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Gill and Tim Clarke have stopped going to their favourite afternoon tea spot because of over-tourism. “We tend to avoid it now because of the queues,” the local couple explained. The problem isn’t getting a table, but rather its location – on York’s most iconic street, the Shambles.
This beautifully preserved medieval shopping street, with its timber-framed buildings, has featured in travel guides since the early 19th century. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly impassable, especially at weekends, due to its connection to the Harry Potter film series.
Said to have inspired the set design of Diagon Alley, the street has been overrun with fans of the franchise, who queue along the cobbles for the chance to shop for potions and wands at the themed stores.
“The queues cause a bottleneck and it’s hard work and frustrating trying to get through the people,” explained Gill Clarke. “The bottom end of the Shambles feels like a Harry Potter film set.”
Her husband Tim joked that you have to do “the penguin shuffle” to get down the street now, adding that it is the management of the thoroughfare that has become “a shambles”.
“It’s mostly naff tourist shops now,” agreed Elaine Markwell. “I think the general consensus among residents is that York is becoming more and more for tourists and not for locals.”
She added: “The Shambles used to have traditional butchers and bakers, and other shops that locals used, but you can barely even walk down there now because of all the queues.
“I bought a candle the last time I went there, and the owner of the shop was moaning like mad that no one could get into her store anymore.”
It’s not just Harry Potter shops that are keeping locals away. At the other end of the street, a makeshift queue often forms as visitors wait to get that postcard shot of the Shambles’ overhanging upper storeys.
“We’ve been waiting an hour,” groaned a man outside the York Ghost Merchants. The shop, which sells handmade figurines, has become something of a cult sensation on social media, with people waiting up to three hours just to get inside.
Like the Harry Potter stores at the other end of the Shambles, it can bring foot traffic in adjacent streets to a halt at weekends, causing a knock-on effect on nearby businesses.
At the Shambles Tavern, the Saunders family have managed to snag the upstairs snug to themselves. They said it’s “easy to get a table” as residents and tourists alike tend to overlook the area due to the crush out front.
City of York councillor Stephen Fenton said he’s “worried” about the exodus of locals. “I used to go to the Shambles a lot because my favourite restaurant was there, but that’s gone. We don’t want locals to feel there’s nothing for them in the city centre.”
The Liberal Democrat is particularly concerned about the Labour-run council’s plan to dramatically increase parking fees, which he said has faced strong opposition from locals.
Under the proposed changes, the price of parking will increase by more than 50 per cent, with the cost of a two-hour stay at council-owned facilities, for example, rising from the present £6.20 to £9.70.
For weekend visits of over six hours, Cllr Fenton said it will work out 50p cheaper not to bother with a ticket and accept a fine – provided you pay the Fixed Penalty Notice within 14 days.
He added: “We all want to encourage people to use public transport, but the council hasn’t thought this through. It’s all stick and no carrot.”
The local authority said that the increases are needed to help plug a £30 million budget shortfall. But Andrew Lowson, Executive Director, York Business Improvement District, questioned whether the changes might deter locals from visiting entirely.
He said: “We all know York is a tourist hotspot and a certain demographic will be willing to pay high parking charges due to the city’s cultural draw. However, there will be local people who will now weigh up that the cost of two to three hours’ parking is more than the coffee and cake they were coming in for.”
It’s a view echoed by city centre business owners like Ross Sinclair, who runs the Oshibi Korean restaurant. He said he was “sympathetic” with the council’s predicament, but added that parking is already “horrendously expensive” and could lead to a drop in locals going into town.
Paragon Barbers in York’s Acomb suburb is already seeing increased business due to the exodus from the city centre. Its manager, Connor Ryan, said: “Parking is already so expensive that many locals avoid town unless they have to.”
He added: “If I ever have to go into town during the day, I literally go to whichever shop I need to go to, and get straight out.”
Genteel York has become a Harry Potter theme park
With social media-obsessed tourists colonising the Shambles, plus parking fees soaring, the city has lost much of its appeal