York bids for £8 million to kickstart Castle Gateway scheme

A bid for £8.1m to kickstart work on the Castle Gateway scheme will be considered by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

City of York Council has outlined plans to regenerate the area off Piccadilly – with proposals for a new footbridge across the River Foss, 106 apartments, a park on land behind the Castle Museum and the closure of the Castle Car Park – replacing the parking spaces with a multi-storey to be built at St George’s Field.

The council has bid for cash from the West Yorkshire Plus Transport fund for part of the £45m project.

Support cycling and tourism

A report prepared for a meeting of the authority’s investment committee says benefits include more cycling and walking, and better bus services.

It adds:

• The funding sought will support the regeneration of a part of York with relatively low amenity at present.

  As such it will improve York’s “sense of place” and attract inward investment to Leeds City Region, particularly supporting the clusters of agri-tech/ bioeconomy employment at York University and east of York, and a growing financial sector in York.

  The investment will also support the further growth of tourism in York, and of York’s city centre retail sector.
  

It adds that the scheme is due to be completed by February 2022.

City of York Council will take the lead on the development – which is set to be low carbon.