York city walls 'tap to donate' scheme raises nearly £9,000

A trial scheme raising money towards the conservation of York's city walls has raised nearly £9,000 in its first year, figures reveal.

'Tap to donate' points, installed at Bootham Bar last September at a cost of £10,000, allow users to give money towards stonemasonry maintenance works.

According to council figures obtained through a freedom of information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service , £8,136 has been raised via donation points and £530 has been donated online.

One generous donor gave £400 towards the walls, with the single donation the largest offered during the first year of the scheme.

The contactless donation points allow people to donate £3, £5 and £10 and were installed along with QR codes for custom donations and wall information boards.

Speaking at its launch last year, City of York Council officials said it can cost £600,000 a year to maintain the walls.

If 5% of the city's 2.5 million annual visitors paid £5, the expense would be covered, the authority added.

July was the most lucrative month for donations with £1,295 raised, with the lowest in January raising £105.

Liam Dennis, the local authority's ancient monuments lead, said: "Some of the donations were very kind.

"Any amount of money is gratefully received and it goes directly towards the conservation of the walls and shows how important they are to visitors and the people of York."

He continued: "Bootham Bar was the easiest location to start with because it's under cover and already has plug sockets.

"We're now examining other locations, but each has its own challenges."

Paul Roberts, who used the contactless donation point at Bootham Bar, said he thought it was a good idea at first glance, with others positive about the scheme.

"I hope that people will donate if they are in a position to," said Samantha Nash, from St Albans.

"The council have a certain responsibility to do what they can to maintain these things rather than leave it to the public to do."

Councillor Pete Kilbane, the council's executive member for economy and culture, hoped the scheme would be expanded to further sections of the wall.

"Somebody might walk past this donation point, walk round the walls and think, 'this is fantastic, I should have given a fiver to that'.

"If there is another point that they can do that then we think it will work out better."

York was first fortified with walls in Roman times, though very little of the remaining stonework survives from that period.

Most of the walls standing today date from the 13th and 14th Century.

They are the longest surviving town walls in England, running for more than two miles (3.4km).

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