York Central site ‘vital’ for city’s ambitions (From York Press)

Analyst Kieran Larkin warns that York Central site ‘vital’ for city’s ambitions

8:56am Thursday 1st October 2009 in News By Stephen Lewis

The York Central site

If York has any aspirations to grow and become a major economic player in the future, it is vital that York Central does go ahead.

That is the warning from Kieran Larkin, the analyst from the Centre For Cities think-tank, who earlier this year wrote a major report on York’s economic future.

York had a number of potential development sites, Mr Larkin wrote in his report. But York Northwest (York Central) in particular, was “critical to the city’s economic future…..It should be the key priority in the council’s efforts to improve the economy.”

Speaking today, Mr Larkin said that, given the prevailing economic circumstances, it was not altogether surprising the scheme had been put on hold.

But nevertheless, the news was a “very big setback for York,” he said.

“We view it (York Central) as being one of the key developments for the future of York,” he said.

“It gives the extra space to expand, to provide housing, to ensure a business base.

“If it doesn’t go ahead, where will business expand to, and where will people live?

“We suggested in our report that the city council must do all it can to keep it moving.”

The council also had to try to fast-track other developments if it was to avoid a slow-down in the city, Mr Larkin said. And it had to ensure Science City continued to grow.

York Central is not the only major development in the city to have been put on hold because of the recession. Hungate has stalled, the Barbican Centre remains in limbo, and Derwenthorpe is mired in European red tape.

Council leader Andrew Waller today insisted that all was not gloom, however.

It was more important than ever the redevelopment of the former Terry’s factory site goes ahead, he said.

He said there should be a decision on Derwenthorpe by the end of the month, there were two very good proposals on the table for the new council HQ – and the University of York’s new campus was pushing ahead. “York is still a good place to do business,” he said.

STEPHEN LEWIS examines routes to getting the York Central development realised.

COUNCIL bosses in York may seek what amounts to a Government loan to help get the stalled York Central development back on track.

Council leader Andrew Waller said he would be “talking to ministers” to see whether it would be possible to borrow against the income from future business rates which would one day be paid by companies which move onto the site.

That money could then be used to build the transport infrastructure – such as a road bridge – which the landlocked York Central badly needs.

That in turn would make the whole project much more attractive to potential developers, Coun Waller said.

Network Rail, Yorkshire Forward and the National Railway Museum, which between them own the huge site behind the railway station, announced yesterday they had suspended the search for a developer.

The recession and the prevailing market conditions had made it impossible to secure a “commercially viable” deal, they said.

The news came as a huge blow. York Central has been identified as being crucial to the future economic prosperity of the city.

According to the Centre For Cities report on York’s future published earlier this year, it would generate a million square feet of office space and 4,000 new homes, as well as creating potentially thousands of jobs.

But Coun Waller insisted today the £1 billion regeneration of the site was not dead in the water. The main problem faced by developers has always been the lack of roads and other transport infrastructure leading into the site.

Coun Waller said he would be approaching ministers to see if York Central could be designated an Accelerated Development Zone.

That would enable income from business rates in the area to be invested in infrastructure such as roads, he said.

“We could look at business rates that may be coming in 20 years down the line, and say ‘we will take a cut of that, and invest it in getting the infrastructure sorted,’” he said. “The site would then be much more attractive.”

That could be crucial.

Network Rail today confirmed that two companies – believed to be Muse Developments and Grosvenor – had come up with “good bids” to redevelop the site.

But while the bids were ‘very accomplished’ they were not, in the present circumstances, economically viable, said Network Rail spokeswoman Rachel Lowe.

David Custance, Yorkshire Forward’s assistant director in charge of regeneration projects, stressed York Central had “stalled, not stopped”.

While the landowners were no longer actively seeking a developer, the time would not be wasted, he said.

Work would continue on better analysing the problems with the site, so that once the economy did start to pick up those involved in the scheme were “ready to go back out again”.

Coun Waller, meanwhile, today stressed the work that had been put into the search for a developer had not been wasted.

The bids from Muse and Grosvenor had given a very clear idea of exactly what infrastructure would need to be built to make the site viable, he said.

The York Central Board, which brings together the landowners with organisations such as the council and Yorkshire Forward, was still very much a going concern.