My York Central Questions

At the beginning of the week we looked through the Post-Its from events and the conversations on social media and chose the week’s hot topics – either new questions or ones which had arisen from consideration of previous responses. The Partnership and the masterplanning team have responded, and these responses are set out below.

As previously, in some cases there are no clear answers to the questions raised, and we’ll again use these to drive discussion as the process of community engagement moves forward. As part of this we’ve suggested possible further questions which spring from the responses. To see these in context, take a look at our Flickr site and use the tags to see media which relates to the various issues.

So, you had been asking:-

There has been talk about “encouraging sustainable modes of transport”, but will York Central be able to ensure actual change?

Response:- The site is centrally located and we’re providing the infrastructure to support walking/cycling/train/bus and limiting parking within the site and there will be Travel Plans for future occupiers/users which can focus on non-car use.

What provision will be made for schools and other community facilities, and where?

Response:- As part of the planning application process, the need for a school and community facilities is being considered through discussions with the Council and the Partnership will make land available.

How will culture and the arts be built into York Central?

Response:- It is very much anticipated that the richness and vibrancy of the arts and culture in the city of York will be a key part of the place-making at York Central. Helped by the presence of an enhanced national museum with over 1 million visitors and unrivalled transport connectivity, the site will provide a number of new spaces for the city’s existing arts and cultural organisations to programme, produce for and perform/exhibit. These spaces will include new public squares, parks and buildings. The YC Partners wish to continue to work with York Cultural Leaders and other cultural stakeholders to ensure that the full range of cultural opportunities at York Central are identified and delivered. The Council’s Draft Local Plan (Publication Draft) includes a policy for cultural provision (specifically policy D3), where culture and wellbeing are identified as one of the twelve core planning principles underpinning plan making which will be considered by YCP.

Follow-up question:- The proposals for arts and culture in the draft Local Plan call for the production of a Statement of Cultural Wellbeing for major new developments. Will such a document be produced here, and who will produce it?

How do we build a community, and how will this link with existing communities?

Response:- YCP is providing homes with a variety of tenure and unit sizes to encourage a broad mix of users and this includes a commitment to provide 20% affordable housing. YCP will be focussing on integrating adjoining communities physically by providing better links and by listening to comments made about facilities people would like to see that are deficient in their locality.

How are the universities and their students being involved in shaping York Central?

Response:- York’s Higher Education Board have been briefed on York Central, and further meetings are planned with individual organisations. YCP held a pop-up at York College and have run sessions with York Youth Council and a Secondary School Voice workshop. Details of the Festival will be circulated to share with their staff and students.

How will buildings in York Central respond to moves towards zero carbon, and will the development take a lead in this?

Response:- Building regulations and Local Plan policies with regard to sustainability and energy will be met. Exploration of these elements is underway and will inform the planning submission. YCP is looking at low levels of parking for private use, and promoting cycle/ pedestrian movement and this is a work in progress.

Follow-up question:- Some local authorities (such as Bicester, Exeter and Norwich) are pursuing higher standards of sustainability where their ownership of the land permits them to do this. Is this something the Partnership might pursue, and what would be the factors in considering it?

Again we took the questions from the second week of My York Central to the York Central Partnership. Their responses are published below each question. Some answers are clear and address the concerns the questioners were raising. Other responses inevitably invite further questions, discussion and exploration. We’ll be using these cases – where there is no simple or settled ‘answer’ – to help us design events to deepen the conversation during The Festival of York Central. Again we’d love anyone interested to come forward with ideas for events.

So to each of the York Central Partnership responses below we ask: What further questions or issues does this raise for you?

Question 1.      In terms of the York Central Partnership, who is investing what and what to they want to get out of York Central?

Response from York Central Partnership:- All Partners are committed to delivering the development of York Central in order to provide the economic growth, housing delivery and cultural growth at York. To date, the Partners have individually invested various sums of money into York Central – CYC has allocated £10million, of which £4.4million has been approved to be spent, Network Rail has similarly spent £4.4m on land assembly and rail clearance, Homes England has spent £18.9m towards land assembly and has contributed a further £200k towards the planning costs of the site. The National Railway Museum has spent £1.14m to date on the masterplanning of its museum development scheme, which will represent an investment of around £50 million to deliver.

Question 2.      How can we make the streets of York Central full of children playing? 

Response from York Central Partnership:- We are proposing that York Central will include a variety of housing types and sizes for all age groups including families with children that will make it their home. The park and open spaces will be open to them and to the wider community and should be seen as a destination in the city for relaxation and play with the steam trains of the NRM forming a backdrop. Streets and courtyards in the residential areas will include space for playable streets and local doorstep play as well as more formal play locations.

Question 3.      Where are the planners – Allies and Morrison – getting their inspirations from?

Response from York Central Partnership:- Our inspiration for York Central comes from the site itself, its railway history and the heritage buildings that remain. We are also interested in understanding and resolving it’s inherent challenges and addressing it’s setting and integration within the wider city fabric and character of York. We have looked at York precedents; of urban block structure and the scale and nature of buildings and streets, squares, lanes and yards in the city. We want the layers of history of the site not to be erased, but be overlaid and legible in defining a rich sense of place that is very much part of 21st Century York. 

Question 4.      Have we properly considered trams and light rail?

Response from York Central Partnership:- A tram or light rail has been considered for York previously but is no longer being proposed within the current Local Transport Plan for the city, which is focusing much more on the bus provision including the Park and Ride services. In this context, we are working to make the best use of the current and planned public transport provision. 

Follow-up:- Can York Central go beyond the thinking in the Local Transport Plan and pilot more radical forms of sustainable transport, given its unique position as a new quarter, in the way other similar-scale developments have overseas?

Question 5.      How long will York Central last? Are we building an area of the city to last as long as parts of York’s city centre?

Response from York Central Partnership:- We are seeking to create new neighbourhoods for York with well-designed and well-constructed buildings and infrastructure that will last for decades. In order to ensure longevity, York Central must be flexible to respond to changes in society, including how people live, work and spend their leisure time. If we get this right, we expect the neighbourhoods to be around for many years to come.

Question 6.      How can we ensure all the property doesn’t get sold off to investors?

Response from York Central Partnership:- We are focusing on ensuring that the mix of homes to be built at York Central creates a supply that can help to meet the local demand for housing, specifically ensuring it has the right sizes of homes to meet the needs of York’s residents. Some of these homes will be ‘affordable’ homes, which will be owned and managed by housing associations, who can prioritise local people in their lettings policies.  The site will create a supply of land to be used for open market homes and it is anticipated this could be a mix of sale and rent but the nature of purchasers cannot be restricted under current national planning and housing policies. Suggestions on details of any such restrictions that have been proven to work would be welcomed.

Follow-up:- Are there specific tenure options or other arrangements which would ensure long-term availability as affordable housing, rather then the homes becoming commodities?

Welcome to Week 2 of My York Central Questions – we’ve had the responses to our first batch of questions and we’re currently using all the questions submitted to help us develop events for The Festival of York Central. We are delighted to present our second crop of questions – sent off to the York Central Partnership for their consideration. We have one more week of calling for questions before we move into our Festival events, so do send ’em in. And there’s a chance to pose the questions in person at the Meet the York Central Partners and Professionals event, 14th March, 7.30pm (book your free place).

In terms of the York Central Partnership, who is investing what and what to they want to get out of York Central?

How can we make the streets of York Central full of children playing?

Where are the planners – Allies and Morrison – getting their inspirations from?

Have we properly conisdered trams and light rail?

How long will york Central last? Are we building an area of the city to last as long as parts of York’s city centre?

How can we ensure all the property doesn’t get sold off to investors?

We took the questions from the first week of My York Central to the York Central Partnership. Their responses are published below each set of questions. Some answers are clear and address the concerns the questioners were raising. Other responses inevitably invite further questions, discussion and exporation. We’ll be using these cases – where there is no simple or settled ‘answer’ – to help us design events to deepen the conversation during The Festival of York Central. And invite anyone interested to come forward with ideas for events.

So to each of the York Central Partnership responses below we ask: What further questions or issues does this raise for you?

Questions from week commencing 19th February 2018.

Affordable Housing: How many houses will be affordable…and what is affordable!?

Response from York Central Partnership: YCP is committed to ensuring that York Central delivers housing for all affordabilities, providing a proportion of its housing as affordable housing in line with the Council’s policy requirement of 20%. CYC defined the types of affordable housing that could be provided.

Follow up: Why only 20% affordable housing when York is one of the least affordable places to live in the north of England? Can’t we be more ambitious?

Response from York Central Partnership:One of the core objectives of the York Central development is to ensure the scheme is viable and deliverable as well as helping to deliver the homes necessary for the people of York. Nevertheless, the Partnership has committed to meeting the Council’s Policy target of 20% affordable in line with the Council’s Local Plan target of 20% affordable housing provision on Brownfield land.

Density: How high will the buildings be?

Response from York Central Partnership: Design work is currently ongoing but we expect buildings to be between 2 and 6 storeys in height.

Cars: what are the target figures for car movement through the site?

Response from York Central Partnership: We are in the process of determining traffic movements but we are looking to minimise the use of cars and car movements through the site through our prioritisation of pedestrian and cyclist movements, our approach to parking and traffic calming measures.

Traffic Impact: How is that being modelled?

Response from York Central Partnership:A Transport Assessment is being undertaken and the approach to modelling is currently being agreed with CYC.

Air Quality: How are we planning to ensure York Central reduces pollution?

Response from York Central Partnership: This is part of the traffic modelling work.

Follow up: When will the transport assessment – with the assessment of air pollution levels – be made public?

Response from York Central Partnership: All documentation associated with the submission of the planning application, which includes the Transport Assessment, will be made public once the application is submitted in August 2018. It is unlikely this information will be available in advance of this owing the timescales for undertaking the environmental impact assessment work.

Leeman Rd: Will there still be through access?

Response from York Central Partnership: Yes there will continue to be access from the Salisbury Terrace area via the new access road subject to further work relating to the potential to bus-gate Marble Arch. There will continue to be access for pedestrians through the museum during opening hours. Further information will be available in the forthcoming exhibition.

Cycling: Is proper infrastructure going to be put in?

Response from York Central Partnership: Yes, there is an intention to provide segregated cycle lanes along the new access road as part of a wider package of measures. Further information will be available in the forthcoming exhibition.

Who owns the land? How public is it?

Response from York Central Partnership: The land is owned by all four partners, with the majority of land owned by Network Rail and Homes England.

Will the YCP ‘design work’ be shared during the Festival?
There will be some information relating to the heights of buildings, including examples of the heights of the buildings when compared with other landmarks in York available at the festival. This will be shown through images on the boards and the model.