A section of York city walls is to stay shut for another month.
The stretch between Station Rise and Micklegate Bar will stay closed until Friday 26 July.
The walls were due to reopen on Friday after being shut for six weeks. But City of York Council have taken the decision to keep them closed.
It is due to the ongoing work to demolish Queen Street Bridge as part of the Station Gateway development.
“The extension to the closure is required owing to unexpected ground conditions which required further design to the piling, and equipment breakdown delaying the piling works,” says a report by Neil Ferris, the council’s corporate director of place.
“The four-week closure allows safety measures to be installed, enabling the walls to be opened safely from Friday 26 July 2024, or earlier subject to a further risk assessment.”
He adds that “I note work to find a solution to allow access is planned for the summer holidays”.
Reopening the walls during the work was considered, but “without implementing or considering any safety measures fails to address the health and safety risks”.
That meant people walking the walls would be at increased risk of falling down the steep embankment, or being sprayed from concrete hose delivery pipe during piling.
“Deploying marshals to supervise the public on the walls is not considered practical given the lack of space on the walls and the cost involved,” the report says.
The council is considering a permanent safety solution, by installing 25mm stainless steel safety bars. This is the case on other parts of the walls with a heightened risk of falls.
Mr Ferris writes: “This option will be explored by the Council’s Ancient monuments manager alongside Historic England.
“The estimated cost of this permanent solution is approximately £20,000, with a short lead-in time and estimated delivery period of two weeks.”