nature being in decline so it’s great that we can support native plant species here.

“This way of managing the ramparts will hopefully protect them for millenia to come.

“We need to wait and see the results, but this isn’t irreversible so I’d say to people who aren’t sure come and see it then and judge it for yourself and if it doesn’t look as we think it’s going to then we’ll think again."