This clears the way for construction to start next year on more than 1,000 homes and a major new commercial district beside the city’s railway station

City of York Council yesterday granted detailed consent for the opening phase of the 110-acre scheme being brought forward by McLaren Regeneration and Arlington Real Estate.

The approved plans for phase 1C include 1,014 mixed-tenure homes, with at least 20% affordable, alongside a 213-bedroom hotel and a new western entrance to York railway station with a civic square.

Key elements of the phase 1C

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• 999 mix-tenure homes with 20% affordable
• 99,188 sq ft innovation hub
• 69,255 sq ft retail and leisure space
• 213-bed hotel
• New western station entrance
• Extensive parkland and public realm

Housing blocks to the rear of the site

Phase one follows more than £135m of government-funded infrastructure work already carried out by Sisk to unlock the former railway land.

This has included new roads, pedestrian and cycle routes and public realm opening up the site behind York station.

Government innovation hub on Coal Drops Square

A separate 134,000 sq ft Government Property Agency office hub for up to 2,600 civil servants and Museum Square have already been approved.

When fully developed, York Central is expected to provide at least 2,500 homes, more than 1m sq ft of commercial space and support around 6,500 jobs.

View of scheme from Coal Drops Yard front

Housing at the rear of the site

The wider development has been talked about for around four decades but has been held back by the complexity of opening up the large brownfield site.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “York Central is a fantastic opportunity to transform derelict brownfield land into thousands of new homes, jobs, and green spaces, giving more people the chance to live and work in this great city.

“By unlocking one of the biggest regeneration projects in the country, we’re turning years of talk into action to drive growth in every region, raise living standards and build the homes communities desperately need.”

John Gatley, chief executive officer of McLaren Property Group, said: “This is a major step forward in securing a prosperous future for the proud and historic city of York.

“While it’s the culmination of many years hard work by a committed public and private sector partnership, the real work starts now as we have the green light to convert our vision to reality.”