Ban on blue badge access for Christmas Market relaxed

Members of the Executive voted unanimously to allow vehicles access via one designated city centre route through Goodramgate, excluding Church Street, after 5pm, during the Christmas Market period.

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This is also the permitted route for traders on the year-round Shambles Market to access their pitches during the festive market.

Plans previously restricted Blue Badge holder access during the Christmas Market’s opening hours of 10.30am to 7pm on public safety grounds.

The decision made last night was on the same day that the market opened, and it runs until Sunday, December 22. 

James Gilchrist, Director of Environment, Transport and Planning at City of York Council, said: “Officers are now working with Make it York and other stakeholders to implement the decision Executive made last evening, as soon as we can confirm a date we will.”

The Christmas Market is one of the busiest events in the calendar for visitors to the city centre.

Christmas Market chalets in Parliament Street, York in the run up to yesterday's (November 14) launch (Image: Newsquest)

An urgent report prepared by council officers for last night’s meeting said the decision was "challenging" as it required the Executive to balance the security advice from counter terrorism police, public safety, and the rights of all users of the streets against the rights of Blue Badge holders.

As reported in The Press, the new proposals were being considered following backlash from disabled people and others when the council said access would be suspended.

Kate Ravilious, the council’s executive member for transport had said previously that plans for the Christmas Market were too far advanced to be changed for this year.

Access will still be barred along the Blake Street, St Helen’s Square and Lendal routes.

As well as maintaining the current suspension, other options put to the Executive by council officers included permitting access on all routes during all hours of the Christmas market, limiting the Goodramgate access to Monday to Thursdays only, or access via the same point of entry and exit from 10.30am until 12pm.

Cllr Claire Douglas, leader of the council, thanked everyone involved in the "complex and delicate assessment of the options that are actually available to us at this point in time around decision making".

Cllr Douglas said: “There’s been an awful lot of data collected and interrogated and that includes footfall in the areas on an hourly basis, looking at when that risk is potentially at its lowest within the footstreets to see when vehicle movements could be accommodated.

"The level of footfall in the Goodramgate area, in the footstreets, is at the same level as a Saturday or weekend in the height of August, our other busiest period, as it is at the Christmas market, from 5pm-7pm.

"That has been a key consideration for us and the risks have been considered and mitigations have been heavily considered as to how this can work to allow access.

"And we have had to think about the balance of risk of collision and a terrorism event alongside the human rights and public sector equality duty to allow access into the city centre for Blue Badge and disabled residents who otherwise would be excluded."

It was confirmed at the meeting that the process of permitting Blue Badge vehicular access to the 2025 Christmas Market was being considered in its entirety.