Fears that debris and glass could fall from panels in a York church’s ceiling onto the congregation below have prompted a bid to repair the building.

An application for listed building consent has been lodged to repair glazed panels - known as laylights - in the ceiling above the main hall of York City Church, in Gillygate.

The application stated the structural integrity of the ceiling around the seven laylights has weakened, leading to safety concerns for those immediately below them.

The repairs come as part of wider refurbishments to the Grade II-listed building, known as The Citadel, which was built in the 1880s for The Salvation Army.

Works also include repainting the building’s main hall and securing plaster in the ceiling.


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Plans for repairs to the laylights follow an inspection which found their poor structural condition now presented a potential hazard.

Previous works to try and strengthen the laylight structures were also found to have weakened them further.

The plans stated that the church was currently looking at two options to address the issue.

The first would see screens installed below the laylights while another would see them reinforced from above.

Plans stated York City Church’s limited finances would have to be taken into account when deciding which proposal to chose, with reinforcement works costing more than installing screens.

One of the laylights at York City Church, in The Citadel, Gillygate, YorkOne of the laylights at York City Church, in The Citadel, Gillygate, York (Image: Staff)

But they added repairs needed to happen soon in order to make the laylights safe.

The plans stated: “Over time the structural integrity of these sections has become weaker hence posing the threat of falling debris and in some instances the dislodging and failure of the inset glazing panels.

“The safety of the public and building users is paramount, particularly as the laylights are located directly above the main two-storey hall within the building where large numbers of people regularly congregate.

“Debris or in the worst case glazed panels falling from height would pose a substantial risk to those below potentially resulting in serious injury.”