York Central scheme 'can be biggest change to city since the Romans', says council leader Keith Aspden

It is hoped the anchor for the scheme would be new offices for around 3,000 Government workers, while up to 2,500 homes may also be built.

The York Central project began in 2014 and site clearance started in January 2021 but Mr Aspden said the devolution deal for the city can help accelerate the process.

“One big thing in the deal is a commitment to extend the York Central enterprise zone. What that brings immediately is an extra £50m onto the table for the York Central development,” he said.

“It is all about the quality of the public realm and the access arrangements.

“You need to be negotiating and working with Government to achieve those things.

“What they are calling a Government hub and business events space would be for up to 3,000 civil servants and a new build immediately next to the railway station.

“Obviously that brings existing civil service jobs and new civil service jobs to the city but equally it would provide a really visible first anchor tenant for York Central.”

Mr Aspden said the nearby National Railway Museum’s Vision 2025 expansion scheme is a “big driver” behind an ambitious timeline for the York Central scheme.

“For them, being able to do their investment for the NRM links to needing some of that infrastructure in place,” he said.

“That is a very ambitious date to do such a major piece of infrastructure work but all the partners are signed up to work in that direction.

“The conversations with civil servants are really positive in terms of the hub being a really early part of the commercial phases of York Central.

“You’d be hopefully looking at 2026/27 because my understanding is that it would obviously provide the Civil Service with new space. They’ve already committed to bringing hundreds of new Cabinet Office jobs to the city.

“Equally they have other buildings in the city, for example the Ministry of Defence and a lot of Defra jobs. Potentially it would give the opportunity to rationalise part of what they do. So they will have those time pressures. I’m really positive that there are enough time pressures here that will make everybody work together in order to achieve that as quickly as possible.”

He added: “York Central is something others have been talking about for decades. But for the council, working with a lot of partners, to get to the point of actually delivering a scheme that will create new jobs, create at least 2,500 new homes, a new public space, a new museum is in many ways the sort of biggest game-changing development for York since the Romans.

“It is genuinely a really big economic regeneration opportunity that will make a big difference for hundreds of years to come.”

Mr Aspden said the momentum to bring the project to life was already there, but the devolution deal and the associated work with Government officials can now help turn it into a reality.

“What is useful about this devolution deal is not just that there is a black-and-white commitment to working with us to unlock the hub and actually get those civil service jobs here as soon as possible but there is also the commitment from the Treasury to look at that extension to that enterprise zone. It won’t make a difference to York Central happening or not happening but will ensure the quality of York Central is maintained.

“It is really important to have that quality there from Day One in terms of the infrastructure and the public square.

“This is a big development and a big change for York. You’ve got to make it right and of a high quality and the devolution deal will certainly help us to do that.”

Concern over mayoral system

Keith Aspden said that while he does have concerns about plans for a new mayor for York and North Yorkshire as part of the devolution deal, he feels it is the right approach on balance.

The Government has established different tiers for devolution deals, with those agreeing to the mayoral model able to access more funding and powers.

While York is run by the Liberal Democrats, it is likely that the mayor will be a Conservative due to the wider political make-up of North Yorkshire.

Mr Aspden said: “It would be fair to say there are concerns about how it might work but on balance I think what it gets York as a city - economically, in terms of transport and access to Whitehall, is worth doing.”