Clifford’s Tower backlash: 1,000 people sign petition against revamp as mass protest planned

Hundreds of people have signed a petition condemning radical changes to Clifford’s Tower, as plans for a mass protest take shape.

The backlash is building against the decision to build a visitor’s centre and add a timber decking roof to the ancient landmark.

Last week York councillors voted by 11 to three in favour of the plans, drawn up by the castle’s owners English Heritage. You can see the debate of the City of York Council planning committee in the video below (it will start from the Clifford’s Tower debate).

‘An ugly inappropriate design’

But many residents are infuriated by the proposals. A petition to Stop English Heritage Making Clifford’s Tower Look Like Disneyland! collected 1,000 signatures in a day.

Among the comments left on the site were these:

And a protest is planned against the changes on Sunday, November 6 at 11am. Details are on the Facebook page Stop York City Council & English Heritage vandalising Clifford’s Tower

Site it elsewhere

One of those leading the fight against the plan is independent councillor Johnny Hayes. He said: “The building itself reminds me of a toilet block. But it is not the building that is at issue; it is the position against the base of the mound that people are objecting to.

“If a visitor centre is needed, why can this not be sited elsewhere?”

He added: “Clifford’s Tower and the mound are truly iconic and should not be treated in the manner that is being suggested by this model and these plans.

“I’m truly horrified, I really object.”

Former city councillor Brian Watson said: “Under the new proposal it will look similar to a child’s Meccano set, with so much structure that the impact will all but disappear.”

He also described the visitor centre as “a building of not much merit whatsoever”. He also blasted plans for a cafe there, saying “to turn this iconic feature into a cafe is a complete sin and a total disregard to York’s history”.

At the planning meeting Jeremy Ashbee, head properties curator at English Heritage, said: “The proposal for Clifford’s Tower that has been developed over the last three years has one overriding objective: to do justice to the national and international significance of the tower and York castle.”