Work begins to transform the site behind the railway station into York Central next week.
Site clearance will start the process to unlock the 42 hectare site, which will provide:
- up to 2,500 new homes
- up to 1.2 million square feet of commercial development
- and an all-new experience at the National Railway Museum.
City of York Council and contractors John Sisk and Son are now talking to businesses and delivering letters to around 300 neighbouring residents ahead of the works taking place.
Three buildings will be demolished as part of this initial work:
- the disused concrete works building next to Bishopfields Drive and Phoenix Boulevard
- the disused wagon repair depot on Network Rail land
- the disused Unipart building, neighbouring York Station.
A site compound will be created, and vegetation cleared.
Leeman Road tunnel will close for three nights from Tuesday 2 February to allow overnight delivery of cabins required for the construction site. This will be limited to a small number of overnight closures between 11:16pm and 6.00am.
‘Welcome and positive news’
More than 300 mature trees will be planted during the next phases of infrastructure works, while the development also includes the largest park in the city for 100 years.
Councillor Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance, said: “This is very welcome and positive news, and a reminder to all our residents that our city is ready to recover from the pandemic and attract the jobs and investment we need to achieve this.
“We’re working closely with John Sisk and Sons to limit any disruption to neighbouring residents and businesses, and to keep them informed of any works.
“I can also reassure residents that essential journeys will not be affected. The night-only road closures won’t happen until after the last bus, and there will always be a small diversion in place.
“As ever, we thank all local residents and businesses for their patience.”
The aim of the York Central site is to create around 20,000 new jobs and add £2.4 billion a year to the economy by the mid-2030s.
A £155 million funding pot has been secured from central and regional government for the work.