Work to start on major York regeneration scheme

Construction work has been given the go-ahead for York Central after City of York Council’s planning committee approved infrastructure works backed by £77M of government funding.

The York Central development will include 2,500 new homes; up to 111,000m² of commercial development and improved visitor access to the National Railway Museum. The area has enterprise zone status, with around 6,500 new jobs expected to be created, which will provide a £1.2bn boost to the local economy.

Peter Freeman, Chair of Homes England, said: “York Central is one of the most important brownfield sites in the country and this exciting project will create homes, jobs and a better visitor experience for the city.

“Starting work on the infrastructure brings this development much closer and we look forward to working with all the project partners on behalf of the government to unlock this challenging site.”

Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said: “This is another vital step towards delivering the York Central scheme and unlocking a £1.16bn boost to our economy, including a new generation of jobs and hundreds of affordable homes when York needs it most.

“I would like to thank all our partners, including Homes England, Network Rail and the wider York Central Partnership, who have secured funding from West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the York and North Yorkshire LEP. Working together, we are delivering where decades of proposals have failed.

“Our shared vision is for an ambitious development, one which delivers cleaner and inclusive growth in York.

“We remain committed to working with local communities to make sure York Central delivers for all our residents, and we will begin the next phase of My York Central in the coming months.”