Work set to start on landmark regeneration development in York to bring thousands of jobs and new homes to the heart of the city

The long-awaited York Central project, which is centred on a sprawling 110-acre brownfield site around the city’s railway station, is due to create a new generation of jobs, housing, leisure and cultural facilities.

York Council announced yesterday that its officers and contractors are in talks with businesses and letters are being sent to 300 neighbouring residents before initial works begin to clear the site from next week.

Council leader Keith Aspden said: “York Central remains one of the most important and attractive regeneration sites in the country and is an opportunity that many other towns and cities in the UK would envy.

“We will continue to work together to deliver on the ambitions of the York Central project - driving inclusive growth and creating a new sustainable community in the heart of the city.”

The landmark York Central development is being delivered by the council in partnership by Network Rail, Homes England and the National Railway Museum.

Homes England and Network Rail have supported the development of the site through land acquisition and planning, and they will now oversee the infrastructure projects. John Sisk and Son has been appointed as the lead contractor for the site clearance works.

The work is part of a wider £155m fund secured by the York Central Partnership to deliver infrastructure to open up the site for development.

The aim is to create as many as 20,000 new jobs and add £2.4bn a year to the economy by the mid-2030s.

Up to 2500 new homes, 1.2m square feet of commercial development as well as vastly improved access for visitors to the National Railway Museum are also set to be built.

More than 300 mature trees will be planted in the next phases of works, while the plans also include creating the largest park in York for 100 years and areas to encourage biodiversity.

The works to clear the site for the York Central development are expected to start from next week.

The programme will include creating a site compound and temporary access road, as well as clearing vegetation on land owned by Homes England and Network Rail.

Three disused buildings are set to be removed, and the work will include the overnight closures of the Leeman Road tunnel for three nights from Tuesday.