YORK'S city walls are taking part in a pilot scheme to modernise the way England's heritage is protected.
A new system to manage protected sites alongside modern development has been created by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and will be tested by English Heritage on 15 key listed buildings and scheduled monuments nationally.
The walls, one of the pilot schemes, combine a number of such sites, including St Mary's Abbey and St Olave's Church, as well as a registered park, area of archaeological importance and a conservation area.
A spokesman for English Heritage said: "We want to get away from the idea that when something is listed or scheduled it means you can't do anything.
"We just want to ensure you can manage change so that the things which are important are preserved."
City archaeologist John Oxley said: "York has a very special and complex historic environment. This makes it an ideal place to explore new ways of managing and conserving historic cities."
English Heritage will now work with City of York Council to assess the city walls and draw up a management plan to care for them in a modern, urban environment.
Updated: 10:43 Wednesday, April 07, 2004
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