Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director of City Development setting out the costs and funding package for the relevant works and/or services and seeks delegations to allow such works and/or services to be procured.

Resolved (unanimously):

That Executive

a.     Notes the evolution from the original masterplan scheme to the proposed scheme as summarised in Appendix 1,and the progress to date around planning submission and scheme development.

b.     Approves the total project funding package of up to £9.934m, to deliver the Castle and Eye of York and Coppergate car park works, comprised of both Council and external funding as set out from paragraph 56 of the report.

c.     Approves the inclusion of the scheme in the York Prospectus (Executive agenda item 15) to seek additional external funding. In the event that the bid is not successful, approve the virement of £1.5m from the highways programme to the Castle Gateway scheme across the years 2026/27 to 2028/29.

d.     Approves the improvements to be made to Coppergate car park to ensure that it is an attractive, safe and convenient alternative parking option for all users, including potential to extend hours of operation at an estimated cost of £200k (included in the £9.934m).

e.     Approves the procurement of contractors and specialist support services to enable timely completion of the scheme (pending Planning ref 22/00209/FULM with further details submitted on 4^th July 2025). The works are subject to the granting of planning permission.

f.       Delegates authority to the Director of City Development, in consultation with the Director of Governance, Head of Procurement and the Director of Finance, to procure such contractors and/or consultants and to take such steps as are necessary to award and enter into any resulting contracts for works and/or services for the completion of the Scheme and the proposed works at Coppergate car park (including (where applicable) any and all planning agreements and/or highways/land agreements as required and any grant terms and conditions relating to any external funding bids as may be necessary) as well as any subsequent modification and/or extension to any such contracts post-award); (however for the sake of clarity this delegation is not for any requirements of either the Local Planning and/or Highways Authority). The delegations given in this recommendation must be exercised within the budgets approved within this report.

g.     Agree the permanent closure of Castle Car Park to non-blue badge parking, from 2026 and accept the associated loss of income and unavoidable growth pressure in future revenue budget processes. Approve the associated package of mitigation (to include works to Coppergate Car Park and exploring potential future works to St George’s Field Surface Car Park - to be considered as part of the wider Movement and Place workstream both subject to the granting of any necessary planning permission). To note that during the construction period the car park will very likely be closed to all users, including blue badge holders, though the extent and impact of such closures on blue badge holders will be sought to be mitigated.

Reason:

h.     To allow the progression of the Castle and Eye of York scheme to deliver this project which has been a longstanding development ambition of the city and partners. This will deliver transformative benefits across a range of outputs and outcomes. To finally realise key city benefits, with mechanisms in place to ensure appropriate management of budget and project risk profile, and to do so in a manner which mitigates any potential adverse impacts on Council revenue, transport networks and local businesses.

The Director of City Development submitted a report which detailed the costs and funding package for the relevant works and/or services and sought delegations to allow such works and/or services to be procured.

The following information was appended to the report:

-      Summary diagram: Scheme Development 2022 – 2025

-      Castle Gateway Parking Options Paper

-      Equalities Impact Assessment.

The following officers were in attendance for this item:

-      Garry Taylor, Director of City Development

-      Ben Murphy, Head of City Development.

The key areas of discussion were:

·        In response to a query about some of the financial implications, the Director of City Development confirmed that there was additional revenue borrowing. In relation to parking data this was based on information collated by the Council. It related to income received over the course of the year, parking trends in relation to park and ride and city centre demand. Worst case revenue implications had been applied. There was reported to be significant car parking capacity, particularly at Coppergate. The report took account of peak times, such as Christmas and over the summer months, and on weekends. A strategic approach had been applied with a particular focus on the park and ride. It was noted that investment in the park and ride had been approved at the October Executive meeting.

·        The Executive Member reported that there had been an evolution of plans which had resulted in significant changes. The development of a multi-story car park in the city centre had been removed on the basis that it did not fit with the transport strategy as it encouraged more cars into the city centre. The revised plans provided people in the city with family friendly green space. There had been some additional costs incurred due to the HVM measures that had been included on the advice of security experts. It was noted that blue badge parking had been retained in a space that was closest to large parts of the city centre and provided a significant number of car parking spaces. It was reported that there may be some additional borrowing, which was £1.5m if the amount could not be utilised from external sources.

Resolved (unanimously):

That Executive

a.     Notes the evolution from the original masterplan scheme to the proposed scheme as summarised in Appendix 1,and the progress to date around planning submission and scheme development.

b.     Approves the total project funding package of up to £9.934m, to deliver the Castle and Eye of York and Coppergate car park works, comprised of both Council and external funding as set out from paragraph 56 of the report.

c.     Approves the inclusion of the scheme in the York Prospectus (Executive agenda item 15) to seek additional external funding. In the event that the bid is not successful, approve the virement of £1.5m from the highways programme to the Castle Gateway scheme across the years 2026/27 to 2028/29.

d.     Approves the improvements to be made to Coppergate car park to ensure that it is an attractive, safe and convenient alternative parking option for all users, including potential to extend hours of operation at an estimated cost of £200k (included in the £9.934m).

e.     Approves the procurement of contractors and specialist support services to enable timely completion of the scheme (pending Planning ref 22/00209/FULM with further details submitted on 4^th July 2025). The works are subject to the granting of planning permission.

f.       Delegates authority to the Director of City Development, in consultation with the Director of Governance, Head of Procurement and the Director of Finance, to procure such contractors and/or consultants and to take such steps as are necessary to award and enter into any resulting contracts for works and/or services for the completion of the Scheme and the proposed works at Coppergate car park (including (where applicable) any and all planning agreements and/or highways/land agreements as required and any grant terms and conditions relating to any external funding bids as may be necessary) as well as any subsequent modification and/or extension to any such contracts post-award); (however for the sake of clarity this delegation is not for any requirements of either the Local Planning and/or Highways Authority). The delegations given in this recommendation must be exercised within the budgets approved within this report.

g.     Agree the permanent closure of Castle Car Park to non-blue badge parking, from 2026 and accept the associated loss of income and unavoidable growth pressure in future revenue budget processes. Approve the associated package of mitigation (to include works to Coppergate Car Park and exploring potential future works to St George’s Field Surface Car Park - to be considered as part of the wider Movement and Place workstream both subject to the granting of any necessary planning permission). To note that during the construction period the car park will very likely be closed to all users, including blue badge holders, though the extent and impact of such closures on blue badge holders will be sought to be mitigated.

Reason:

h.     To allow the progression of the Castle and Eye of York scheme to deliver this project which has been a longstanding development ambition of the city and partners. This will deliver transformative benefits across a range of outputs and outcomes. To finally realise key city benefits, with mechanisms in place to ensure appropriate management of budget and project risk profile, and to do so in a manner which mitigates any potential adverse impacts on Council revenue, transport networks and local businesses.