What needs to happen on York Central

Consider two plans for York Central.

Plan One. Build three thousand homes and a familiar mix of retail and offices in a style to match existing new housing estates found across York or Leeds, with the usual pattern of roads, services and infrastructure.

Plan Two. Exploit the fact that the site includes one of the nation's premier railway stations and the National Railway Museum to create a development based around a 21st century public transportation system that runs through the site and on up to a new northern ring road park and ride. Commit to delivering the most environmentally sustainable development in the country by ensuring that houses and offices are supplied with district heating and renewable energy to cut down on bills and CO2 emissions. Employ the best contemporary architects to design the site, focussing on creating exciting new buildings and homes, world class public open spaces, community facilities and sports provision, and a site layout that is not based around the car.

It is not hard to see which of those two plans is more likely to attract national government, regional development agencies, EU funding, and national and international businesses looking for investment opportunities. Nothing will be built without inward investment. So why aren't we advancing Plan Two?

Meanwhile Birmingham is raising billions, in the middle of a recession, to transform its city centre. Money flows to where it will achieve most.

The cultural sector has developed a master plan for connecting Museum Gardens and the National Railway Museum via a new pedestrian bridge. This is key to York Central's future because the site is cut off from the rest of the city and access is only via a dingy tunnel alongside Leman Road. The city's culture and tourism sectors, and the city's businesses, need the administration to back these plans.

I have been talking with Richard Rogers, the architect, about how major cities achieve their potential. I am hopeful that the chief design advisor for the 2012 London Olympics, a man who is also a professor of urban regeneration, will soon visit York. To create a stunning new York alongside our beautiful historic York, we need to bring in the very best talent.

The beauty of our narrow streets, like Petergate, Stonegate and the Shambles, is based on the fact that these roads were not designed around the car. Imagine a new York built on York Central along the lines I outline above and it is clear that something modern could sit very comfortably with the rest of the city. We would be tackling the need for a thriving economy, creating jobs and businesses, creating a development millions of tourists would want to visit, and tackling climate change at the same time.

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What needs to happen on York Central?

Note: Christian is the third of four York thinkers asked to set out a vision for the York Central site.

Christian Vassie - Greenest_in_UK_call_for_tear_drop

Published and promoted by Christian Vassie, 10 Blake Court, Wheldrake, York YO19 6BT