York city walls wildflowers hailed a success

Wildflower displays planted alongside York's city walls have been hailed a success despite previous opposition to the scheme.

City of York Council said the flowers in Station Rise had been "flourishing" even in the dry conditions and said the "response has been overwhelmingly positive".

Modelled on the Tower of London's Moat in Bloom, the council said the Walls in Bloom project aims to create a changing display of wildflowers from spring to autumn.

However the project attracted some initial criticism when the ground was being prepared last summer, with more than 3,000 people signing a petition calling for the condition of the area to be reinstated.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service sowing wildflower seeds instead of more traditional bedding plants means the area can be managed in a more environmentally and financially-sustainable way.

Environment executive member Jenny Kent hit back against critics in April, saying she welcomed people caring about the walls but they should ask questions before stirring up unnecessary anger.

She went on to say she had not seen a single bad reaction.

"The response has been overwhelmingly positive," she said.

"In 2023 we had bedding plants that died off in similar weather and it's not fair to compare this to the 1950s or 1970s because there's no such thing as a normal summer anymore.

"We've had several people get in touch with us who are interested in what we've done here and who want to replicate it themselves.

"This display is a showcase for what others across York could do."

Meanwhile the authority's ancient monuments manager Liam Dennis said the dry conditions had been a challenge.

"There's been a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes and we're grateful to volunteers and businesses who've helped us, we've had to water the flowers more than we initially thought," he said.

"But the flowers have flourished in a way that traditional bedding plants wouldn't have.

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