York Central: Plans for Government office housing 2,600 employees in Yorkshire as part of efforts to bring investment out of London

Plans for the ‘Government Hub’ would see the six-storey office block built off a public square in York Central between a new boulevard and a planned National Railway Museum expansion.

The application stated it was part of efforts to bring investment out of London by locating new civil service space in other cities.

The plans, from Network Rail, Homes England and the Government Property Agency, is the fourth detailed application submitted as part of the York Central development.

Applications relating to new infrastructure for the 45ha site and a new exhibition hall for the National Railway Museum were approved in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

Another application for new public space which will be known as The Square was lodged with York Council in 2023 and is awaiting a decision.

Plans for the Government Hub stated that it would be the first commercial development in York Central.

They added it was hoped its its location in a prominent part of the site would help stimulate further development.

It would be located between two new streets connected to The Square, Cinder Street and Hudson Boulevard, the latter of which would run parallel to the new Railway Museum building.

The Government Hub would feature a 300sqm rooftop terrace overlooking York.

It would also include secure storage space for 114 bikes.

The six storeys of the building include its basement and designs include retail space on the ground floor which could potentially house a coffee shop.

The building would feature a brick panel exterior and concrete lintels.

Plans stated: “The proposed Hub at York Central would bring together occupiers from multiple government departments in a shared location making more efficient use of space.

“It would accommodate new roles, support the Government’s drive to increase job opportunities in cities and regions across the UK, creating permanent sustainable employment for local people.

“Together with the consolidation of existing of existing roles in York, and new roles coming into the area, the office accommodation would be capable of housing multiple Government departments.”

The plans are set to go before the council’s Planning Committee A on Monday, July 22.

It comes as the Government is set to invest around £135m across the whole of the York Central site in areas such as infrastructure.

Estimates put the amount of added value to York’s economy at £1.16bn, an expansion of about a fifth.

It is expected to create up to 6,500 jobs and the development is set to include up to 2,500 homes and almost 93,000sqm of office, retail and hospitality space.

The development is also set to include cultural spaces and there are plans for an almost 3ha urban park.

Work to install infrastructure on the site including 2km of new roads, bus lanes, footpaths, cycle lanes and two new bridges is currently underway.

Network Rail and Homes England signed a deal with McLaren Property and Arlington Real Estate for them to be the lead developers for the site in April.