York Central is a project of huge ambition, transforming underused land into vibrant and distinctive residential neighbourhoods, cultural spaces, and a high-quality commercial quarter at the heart of one of the UK's most historic and desirable cities. It will power York's economy into the future, helping to provide the homes and commercial space the city needs and grow its economy by 20%.
The site is located adjacent to York Railway Station and extends to approximately 45 hectares (111 acres) including land predominantly owned by Network Rail and Homes England. An Outline Application for the mixed-use development was granted in 2019 and subsequently a Reserved Matters Application was approved in 2020 for a significant first phase of infrastructure being delivered by the Landowners.
The ambition is to create a world-class mixed-use development, informed by interested local parties, to enhance York as a destination for high quality commercial and residential occupiers and visitors. In total the scheme, when completed, will provide up to 2,500 homes, c.800,000 sq ft of offices, retail and leisure uses.
York’s characteristics make the City a highly desirable location for businesses, tourists and residential occupiers of all ages. It regularly features highly in the Times Best Places to Live survey due to it being one of the very best locations in the country for schools, together with its unbeatable rail connections and interesting shops and restaurants giving the historic city a modern edge. Additionally, at least 90% of state school pupils attend a
school that is OFTSED rated Outstanding and Good. These schools are complimented by the two colleges and universities within the City. The University of York is a Russell Group member with 35% of its research rated as world-leading and a further 48% rated internationally excellent. This positively results in York having a highly educated population of 15-24 age group well above the UK average. 49% of York residents have a degree level qualification or higher meaning that York has a readily accessible educated workforce to drive business growth. Key employers in York include Nestlé Rowntree, National Rail, York Hospitals NHS Trust, Persimmon Plc, CPP and Aviva who are attracted by the availability of the educated workforce but also by York’s York’s fantastic train services connecting major cities such as London (1hr 50m), Leeds (21m), Manchester (1hr 18 m) and Birmingham (2hr 21m).
The tourist industry is one of the key contributors to the economy of York thanks to its unrivalled history. York welcomes 8.4 million visitors per annum who spend £765 million each year supporting 24,400 jobs in the city; the visitor numbers are up 12% over the last 5 years. York Minster is the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe. The National Railway Museum is the largest railway museum in the world providing a significant contribution to York’s economy with over 750,000 visitors per year.
