YORK is set to bid for £20 million of ‘levelling up’ funding to help pay for transformational projects - but Labour councillors claim the city is increasingly likely to miss out, putting the developments in jeopardy.

City of York Council's executive will be asked on Thursday to agree to submit two bids to the Government for funds, including £10 million to deliver the new Castle and Eye of York public realm as part of the Castle Gateway regeneration, and a further £10 million for Parliament Street, Coney Street and the Riverside Quarter developments.

Councillors will also be asked to submit a transport bid for £5 million to help deliver a new railway station in Haxby and improve active travel links and accessibility in local communities.

A council spokesperson said that despite being in the Government’s lowest priority areas for Levelling Up investment, the authority had submitted a strong first round Levelling Up bid in 2021 to support three key city centre regeneration projects.

"Although this bid was unsuccessful, it received positive feedback from central government, with the submission scoring well across the three main assessment criteria; strategic fit; value for money; and deliverability," they said.

"Results of the competitive bidding process are expected to be announced later this autumn."

Cllr Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance, said the council was 'leaving no stone unturned' in its efforts to deliver the ambitious projects.

“If successful, this funding would help us deliver world-class public space in the Castle Gateway area, major improvements to Parliament Street and open up a riverside walkway and make improvements to Coney Street," he said.

“Whilst our first bid for Levelling Up funding was unsuccessful, we were pleased to receive such positive feedback.

"We have listened to the comments and will adapt our bid to give it the best possible chance, and whilst understanding the city has been placed in the lowest tier for levelling up grants, we feel we have a very strong case.”

But Labour Group Leader, Cllr Claire Douglas, cast doubt on the council's chances, saying it should of course pursue every opportunity to pull in external funding but the 'national scandal of the Conservative Government funnelling public money to its political target areas' made it increasingly likely York would lose out.

“Relying on successful Levelling Up funding bids is a thousand to one shot that risks further delay and escalating costs which could put these key schemes in jeopardy," she said.

"The Lib Dem-Green council must have a plan B, especially given the mess the Castle Gateway scheme is already in."

In response, the council spokesperson said:“If this funding bid is not successful, the business cases and delivery programme for each project would be reviewed, and other internal and external sources of funding would be considered."