Work on the scheme to transform Coney Street in York and reconnect it to the riverside will begin in the autumn, it’s been revealed.
And the Coney Street Riverside project will be completed in three phases – which means that Boots will stay trading for several more years at its flagship store.
The Boots building will be still be demolished to provide a new walkway to the River Ouse, but only as the development enters its final stage.
This news comes as Max Reeves, development director of the Helmsley Group which is behind Coney Street Riverside, gave an update on the scheme to YorkMix.
He told us:
- they have adapted the scheme to meet retailers’ demand for units on Coney Street
- a big-name restaurant is keen to move in by the river
- none of the current shops on Coney Street plan to move out of the city centre
- the masterplan is set to be carried out in its entirety.
The Helmsley Group owns most of the shops affected on the street.
Max said one of the complexities was accommodating the needs of all the different businesses. Some wish to stay on the redeveloped Coney Street, others will move out.
But he said none of the businesses wants to leave York city centre. Finding new homes for those relocating from the street was part of the process.
Helmsley Group was granted final planning permission for the scheme last November. The vision is to revitalise Coney Street, create new public realms, homes above shops, a new student accommodation block, and reconnect the city centre to the river.
Max said the work was being phased so as not to bring all of Coney Street to a halt at once.
Here are the three phases of that work.
First phase – zone 1
The first phase will see a new passageway cut through to the riverside at the St Helen’s Square end of Coney Street – in an area known as zone 1.
Under the only main amendment of the scheme, the position of that cut-through will now be moved – from where the Sapphire shop is on this picture, to the left section of JD Sport.
This is to accommodate retail demand. It means creating three shops instead of two.
Max was at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum last week and said there was strong interest from shops wanting to move to York.
“York as a city centre is seen as an attractive place for occupiers to take new units. And in the present market, we’re seeing more potential occupants into the retail side than we have done for a long time,” he said.
The original pitched roofs on these buildings, replaced by flat roofs after wartime destruction, will be restored.
The cut-through will lead to where the Revolution bar is now. What Max described as a “high-end” well-known restaurant wants to move in here after Revolution moves out.
What is now the Revolution beer garden will become public realm, called St Martin’s Yard after St Martin’s Church.
This space will also include an outdoor dining for the new restaurant building. This will enable the scheme to link to the river front of the Guildhall.
City Screen and the Pitcher & Piano bar plan to stay in place.
Phase 1 will begin in the autumn and run for about a year. But the first new retailers could be in by next summer.
Second phase – zones 2 and 3
The second phase will work on the buildings from Monsoon and Next down to Utopia. It will begin as soon as phase 1 is complete.
What is now Utopia will be demolished to make way for a modern building and a new development behind.
The shop fronts will be renovated. What is now Ernest Jones will be restored to the building’s original higher shop front, as seen by the ‘Flora’ shop in the picture below.
Next has already revealed it is moving into the Coppergate Centre. That will happen at the end of this year.
Helmsley Group owns all of the buildings in this section except for the one that’s home to Holland & Barrett. It’s owned by the City of York Council which is on board with the changes.
Work could begin on this second phase in early 2026, and take two to three years to complete.
Third phase – Zone 4
The final phase concentrates on the Boots and WHSmith stores. This is several years down the line.
When the developers are ready to start on this phase, Boots will then be relocated to another unit in the city centre.
The Boots building will then be demolished to make way for Waterloo Place, a new street leading down to the river. A six-storey building would be built on the river front, housing businesses and student flats.
The lease has just run out on the Coney Street WHSmith. That chain was recently bought out by new owners. Max understands they will want to keep trading on Coney Street for at least another year. Negotiations are ongoing.
Max told us: “It’s all about reconnecting Coney Street to the riverfront and using that as the catalyst for the regeneration of the street.
“So we’re looking at how we can change the offering on Coney Street, reducing the amount of retail, creating smaller, more independent, boutique retail spaces.
“Then bring public realm and restaurant and café spaces onto the riverfront, which creates some really interesting and exciting places where people can not only visit a restaurant, but also to buy a sandwich in the city centre and sit by the waterfront and enjoy the space.”
He outlined some of the complexities they still face.
“Development is challenging enough at the best of times, but we have a dozen or so tenants to work with within the space, who we’re not trying to be aggressive with.
“Some of them, we’re relocating within the scheme. Some of them have tenancies which are still ongoing. So we have to wait for those tenancies to expire.
“We have to look at who else we want to have within the project. So it’s a very complicated puzzle of trying to work with everybody and not just close down the entire of Coney Street whilst we do the development.
“We’re planning to be on site this year on zone one. Zones two and three will follow into next year, and then zone four will be further behind, depending on when we actually get started on zones two and three.”