ANALYSIS: We look at how old shipping containers could transform Piccadilly

It's a bit blocky, perhaps. But there's a broad, welcoming entrance with a bright sign overhead and a buzz of music and conversation drifting out from inside. There's also a tantalising whiff of something spicy - fresh-cooked curry, perhaps, or Mexican tacos.

You walk through, to find yourself in a long, open space. Part is roofed in timber, part open to the sky. To your left is a local craft store, a kiosk selling edgy fashions and a gallery stocked with work by local artists. Down the right-hand side, meanwhile, is a row of kiosks - a bar, a coffee shop, and a series of street-food outlets.

Inside Spark:York - architect's drawing

Locals are queuing up for spicy burritos, and what looks like Jamaican black bean soup. More people are sitting at tables in the centre of the aisle, tucking into their food and listening to the music drifting up from the local jazz combo playing at the far end of the building.

Welcome to Spark:York, York's food-and-culture community based in converted shipping containers which could occupy the former Reynard's Garage site for the next three years.

At the moment, it is just a dream in the mind of three local young entrepreneurs. But soon - by the end of June, in fact - this could all be very real.

The idea has already got the approval in principle of City of York Council's executive, and a formal planning application was submitted this week.

Spark:York's three directors are fairly confident they know where they can get the 20 shipping containers needed to construct the centre free of charge. A firm in Leeds has quoted a reasonable price to convert them by cutting out doors and adding interior cladding.

All that work could be done off site. And if all goes well and planning approval is granted, the containers could all be hoisted into place in just a single day at the end of April or beginning of May, says Joe Gardham, one of Spark:York's three directors. That would give the 50 local businesses planning to move in more than a month to get their kiosks ready.

Joe Gardham at the old Reynard's Garage site where Spark:York would be

So what is it going to be like, if and when it does go ahead?

Buzzing but not intrusive, Mr Gardham says. Early artist's sketches showed the containers painted bright colours and stacked upon each-other like giant lego bricks.

The architect's drawings which accompanied this week's planning application were a bit more sober, however. The shipping containers will be arranged to form a large, two-floored structure, with an entrance at each end. The outside will be mostly timber-clad so, partly in response to public feedback, it will be much less in-your-face than those early drawings might have suggested.

Inside, however, it will be a different matter. "There will be artistic licence!" Mr Gardham says. "It will be vibrant, diverse."

So what will you be able to see and do as you walk through Spark:York? In addition to the food kiosks and local craft and fashion outlets, there will be a large exhibition space on the ground floor for local artists and photographers to show off their work.

Spark:York as it might look from the top of Fenwicks

There will be more seating areas under an open courtyard and, in a more enclosed space at the south end, an area that doubles as flexible open-plan working space for community businesses and a free meeting space for local groups. This will also be used to stage live performances.

Plans for a more open performance stage have been dropped following consultation, Mr Gardham says, out of consideration for people living nearby. Spark:York has also produced a noise management plan - which will include the appointment of a dedicated 'noise manager' to monitor noise levels and respond to any complaints.

Upstairs, there will be a long, wooden-floored boardwalk running the full length of the centre along the Piccadilly side, with views down to the exhibition space and shops below. There will also be more shops, bars and restaurants and, at the north end looking out over Merchantgate, a large decked area set with tables and chairs. You'll be able to order a cup of coffee and relax there while looking out over the street.

The first floor 'boardwalk' that would run along one side of Spark:York

The idea is very much for this to be a social enterprise, Mr Gardham says. It will be a place where local people with an interesting idea for a business can come to see if they can make it work.

Rents would be kept low - £80 a week for a ten foot wide kiosk taking up a quarter of a container; £150 a week for a 20 foot wide kiosk - and the plan is for the vast majority of the businesses moving in here to be 'start-ups'.

Spark:York has had more than 260 'expressions of interest' from local entrepreneurs interested in taking up space in the customised shipping containers.

They ranged from a would-be estate agent to people wanting to sell their own crafts and jewellery to a proposal for a gents barber shop. There were also lots of foodie ideas: someone who wanted to set up a small bakery; a Jamaican chef; a woman who wanted to sell cakes shaped like famous York landmarks such as Clifford's Tower and the Minster; someone who dreamed of setting up a bar selling cocktails made only from fresh ingredients, not syrup.

Bird's Eye view of Spark York as it would look from the River Foss

The whole thing would be run as a registered 'community interest company' - meaning that profits will be re-invested in things that are seen as beneficial to the people of York.

So the idea is that there will be a host of activities going on during the day, say Mr Gardham: workshops where older people can learn how to use social media and smartphone technology; activities for children and their parents; regular fitness sessions. There will also be live performances.

But the place could really come alive in the evening, Mr Gardham hopes. York has that awful 'dead' period between 5pm and 8pm when the working day has ended, but there's nothing to do and nowhere to go in the centre of York except a pub or bar.

Spark:York could help change that, he believes. It could be a place to come in the early evening to meet friends, enjoy a cup of coffee, listen to music, or catch a new exhibition - all without necessarily having to touch a drop of alcohol.

Sounds promising...

SPARK:YORK WHO'S WHO

Joe Gardham, 36. York born-and-bred, the father of two studied to be a PE teacher at York St John University before getting a job with Clinks, a national charity which helps voluntary organisations that work with offenders and their families. In 2014, he set up Social Vision, a York-based firm which provides hands-on communications support to small, socially-minded organisations.

Tom McKenzie, 23. Originally from Acomb, Mr McKenzie graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in business leadership and corporate management. He is back in York, and is a well-known food blogger who is one half of the A Pair of Dirty Pigs blog.

Tom McKenzie

Sam Leach, 23. Mr Leach grew up in Appleton Roebuck, and has a masters degree in international political economy. He lives in Holgate, once worked at Wetherspoons, and no works full-time for Spark:York.

Sam Leach

SPARK:YORK TIMELINE

A formal planning application was submitted this week. Entrepreneurs and people with a business idea who'd like to move into the Spark:York site have until April 7 to make a formal application. Applicants will then be 'sifted' by the three Spark:York directors, Joe Gardham says, before being invited to be interviewed by a Spark:York advisory board made up of experienced local business people.

If planning permission is granted, the 20 shipping containers which will make up Spark: York will be hoisted into place on a single day at the end of April or beginning of May. The local businesses moving in would then have more than a month to get their kiosks ready, before an opening at the end of June.

The plan is for Spark:York to be a temporary centre, running for three years until June 2020. Could it be there for longer?

That's not in the plan at the moment, Joe Gardham says, but if there was an opportunity to extend the tenure, that would be great. If not, the idea would be to try to recreate Spark:York somewhere else in York, in a location yet to be identified.

THE SPARK:YORK BUSINESS MODEL

Spark:York will be low-cost. The shipping containers will, hopefully, be free, and the city council would not be charging rent for the three years the centre is at Piccadilly, Mr Gardham says - though Spark:York would have to pay all utility bills, and there is an agreement that it will also pay the council 30 per cent of any profits.

The three directors have budgeted for £300,000 to get the place up and running. They are putting some of the money up themselves, and have also had a significant anonymous donation. If planning permission is given, there are also other pledges from 'high net-worth individuals in York', Mr Gardham says.

Rents for kiosk-holders are likely to be £80 a week for small kiosks, rising to £150 a week for kiosks that take up half a container. There will also be small 'turnover commissions' paid to Spark:York by kiosk holders, though new start-ups will be exempt from these for the first year. All profits will be invested in activities and workshops for public benefit, Mr Gardham says.

But isn't there a danger low-cost city centre kiosks such as these could be seen as unwelcome competition for stallholders at Shambles Market?

Apparently not. “We support this initiative," says Chris Price, Make It York's markets manager. "It will add a new dimension to York’s food, retail and entertainment offer and it’s a good example of young entrepreneurs bringing something totally different to the city."