Council leader announces £10m to ‘unlock’ York Central

Council leader James Alexander announced a £10 million plan to kickstart the stalled York Central development as York Business Week got underway today.

Cllr Alexander made a clutch of landmark announcements about the redevelopment of city brownfield sites at the one-day York Business Conference.

As well as the future of York Central – also known as “the teardrop of York” – he issued updates on land formerly used by British Sugar and Nestle.

“Today I commit the remaining £10 million from our economic infrastructure fund to unlocking York Central,” Cllr Alexander told business leaders gathered for at the Lakeside Conference Centre, part of the Food & Environment Research Agency at Sand Hutton near York.

“Talks between Network Rail and the council means we now have an access route into the site and the funding being committed will pay towards the bridge that will pave the way for construction traffic to begin work.

“Development will be staged, with early phases creating a critical mass of Grade A office space and around 400 new homes. We intend to start this early in 2015 with the remaining phases to follow shortly after.”

York Central covers 37 hectares (91 acres) behind York Railway Station. The site incorporates a range of existing uses including the National Railway Museum, private housing and businesses, and operational rail land owned by Network Rail.

The lack of an access road has held up plans to make use of the site. If it gets underway, it would be one of the most significant construction projects to take place in the city for generations.

Cllr Alexander also announced that Associated British Foods, the owner of the British Sugar site off Boroughbridge Road, has entered into pre-planning discussions with City of York Council with a view to submitting a planning application in the spring of next year.

The site is earmarked for around 1,000 new homes and community facilities. Talks with Nestlé bosses concerning their own brownfield site are “ongoing”.

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