Development Partner sought for UKs largest brownfield regeneration project

A development partner is being sought by Homes England and Network Rail for one of the largest regeneration projects in the UK.

York Central is a 45-hectare mixed-use scheme, which will see the creation of 2,500 homes and more than 800,000sq ft of commercial space adjacent to York Railway Station.

Once developed, the site will provide a new commercial and residential quarter in one of the UK’s most historic and desirable cities.

Transformational development

Real estate services specialist JLL will now begin the process of securing a developer to bring forward the transformational 45-hectare mixed-use scheme, which is expected to grow York’s economy by 20%.

The first phase of the project is expected to deliver a maximum of 650,000sq ft of commercial space and 700 residential units on the strategic development site – predominantly owned by Network Rail and Homes England.

JLL’s Development team will guide the public sector partners through the procurement process as they seek to transform the largely brownfield site into vibrant and distinctive residential neighbourhoods, cultural and commercial space.

New homes

Henry Burton, director of development at JLL, said: “York Central is one of a select number of projects across the UK which can be deemed to be truly transformational regeneration at scale. In the coming decade, it will bring sustainable growth to York’s £765m economy as the city continues to welcome more than eight million visitors a year. Critically though, it will also bring much-needed new homes across a diverse mix of tenures, with a clear focus on developing inclusive new neighbourhoods and communities to support the growth of the city and the wider region.”

Peter Freeman, Chair of Homes England, said: “Urban regeneration schemes like York Central have a huge part to play in delivering the government’s Levelling Up agenda by replacing underused brownfield sites with an inviting range of mixed-use buildings and well landscaped public open space. Partnerships between the public and private sector will be crucial to success. We want to hear from developers that share our ambitions to create thriving new quarters and are interested in playing a key role in the delivery of York Central. York Central is at an advanced stage with planning and land assembly in place and the major infrastructure contract placed.  It is a tremendous opportunity to bring forward a long-awaited project to the benefit of York’s community.”

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.

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