Demolition is about to begin in earnest on a huge building in York city centre.
Swinson House on Piccadilly is to be knocked down over the coming months.
The building, dating from 1939 and previously used by HM Revenue and Customs, is being removed to make way for another new hotel on the street.
From today (Monday, 5 February), Back Lane – the small road that separates Swinson House from St Denys Church – will be closed for 13 weeks to allow for demolition work to take place.
It is due to reopen on 17 May.
Demolition has already begun internally, with the windows of Swinson House removed and rubble piled in the central courtyard within the building.
In one City of York Council planning meeting, Dr Charles Kightly, church warden at St Denys’s Church, expressed fears the 15th century building could be damaged by the construction work and increase in traffic.
York developers North Star bought Swinson House in January 2022. By that time the council had approved plans to demolish it, and build a 132-room hotel with restaurant and bar in its place.
North Star has partnered with hotel group Room2 to deliver the development.
The new hotel, next door to Spark:York, will bring the number of new hotel rooms created on Piccadilly in recent years to 450.
The removal of Swinson House means only one historic building will be left in the Piccadilly conservation area – the facade of the Banana Warehouse.