Agenda item - York's Southern Gateway

This report sets out proposals to kick-start development along Piccadilly whilst simultaneously exploring the potential use of other council assets in the Southern Gateway (the area around Piccadilly, the Eye of York, St George’s Field and the Foss Basin) to improve and regenerate the area.

Resolved: That the Executive agree to:

(i) Progress to the development stage of the Southern Gateway project and to appoint a Project Manager using grant funding from One Public Estate to take this work forward.

(ii) Commence a procurement exercise to identify a joint venture partner to redevelop 17-21 Piccadilly.

(iii) Create a conceptual framework for development of the Southern Gateway area and prepare for a public consultation.

(iv) Develop a business case for development of the Southern Gateway which will involve undertaking feasibility work to assess the technical, planning and financial deliverability of development of the Southern Gateway. A report will be brought back to Executive to agree a future approach.

(v) A budget of £185,000 to be financed from New Homes Bonus, with specific allocations from the budget to be confirmed by the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council, to enable development of a fully worked up business case for the development of the Southern Gateway area.

(vi) Undertake transport modelling and review parking and access arrangements for the Southern Gateway area.

(vii) Explore potential delivery mechanisms and commence discussions with land owners in the area.

Reason: To deliver early improvement to Piccadilly, to generate capital receipt, and to develop robust plans for the future regeneration of the Southern Gateway area.

The Executive considered a report which set out proposals to kick-start development along Piccadilly and explored the potential use of other council assets in the Southern Gateway around Piccadilly, the Eye of York, St George’s Field and the Foss Basin in order to improve and regenerate the area.

Officers confirmed the need for a fresh vision for this important entrance to the city and the provision of a framework which would allow developers to come forward with proposals for the site to provide a high quality public realm. It was noted that Officers had undertaken preliminary visioning and evaluation work to explore a high level proposition for a scheme however there were a number of technical issues which needed to be overcome. Officers also confirmed that they would welcome Member engagement.

Members expressed their support for the regeneration of the area, the procurement process, financing and for cross party involvement on the future proposals.

In answer to Members’ questions Officers confirmed that demolition on the Reynard’s site would commence on 2 November and take place over a 5 week period. It was also noted that the Environment Agency were being consulted regarding flooding and the development of this area.

Consideration was then given to the following options:

Option 1 - Leave the market to drive change with CYC contributing with the sale for redevelopment of some of its own assets

Option 2 - Develop a comprehensive master planning approach to create a regeneration scheme and use planning policy to control and steer development across the area.

Option 3 - Work with private and public sector land owners to harness the momentum of current developments whilst using CYC assets to maximise development opportunities and establish a quality benchmark for development in the area and it was