PART of York’s railway heritage looks destined to become the city’s new council headquarters.

City of York Council has named West Offices in Station Rise as the preferred location for its new city centre base, which it hopes to move into within three years.

The former rail HQ scored more highly than the other option on the shortlist – insurance giant Aviva’s nearby Yorkshire House building on the corner of Rougier Street and Station Road – following an evaluation process.

If the bid, drawn up by West Offices’ freeholders York Investors LLP, is rubber-stamped by the council’s executive on December 15, a contract will be signed in January and a public consultation exercise will follow.

The decision to focus on transforming an existing building into the council’s HQ came after the authority abandoned its controversial plans for a purpose-built base at Hungate. It says the proposed new site will still be delivered within the original £43.8 million budget.

After the Hungate scheme was ditched, the search for a new headquarters location saw 12 potential sites whittled down to two. Bill Woolley, the council’s director of city strategy, said: “Both bids offered an excellent solution for the council, but there had to be a winner and a loser.

“This is really good news for the city. It will give customers and staff a better deal, it will be cheaper to run than staying where we already are and it will be a much more efficient and effective way of delivering council services.”

The council used 14 criteria, including accessibility, sustainability and the benefits to taxpayers and the city, to decide on a preferred location. Subject to the bid’s approval, a planning application will be submitted next summer and work will start towards the end of next year.

“Although there is some fine-tuning to be done, this is a significant step,” said council leader Andrew Waller. “In the long-term, it will mean significant savings to our running costs and give us a building which is fit for purpose and from where we can deliver the high-quality customer services people expect.”