A brand new pedestrian crossing at a major York project was left partially underwater following a storm.
Tactile paving at the crossing in Queen Street, at the front of York Station which is currently being redeveloped, was submerged following heavy rain on Friday, 26 June.
Disability rights activist Flick Williams said millions had been spent on the project only for it to fail on drainage and leave the crossing undetectable to blind people.
City of York Council’s city development lead Garry Taylor said the rain came before storm drains could be connected to the wider drainage system, with work underway to swiftly resolve the issue.
Ms Williams said the rain issue came after a bollard had been installed in the middle of tactile paving designed to help visually impaired people navigate the area.
The campaigner said both incidents had left disabled people with deep reservations about the scheme.
Ms Williams said: “The Station Gateway project continues to disappoint, as more elements of it are completed and brought into use the list of problems just grows and grows.
“The recent thunderstorm left the tactile paving at the crossing on the east side of the road completely underwater, undetectable by blind people who need it to identify the edge of the highway.
“Is this the best engineering our money buys that it takes a site worker to arrive with a broom to sweep water away?
“We are adding to that misgivings about the competence of the quality of the build, it’s a huge amount of money to have spent on a project that is worse than what it replaced.”
Preventing recurrence
Mr Taylor said there were outstanding issues to address as there would be with a large-scale project which was not yet complete.
He added the council remained committed to delivering a fully-accessible scheme that meets everyone’s needs and appreciated people’s feedback.
He said: “Due to ongoing surfacing works at the time of a short period of exceptionally heavy rain last week, contractors were yet to connect storm drains into the wider system.
“Once this is complete, it will prevent any recurrence of the type of surface flooding seen in the affected area.
“We are grateful to people for their patience and understanding while work to transform the area continues and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“On the hostile vehicle measures, we’ve been reviewing small elements of the scheme following some concerns raised and we’ve made some adjustments and are consulting accessibility groups on other minor changes.”
Spiralling budget
It comes as a council report published this week stated the estimated cost of the Station Gateway scheme was now £60.1m, compared to its original budget of £26 million.
Unexpected works in the last year and resulting delays have pushed the overspend on the scheme, which stood at £28.5m in July 2025, up by a further £5.4 million.
The update due at the council’s executive on Tuesday, July 7 comes after an audit found ‘critical’ weaknesses in the handling of the project since work began in 2023.
Works remain ongoing, with bus stops outside the station set to be closed from 8pm on Friday, July 3 to 6am on Monday, July 6 for road surfacing.
Cllr Katie Lomas, the council’s Labour major projects spokesperson, said her administration had been working to sort out the mess to ensure the scheme is being properly project-managed.
But opposition Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Cllr Paul Healey said an astonishing amount of taxpayer’s money had been spent showing the project and costs were spiralling out of control.
