The council said tonight that a York City victory parade would be “fantastic” and it wants to work with the football club and police to make it happen.
A decision by the council and North Yorkshire Police to veto a planned parade over safety concerns dismayed both the club’s owners and its fans.
It comes after perhaps the most thrilling finale to a league title in history, when City equalised against Rochdale in the 13th minute of added time on Saturday to be crowned National League champions.
The result also promoted the club back into the Football League for the first time in ten years.
Both York Outer MP Luke Charters and the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire David Skaith said they wanted to make the parade happen.
And a petition urging the council and police to make it happen has more than 2,600 signatures.
Tonight City of York Council issued a new statement. “We’ve been working really hard over the past week, before last Saturday’s game, to make a parade happen.
“Plans like these usually take months of preparation so this has been a huge challenge for all involved.
“To be approved, an event plan needs to be York-specific and not include locations in other cities such as Leeds and Bristol.
“It requires a serious commitment from all sides to ensure the plan safeguards York City fans against vehicle attacks on pedestrians, such as the one seen in Liverpool that turned a day of celebration into one of tragedy, on what should have been such a wonderful occasion for fans.
“We absolutely want to see York City’s amazing achievement marked in an appropriate way. A victory parade would be fantastic and if the club is committed to this, then the council stands ready to work together, and with the police, to help make it happen.”
