A PIECE of York's unique railway heritage is under threat.

Homes England and Network Rail are applying to pull down the Fire House building on Cinder Lane, close to the National Railway Museum.

The Fire House was used by the Railway Fire Service to store its fire fighting equipment.

According to planning documents, the Fire House was built between 1909 and 1928 to house the engines and equipment for the North Eastern Railway (NER) fire brigade.

Its demolition would make way for a vehicle route needed for York Central, which was approved in December 2019.

Because the property is not listed nor in conservation area, the applicant urges councillors to allow the demolition for the greater good of the York Central development.

"The wider benefits of the York Central scheme outweigh any adverse impact of the demolition of the building," writes David Sweeting of Avison Young on behalf of the applicant in the planning documents.

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The Conservation Areas Advisory Panel suggested that the building could be dismantled and rebuilt “for re-use perhaps somewhere like North Yorkshire Moors Railway”.

However, the council has been told the applicant has approached a number of organisations and rail heritage groups to offer to relocate the property, but there has been no interest shown in reusing the building.

To read the full planning application (ref: 21/02767/FUL) visit: https://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/

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