A NEW “Great Park” with a steam train running through it is at the centre of plans for the York Central development.

A public square, hundreds of affordable homes and new urban quarters based around railway heritage are also on the cards for the city centre site.

A masterplan for the 72 hectare plot has gone on show at the National Railway Museum, with dozens of possibilities of how the disused railway land could become a new part of the city centre.

At the centre of the proposals is a new “Great Park’”- dubbed a “major asset for the city” - which would link the existing Millennium Green park to a new public square being planned for the western entrance to the railway station.

At the exhibition, which is open for another six weeks, the York Central Partnership describes the Great Park as a “sweeping green space” that will be “valley-like” at its Millennium Green end, with an emphasis on woodland and wetland features.

Closer to the centre of town however, the National Railway Museum will run steam train rides along the park’s edge with railway artefacts as a “reminder” of the site’s history.

The railway station is in for a major upgrade with a new entrance on the west side of the station complete with parking and drop-off. The existing entrance could also change, in a separate project running alongside the York Central plans, and Queen Street Bridge could be demolished and bus stops and parking moved away from the station to create another new public space.

The land is also being proposed as a major housing site, with as many as 2,500 new homes possible - with 20 per cent of them affordable.

The masterplan reveals several new “quarters” based around railway heritage - including “York Yard South” between the railway and the new Great Park, and a lower scale “Foundry Village”. Some terraces and town houses could go up on the site, but the homes are expected to be predominantly apartments, it adds.

Opening on Wednesday, the exhibition has already welcomed visitors who have left their feedback on the proposals.

Cycling campaigner Paul Hepworth said the future of Marble Arch and the Leeman Road tunnel would be key to how the site worked.

The partnership is suggesting several uses for the tunnel - from two way traffic in the larger tunnel and shared pedestrian and cyclist use of the smaller one, to using traffic lights to cut vehicle access down to just one lane and creating a segregated cycle lane.

Another early visitor to the exhibition was Phillip Crowe, who’s involved in the York Environment Forum. He said he could see two big issues with the proposals - one being the impact the new access road would have on Millennium Green, and another being the high number of homes proposed for the land.

Tamsin Hart-Jones, project lead from York Central Partnership, said: “The exhibition has been designed to encourage the people of York to join the conversation around this landmark development. We want to hear ideas on what makes a good place to live, work and relax and the thoughts and aspirations that people share will help inform the upcoming planning submissions and shape longer-term thinking around the site.

“This underused land has a lot of potential to be transformed into residential communities and business neighbourhoods which will help power York’s local economy and generate new jobs for the city. Residents and visitors can have a real influence on how the project develops so we want the people of York to share their feedback with us at the exhibition or online.”

The exhibition will be open daily until Friday, April 27, 10am to 6pm. Staff are there to answer questions until Friday this week, and then every Tuesday 11am -1pm, Thursday 2.30pm-5.30pm, and Saturday 11am-3pm.