City ‘must protect historic core while keeping pace with rivals’

York must safeguard its historic core but has to adapt to compete with neighbouring cities such as Leeds and Hull to ensure people want to spend time in the city, a new planning blueprint warns.

It highlights the area around York railway station as a key area for redevelopment and looks at ways of encouraging more people to use sustainable transport to tackle congestion and air pollution and argues over 20,000 homes should be built – a move that has proved controversial with some – as part of the 15-year vision to shape future development.

The draft plan says “the city centre is not as competitive as it once was” and highlights the need to protect some of the city’s historic sites, which remain a major draw, but says it has to ensure it keeps pace with its neighbours.

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“It is recognised that York City Centre is competing with smart new city centre investments in places such as Hull, Leeds and further afield in Manchester and Newcastle Upon Tyne, but also faces competition from its own ‘out of town locations.’ Whilst the city centre has a lively and diverse range of activities, including some of the most attractive small, niche retailing environments in the country, the physical fabric within which it sits presents challenging movement and accessibility issues.

“Investment to improve this, together with facilitating new development proposals at Castle Piccadilly and Hungate which will bring additional retail and commercial floorspace into the city centre, is important to encourage a greater proportion of the city’s residents to spend time in their city.”

The planning blueprint, being drawn-up to highlight potential future development sites, pinpoints the area around York’s railway station as being a key area where offices can be built, together with housing and space for leisure. It says the station is a key commuter route for the area and it is likely York station will need a major upgrade to cope with a major predicted rise in commuters.

It also suggests that upper floors in city centre buildings could be brought into more use.

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It warns sustainable transport such as walking, cycling and public transport need continuing development to tackle pollution and congestion, while ensuring the centre continues to be easily accessible. Improving sustainable transport and incorporating the latest green designs into developments will also reduce emissions and help tackle air quality, the blueprint says.

Senior councillors have admitted the need to tackle the poor air quality in York. It is estimated that between 94 and 163 people die prematurely in York each year because of the problem.

Earlier this week the draft local plan was discussed by members of York Council’s Local Plan Working Group. It will now be discussed by member’s of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday.

Coun Dave Merrett, chairman of the working group said after the meeting a series of minor changes had been looked at but said no changes to the proposed development sites had been agreed. He said if the draft plan was approved by cabinet it would then go out to public consultation.

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However, speaking after the meeting, Coun Ann Reid, the council’s Liberal Democrat spokesperson for planning and sustainability, questioned why the authority needed to build 1,090 houses a year, including on some green belt sites and questioned why more brownfield sites were not being used.

She called for a rethink of the proposals saying: “What we do know is that growth on this scale would radically alter the character of York and put a strain on existing infrastructure.”

But Coun Merrett said there were not enough brownfield sites to meet development demands and tackle housing shortages in the city.

He said there was a lack of housing and affordable housing in the city and he said high property prices and high rents meant many people were currently being priced out of the city.