Multi-storey plans dropped to cut car use

A new public park has been added to a £16m masterplan to redevelop part of a city centre.

Proposals for the first phase of York's Castle Gateway scheme for the area around Clifford's Tower have been revealed by the local council.

The plan, which covers the area around Clifford's Tower and the Eye of York where the River Foss meets the River Ouse, has been broken into phases since its initial approval in 2020.

The total cost of the Castle Gate project has now been revised up from £13m initially, with rising construction costs, interest rates and uncertainty in the housing market being blamed.

The Castle car park would also be demolished under the plans, but 30 Blue Badge spaces would remain, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Plans to build a multi-storey car park at St George's Field car park are no longer set to go ahead and proposals for its future are currently being drawn up.

City of York councillors heard the reduction of city centre parking spaces had been factored in and comes as the council looks to cut car use.

The authority said its executive would decide in May which contractors would carry out the first phase of the work.

Further works include a footbridge at the back of the Castle Museum over the River Foss to Castle Mills and bus stop improvements on Tower Street, for which there is a £4.6m budget.

A flexible green space including a children's play area is also among the proposed revisions, but a paved area initially planned to host events is no longer included in the latest version of the plans.

Two bids for help cover the initial project costs from the government's Levelling Up fund were unsuccessful.

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