York church seeks to fix railings over cyclist safety fears

A cyclist said spikes on the railings at St Oswald's Church in Fulford were "dangerous"

A York church has called on the city council to allow it to make historic railings safe, after concerns were raised that cyclists could be impaled.

St Oswald's Church in Fulford has applied for permission to add metal balls to the spikes to improve safety.

The Rev Canon Sue Sheriff said an earlier bid for the adjustment was rejected as they were deemed to be too large for the "heritage asset".

City of York Council said it could not comment on live planning applications.

The spikes on top of the iron railings have been in place for more than 100 years at the Grade II listed church.

The Rev Canon Sue Sheriff said the debate over the spikes had been ongoing for almost a decade

The Rev Canon Sheriff said: "A passer-by about eight years ago said they were a danger and told us we need to get something done about them."

She said the church initially applied in 2018 for some of the spikes to be removed, but this was turned down.

The planning decision at the time said: "It is considered that the proposed works harm the significance of the designated heritage asset.

"There is no evidence of additional public benefit that has been brought forward in order to balance and justify the degree of harm that has been identified."

A fresh application was recently submitted proposing to add 30mm (1in) steel balls to the spikes.

But while it appreciated the safety concerns, the council said it wanted to see the new features reduced in size to maintain the style of the railings.

The Rev Canon Sheriff said the church was working with the council to find a solution

The Rev Canon Sheriff said: "There is a possibility of a compromise, it's going through planning at the moment."

She said the church could place the larger balls on higher points of the fence, with the smaller ones lower down.

"We are much more on the same wavelength now, we are very much trying to work together. The ball is in their court at the moment and we are waiting to hear back from them."

Robyn Jankel, chair of York Cycle Campaign, said: "We take things for granted and don't always notice risks but it only takes one person to point out a danger.

"We're always happy to see cycling safety prioritised."