York BID and over 100 volunteers rejuvenate the Lendal Bridge area

York BID has coordinated a project to improve the appearance of York’s street furniture, with the help of partners and volunteers across the city.

The project aims to refresh tired-looking benches, bike racks, bollards, bins, and other street furniture in the Lendal Bridge area and encourage civic pride.

This initiative was born out of the Cleaning and Rejuvenation Partners meeting; a bimonthly gathering between York BID, City of York Council, York Civic Trust, Make It York, and York Highstreet Forum, that identified tired-looking street furniture as detracting from the city’s overall appearance. The BID-coordinated project first started in January this year, with over 50 volunteers helping refresh 150 pieces of infrastructure in Parliament Street, High Ousegate and the surrounding area. It returned in May, when nearly 60 volunteers repainted over 300 pieces of individual infrastructure in King’s Staith and the Riverside area.

The project has returned even stronger, with over 120 volunteers from across the city offering to get stuck in: BHP, Hilton, London North Eastern Railway, Hilton Hotel York, City of York Council, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, Mumbler, Equilibrium Accountants, Little Vikings, York Civic Trust, Trustmarque, Rainbow Ceramics, City of York Council, Trustmarque, Make It York, Arcadis, Good Gym, Cabinet Office, Ambiente Tapas, Aviva, Portakabin, and local residents all volunteered their time.

The BID Street Cleaning Team prepared for the painting by hot washing the area, cleaning off stickers and posters, and removing weeds and moss. Volunteers then spent a few days repainting the street furniture and even enjoyed some refreshments provided by City Cruises. In total, 210 pieces of individual infrastructure were refreshed. The BID Cleaning Team will hotwash the pavements after all painting has been completed.

Carl Alsop, Operations Manager at York BID, said: “When we conceived the idea of rejuvenation days last year, I never expected that we would be briefing 40 people on a sunny morning in September. It’s been inspiring to see people’s civic pride, whether they have taken a day off from a local business or come as a resident. It’s so refreshing to see everyone get stuck in and make the city look better. In the last 9 months we’ve rejuvenated nearly 700 pieces of infrastructure and volunteer numbers are still growing – imagine what we can do next year!”

Emily Pickard, Founder of York Mumbler, said: “We were excited to support York BID with the city’s rejuvenation project, it was brilliant to see so many different businesses and residents coming together to help make our city centre a cleaner and more welcoming space for families.”

The September rejuvenation days join several other York BID projects transforming city centre spaces – you may have enjoyed the York Mural Trail, seen the Cleaning Team working, or read about the upcoming Snickelways Rejuvenation Project.