Save our fair city

SIR RON Cooke likes to repeat a conversation once overheard in York's Guildhall. It went like this:

Developer: "There's no limit to what we could do if York didn't think it was special."

Councillor: "But York is special!"

Developer: "Why?"

It is an exchange to send a shiver down the spine of anyone who, like the former University of York vice-chancellor himself, happens to believe that York is actually quite a special place.

Because, while those of us who live and work here all know how special our city is, we also know how easy it would be for York to lose the qualities that make it so. So easy for it to become just one more middle-sized English city among so many. Those who have witnessed the rising tide of flats-building that at times seems set to engulf the city must sometimes fear that process has already started.

It must not be allowed to happen, believes Sir Ron. And, in an attempt to make sure it doesn't, he has issued a rousing call to arms; a personal statement of what he feels makes the city special that is intended to remind those "in charge" in York just where their responsibility lies.

"All towns are unique," he says in the introduction to his paper Why York Is Special. "Only a few are special. York is special, not for one reason, but for a multitude. The inner city is world famous; outside the city walls, York is distinctive.

"The city as a whole is a mirror of British history and architecture. It is also a special community, one whose evolution is exceptionally well-recorded."

As a special city, Sir Ron argues, York needs special care. And to those who would seek to argue that it is no different from anywhere else, or that - like other cities in the 21st century - it has to keep up with the times, he has one answer: Yes, there is a need for York to grow and develop. But it needs to be done in a way that respects the city's past. Because York's future wealth will depend on building upon what makes it special, not destroying it.

For those of us who need reminding, here are the things that, in Sir Ron's view, make York such a special place:

Beyond the walls

York is less obviously outstanding once you go outside the city walls, Sir Ron concedes. "It has the usual mixture of Victorian and more recent developments of housing, railways, shopping centres and a ring road (the new city walls)."

Nevertheless, outer York is special in at least four ways, he says.

York preserves an experience that used to be common in many historic towns, in that a drive into the city from almost any direction is like a trip through architectural history. As you enter the outskirts, you encounter post-war and inter-war housing. Then it is the grand Edwardian houses, Victorian villas, Regency and Georgian buildings, all culminating at one of the medieval city gates or bars.

York's medieval Strays, green wedges driving into the heart of the city. "For example, it is possible to walk from the open countryside to Knavesmire and then through allotments to Scarcroft Green almost to the city walls," Sir Ron says.

The local communities which ring the city on land between the strays - communities such as Fulford, Acomb and Tang Hall. "Although the housing in these areas is not particularly distinctive, it is very unusual in Britain in not segregating the rich from the poor," Sir Ron argues. ""York... has very little executive housing, and much of what there is scattered through the communities." This makes for proud urban communities with a strong sense of public involvement, he says.

The impact of the railways. Not just the magnificent station - built on a curved track - or the many routes that serve the city, but also the huge York central site, which offers one of the largest brownfield areas for development in Europe. Plus there is the National Railway Museum. "Arguably the finest railway museum in the world," Sir Ron writes.

The inner city

It is not just the city walls, the ancient street plan, the historic buildings or the pitched, tiled roofs that make the centre of York so outstanding, says Sir Ron.

In fact, he agrees with George Pace who, in his report to York Civic Trust in 1962, argued that individually there are comparatively few buildings in York of outstanding architectural significance.

What does makes the city special is the fact that, unlike Georgian Bath or mostly Victorian Leeds, York is not a "one-age" city.

Its Roman, medieval, Georgian, Victorian and more modern influences combine to form a unique tapestry of shapes and colours in which every period of the city's history is represented.

There are many elements to this tapestry, Sir Ron argues. They include:

The tiled, pitched roofs

The city's wealth of chimney stacks and pots

The tracery of alleyways or snickleways linking the main streets

The use of distinctive red York bricks

Rectangular windows, doors and porches, often embellished with distinctive woodwork

Gargoyles, clocks and other carvings

The re-use of stone from older buildings in newer ones (stone from St Mary's Abbey, for example, is found throughout the city)

Occasional glimpses of water along the Ouse and Foss.

The whole tapestry, Sir Ron says, can be seen in many dramatic vistas from almost anywhere in the city centre.

"And this unique combination of buildings, walks, streets and streetscapes... dominated by the Minster rising deliberately and magnificently above the whole, is what makes the inner city special."

York: a mirror of Britain

Sir Ron quotes the late Patrick Nuttgens: "There is no other city in Britain more capable of illustrating the history of the country at large, both in terms of its absorbing past or its promise for the future."

The history of Britain - the Romans, the Vikings, anti-Semitic riots, the purges of Henry VIII, the Civil War, the enlightenment, the birth of science, the development of trade and transport - all are to be found "written ...in the physical fabric for all to see and enjoy," Sir Ron says.

The Museum Gardens alone are like a trip back through the major periods of English architecture.

Then there is the city below ground: "quite simply Britain's largest, deepest, most important and best-preserved urban archaeological site."

All this plus York's incomparable collection of artefacts and archives, held everywhere from the Borthwick Institute and the Guild of Merchant Adventurers to the city's many museums. Special indeed.

Culture and community

Thanks to Seebohm Rowntree's pioneering work Poverty: A Study Of Town Life In 1899, there is a unique record of the social composition of York during the past 100 years.

Rowntree was of course a Quaker, and York owes much to its Quaker tradition, says Sir Ron - imaginative social housing schemes, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and institutions such as The Retreat.

But the cultural life of the city has also been enriched by other influences. The church, the army, the railways, York's merchant and manufacturing past, the University today.

As a results, arts, cultural and educational institutions in the city flourish in a way that is extraordinary, Sir Ron says. But York, perhaps building on its merchant past, also has a thriving shopping sector - one in which the city punches way above its weight.

York as a pioneer of conservation

As long ago as 1596, Clifford's Tower was saved from demolition by public outcry, says Sir Ron.

York citizens, including the famous painter William Etty, successfully saved the Bar Walls when the city council wanted to pull them down in the mid-19th century, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s the renovation of Shambles was among the first local-authority-led urban conservation schemes in the country.

York's status was recognised in the 1960s when it was one of four English towns (the others were Bath, Chester and Chichester) selected for detailed conservation studies.

Wealth creation, past and future

The industries that were key to the city's wealth in the past were chocolate, the railways, and the manufacture of scientific instruments. The city's industrial past is still important, Sir Ron acknowledges.

But there is a new revolution taking place. This is two-pronged: a major development of the service and financial sector; and York's growing reputation as a centre of hi-tech industries, centred around the university and Science City.

The city's renaissance has not come about by accident, says Sir Ron. If the boom is to be continued, those in charge of York's future need to recognise that its heritage, far from being a hindrance, is its major asset.

"Those who can easily choose where to live - entrepreneurs, employers, students, scholars and others - find York attractive precisely because of its special characteristics," he writes.

"(York) is a place that must be sure its special features are protected so that it can continue to attract, welcome and absorb those who are essential if it is to sustain its success."

Updated: 10:11 Wednesday, December 08, 2004