An empty shop on one of York’s busiest streets has been turned into an art gallery, printing press and cultural hub.
Numbers 29-31 Coney Street – once occupied by Dorothy Perkins and Burtons, and most recently home to the Menkind gadget shop – is now part of the Street Life project.
Led by University of York researchers, the project will run events from the shop, which has been let to them by owners the Helmsley Group until the end of June.
Street Life has received funding of £469,000 from the Government’s Community Renewal Fund to explore the 1,000-year history of Coney Street, as well as its future.
You can see the events planned at the shop here.
Helmsley Group has acquired several properties on Coney Street in recent years as part of a wider ambition to regenerate the area, with number 19 – home to Next and Monsoon – its latest acquisition.
Max Reeves, development director at Helmsley Group, said: “Helmsley Group hugely welcomes the Street Life project to Coney Street. Coney Street and the connected riverfront have been vital to York’s growth and prosperity for more than 1,000 years and they have a similarly important role to play in the city’s ongoing success.
“It’s vital that our vision for Coney Street, which we’ll be sharing publicly over the coming months, is shaped collaboratively with the public and key city stakeholders and Street Life is an important element in helping to achieve this.
“We are grateful to the university of York and other partners from across York, including York Civic Trust, the York Conservation Trust, City of York Council and the York Music Venue Network, for spearheading Street Life and we look forward to using the insights gathered for the good of the city.”