Agenda item

An update on York Central development and Riverside Path project.

1.    MAIN MEETING – WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS (18:00)

The meeting was jointly chaired by Councillors Taylor and Steels-Walshaw who welcomed everyone and set out the housekeeping rules and reminded residents that the meeting was non-political.

 

2.    Riverside Path project

Councillor Taylor provided a brief outline of the project background. Riverside path upgrade is a significant project which will result in improved access between Leeman Road and the city centre. Although ward councillors tried to make a condition that the path is upgraded prior to closure of Leeman Road, that wasn’t possible. The important matter is that the project is moving forward now, and we are looking at implementation without further delays.

 

Councillor Taylor invited James Williams, Transport Systems Programme Manager , City of York Council to outline the project in more detail.

Project aims and deliverables include:

 

• Widening or segregating the riverside path to reduce the likelihood of conflict between pedestrians and cyclists.
• Improved lighting and security.
• Raising the level of the path in particular at low points to reduce the impact of river flood events.
• Provide more seating and rest areas along the route.
• Revise parking and traffic movement on Jubilee Terrace to reduce conflict between motor vehicles and path users.

 

A consultation undertaken over November and December 2024 informed the design that was agreed by the Executive Member for Transport and is being presented today. The scheme is divided into three sections:

·       Section A Jubilee Terrace

·       Section B1 Cinder Lane Field 1

·       Section B2 Cinder Lane Low Point

Installation of double yellow lines outside the church was consulted on earlier this summer. Some of the improvements proposed across all 3 sections of the route had to be descoped to make the project affordable.

A new cycle path parallel to the existing one will be created along Section B1. The existing path along this section will remain in its current position for use by pedestrians and will be partially resurfaced.

Both paths will merge along Section B2 with a 2m wide footway raised 6cm higher than the 2,5m wide cycle track allowing pedestrians and cyclists segregation.

Those improvements should reduce the average number of days when the path is under water from 9 to 5 per year. River flooding level peaked at 3,5m last night and the existing path would flood if the river level was 3,6m or higher. The original design was to raise the path by 80cm, however that had to be downscaled to 30cm in places most prone to flooding to bring the project within available budget.

A new shared space will be created close to Scarborough Bridge providing better sight lines through the underpass. Appropriate signage requesting cyclists to share the path with care will be erected at that location.

Stakeholders such as the Network Rail and Environment Agency must have an input in relation to impact of the project on their assets. Work is proposed to provide flood compensation area close to the Water Lane Bridge.

City of York Council service areas involved with the project are Planning/Legal in relation to creation of a new adopted highway and Highways in relation to future maintenance of the path.

Inspections indicated that chambers located by the Scarborough Bridge are redundant. The intention is to infill them and realign the pathway to create 8-10m wide additional shared space which will improve sightlines at the Scarborough Bridge.

 

James thanked everyone who responded to the recent Jubilee Terrace TRO Advertisement. Responses received generated a need for further Executive Member for Transport decision. A paper outlining potential additional options such as timed restrictions, permit systems, no amendment will be proposed for consideration.

The proposed TRO process does not prevent the path project from moving forward.

 

Funding towards the project comes fromActive Travel England, York Central Enterprise Zone and Section 106 developer contributions. It is ringfenced towards delivery of this project and the intention is to proceed without delays. Alternative funding sources are being explored to enable implementation of items that have been descoped from the project i.e. installation of CCTV.

Installation of features and murals along the wall has been suggested, however it would require funding and would be subject to planning approval process. 

 

Ousewem project - a collaboration to tell the story of York’s relationship with water will have its soft launch on 28^th of September as part of the York Walking Festival. More information can be found on https://www.ousewem.co.uk/

 

In terms of the timeline a detailed design completion, including stakeholder approval/signoff is expected during winter 25/26. The construction is expected to commence in spring 2026 and CYC Highways Department have been approached to see if they would be interested in leading on the construction. It is expected that the new path will be opened to the public in summer 2026.

 

At this point Cllr Taylor invited questions in respect of the project.

 

Q – Will the existing access to the path from Aldborough Way be affected by the new proposal?

A – The project will feature a revised entrance point from St Barnabas Close/Regents Court.

 

Q – Will I be able to use the path during the construction?

A – The intention is for the path to be open to the public for the duration of construction work; however we have to provide safe working zone and may need to close the path at times, potentially overnight. A construction delivery plan will be compiled as part of the detailed design process

 

Q – What is the gap between budget available and funding required to achieve items that have been descoped?

A – There is £1,7m available towards the project. With items that have been descoped the total budget required would be £2,2m, so we have a gap of £500k.

 

Q – Is there funding set aside towards future maintenance of the path?

A – We are in conversation with the CYC Highways in respect of that matter.

 

Q – Do we know who owns the wall along the path?

A – The wall is in City of York ownership.

 

Q – Will the wall be repaired as part of the project?

A – We can investigate wall repairs as part of the maintenance work.

 

Q – Does creation of the new adopted highway mean it will have a Public Right Of Way status?

A – It means that it will move to the CYC Highways department for maintenance. CYC Highway regulation have indicated the adoption of the new path as Adopted Highway means that a separate application to designate the area as a Public Right of Way is not required.

 

 

Q – Will marble arch lighting be improved?

A – It is not in the scope of this project. The riverside path will benefit from improved lighting as part of the project.

 

Q – Could you explain the pedestrian and cyclist arrangements along the path?

A – The intention is for pedestrians to move along the existing path close to the wall and for cyclists to use the path away from the wall.

 

Q – I’m under the impression that the Executive Member for Transport have already made their mind up about the proposed TRO.

A- We advertised the proposal and as a next step will be making the Executive Member for Transport aware of comments received and proposing options to be considered at a further Executive Member Decision Session.

 

Q – Can paper maps shown on the slideshow be accessed at West Offices?

A – We will look at that.

 

Q - There used to be a sign at Scarborough Bridge asking cyclists to dismount. Can it be put back up?

A – This type of signage should not be used in case the cyclist is not able to dismount. The intention is to erect signage suggesting sharing the path with care.

 

A comment was made by a resident whose daughter uses the riverside path for commute after dark that CCTV and improved lighting are of significant importance.

A – Most certainly we will look at these as part of the project.

 

 

At this point Cllr Taylor thanked James Williams and introduced Allan Cook who spoke about York Central development.

 

An outline planning application for York Central development has already been approved and the next stage will be a submission of reserved matters application on 4^th of November 2025.

Arlington Estates is a joint partner with McLaren Regeneration and together will be delivering the York Central development.

We must operate within boundaries of the existing planning consent. Our design team are looking at each element of the plan before reserved matters application is submitted.

Official consultation event will be hosted at the National Railway Museum on the 6^th of October, and everyone is welcome to attend.

 

Allan used a PowerPoint to provide a visual presentation.

• Illustrative masterplan
• Reserved Matters (RM) consent for Infrastructure, Government Hub building and National Railway Museum Central Hall and Museum Square have already been approved.
• The next RM application is a lot bigger and includes public realm, commercial space and  c1000 new homes, of which 20% will be affordable housing.
• Positive engagement with CYC Planning Officers and ongoing public consultation is currently underway.
• Due to the scale of RM application several architects have been appointed to design specific elements of the development, all of which is being overseen by Allies & Morrison as masterplan architect.
• The RM application represents about a third of the entire York Central development and features a 213 bed hotel, new station entrance, an office building incorporating an innovation hub, all fronting on to a new public square, plus 999 homes and a public park
• Residential buildings will be a mix of apartments and houses varying in height from 6  to 3 storeys with the lower density housing being closer to Water End.
• Pedestrian connectivity and cycling infrastructure.
• Network Rail will be delivering a new pedestrian and cycle access from Holgate Road by way of a new bridge replacing the current Wilton Rise footbridge as well as improving and extending the pedestrian bridge within the railway station. The bridge extension will provide passive provision for an additional platform to be delivered in the future.
• The western station entrance will feature a cycle hub incorporating 400 bicycle parking spaces, the upper levels housing food and café outlets and a site management suite.

• The Innovation Hub will be designed to the highest sustainability standards, targeting <350 grams of embedded carbon per square metre by utilising the latest timber construction technology with view to attracting innovators and employers to York creating  high value jobs.
• The public squares have been designed to be available to host events e.g. screening live sport such as the Wimbledon. The main square will feature water fountains.

• A high street populated by local independent retailers, akin to Bishopthorpe Road, will be created.
• A range of different housing types will be delivered which will feature apartment/mansion blocks nearest the new station entrance reducing in height to town houses as we move away from the station towards Water End.
• The Foundry Quarter will feature apartment buildings and town houses, with approx. 400 units in that space.
• On site flood attenuation sits beneath part of the park.

The public park will feature themed areas including a woodland.

Although not yet guaranteed we are continuing to explore how we could deliver a heated Lido subject to securing an appropriate heat source. One potential option for this would be to utilise waste heat from a data centre and discussions are currently ongoing with an operator.

 

 

Q – Will there be a link to the park from the adjoining housing?

A – Although there was some resistance to this earlier Homes England/ Network Rail are currently looking to provide this link,.

 

Q – How much parking space will be provided on the development?

A – At this stage we are dealing with reserved matters for Phase 1 only.

A comment was made that the development will generate many more car journeys making York less attractive for visitors.

A - It is our intention to try minimising car use as much as possible although some car use is essential to ensure that there is access for all and York Access Forum is being consulted in relation to this. We are envisaging a car light, yet mobility rich development, – easy to walk/cycle with good access to public transport etc. and the need for parking will be dealt with incrementally through this and future reserved matters applications.

 

Q – Will there be new schools, dentists, doctor surgeries and other infrastructure provided to serve the planned 3000 new homes and is the development open to anybody to purchase a property?

A – There will be a mix of 1 to 4 bed properties.

We want the development to appeal to every age group.

We want to provide affordable housing for York and the ambition is that 40% of those will be affordable, which is a double the minimum requirement under the planning consent.

Most of the affordable homes will be social housing managed by a social housing provider.

Anybody will be able to purchase/rent the balance of the properties via open market.

A- Cllr Steels-Walshaw added that funding is secured towards a neighbourhood health hub which will be created for the area.

Section 106 funding contributes towards infrastructure.

There is no requirement for a new school building, but the Council is reshaping existing schools’ provision.

 

A concern was raised about public transport provision for the Leeman Road area and a risk that the bus service will diminish once the development is built and new access from the Water End bridge is open.

A – Cllr Taylor confirmed intention is to continue with bus service and Councillors have been pushing to protect bus service for the Leeman Road ‘island’. We see that from a private operator perspective it will be easier to bypass the ‘island’. As Councillors we are pressing for reliable bus service for the area, however the final bus routes have not been decided yet. 

 

Q – Is there a timeline for what has already been approved? The National Railway Museum does not seem to be in a hurry with construction of the new building.

A – The National Railway Museum are keen to start construction as soon as possible; however, they need to wait until Leeman Road has been formally stopped up  before they can start on site. As soon as the traffic order goes through, building work will commence on site.

 

Q – Is there a milestone for completion of the entire York Central development?

A – Yes, there is a programme in place for the entire site. We are currently working on Phase 1 and subject to reserved matters approval we are planning to start construction by this time next year with completion planned for 2028 with future phases to follow.

 

Q – Have the infrastructure requirements for the whole development been holistically considered?

A – We have fixed obligations to provide this under the outline planning consent in the form of section 106 obligations and planning conditions.

Each reserved matters application triggers various section 106 obligations which will be delivered at each respective stage.

We are currently in dialogue with the City of York Council and NHS in respect of health provision for phase 1 as there is a desire to improve the original proposal by delivering a health village.

There is space for a new health village in later phases and we want to encourage that to be developed. .

 

Q – Is the CCTV camera that is up already at the old corner of Leeman Road, by the Marble Arch and facing the town operational?

A – Yes I believe that camera is operational. The work at Marble Arch is temporary and being delivered by Homes England and John Sisk as their contractor.

 

Q – A promise was made previously that before Leeman Road is closed and the new road opened it will be covered by CCTV.

A – Councillors will investigate this. From the developer perspective pedestrian safety is paramount. We ensure that all routes are fit for purpose and designed with safety in mind.

 

Q – Can we ensure that affordable homes are for those people who need them and not purchased as second homes?

A – Allocation of the social housing will be managed by the chosen social housing provider. It is expected that there will be a nominations agreement in place between the provider and the council.

Cllr Taylor added that we face a situation with people competing on who has it worse, the need for housing is severe and part of national picture. The properties for sale on the open market will be out of our control.

 

Q – Could you outline how the new public park will be managed?

A – We don’t have a definite answer at this stage.

The park will be managed by us during the development stage, and we hope that over the coming years while we are on site we will be able to build capacity within the community to take it over from us. We would like to support residents to form a group to manage and benefit from the park and to encourage this we have pledged 5% of our profits to support such a group. We are also looking to collaborate with Askham Bryan College who are interested in using the site for students training.

 

Q – What is the plan for resident’s car access via Marble Arch?

A – It is under consideration.

Although there is little traffic flowing currently, most stakeholders believe that a bus gate at that location would be a good idea.

This would have to be in line with the wider city transport plan and we continue to lobby for it.

Councillors are supportive of people living in this area being able to access their homes via Marble Arch route. There is technology to facilitate registration plate recognition.

 

Q – Could you explain current traffic flow arrangements at Marble Arch?

A - The current traffic arrangements at Marble Arch are temporary with contraflow controlled by traffic lights – you are being held outside the tunnel to give way to oncoming traffic.

 

Q – How will the new Water End access affect cyclists and pedestrians?

A – A new bridge extension is currently being constructed on site to extend the Water End bridge to create a dedicated right turn towards York Central. It will become a seamless route with dedicated cycle lane that will link with the existing pedestrian and cycle route.

 

 

Before closing the meeting Councillor Steels-Walshaw invited everyone to attend the consultation event on 6^th of October. The meeting closed at 20:00