York Council leaders have put forward their proposed masterplan for a series of developments in and around the city’s Castle Gateway area designed to give some of the city’s most important and historic sites the setting they deserve.
The four stages of the plan include:
- Replacing the car park around Clifford’s Tower with high quality public space;
- Alternative city-centre parking at a new multi-storey at St George’s Field;
- New riverside walkways and a pedestrian cycle bridge over the Foss;
- Transforming the Foss Basin, with new homes, water based leisure activities, and a riverside walkway from the south;
- Revitalising Piccadilly as a pedestrian-friendly street, with apartments above hubs for independent traders and small local businesses;
and have been informed by the ‘My Castle Gateway’, consultation process, a multi-faceted conversation with residents designed to find out how they would like to see this area developed.
The Conservative-led administration is committed to pressing ahead with the planning applications, which could allow construction to begin on the new car park as early as Spring 2019.
Councillor Ian Gillies, leader of City of York Council, said:
“I’m delighted to reveal a masterplan which is both deliverable while meeting residents’ ambitions and respecting the area’s heritage. It contains some of York’s best-known heritage sites, but at the same time has languished as a randomly developed and often unattractive part of the city. We can do better, and thanks to an extensive consultation process we can now move forward and begin to breath new life into it.
“At its heart will be giving Clifford’s Tower, one of our most historic sites, a car-free setting for the first time in decades. I think this will set the tone for eventually being able to completely transform this part of York.”
The masterplan and its delivery timetable will be discussed at the Council’s Executive on Thursday 26 April.
Residents can have a look at the plan on www.york.gov.uk/CastleGatewayMasterplan