Developer chosen for £650m York Central project

An artist's impression of the first phase of the development on the western side of York Railway Station

A developer has been chosen for a multimillion-pound regeneration scheme in York.

The £650m York Central project will see up to 2,500 homes and 86,600 sq m of office space built near the city's railway station.

Network Rail and Homes England said that McLaren Property and Arlington Real Estate would be the developers.

York Council leader Claire Douglas said it would be "a place which everyone in the city can enjoy and benefit from".

Infrastructure works costing £135m have already begun at the site, a Homes England spokesperson said.

These include the creation of new roads, footpaths and cycle routes as well as two new bridges across the East Coast Main Line.

An artist's impression of the development from above shows the scale of the plans for the site

York Central is one of the UK's biggest city centre regeneration schemes, the spokesperson added.

Ms Douglas said the project was "a once in a generation opportunity, providing much needed sustainable and affordable housing, good quality jobs, economic growth and green space".

Peter Denton, chief executive at Homes England, said the appointment of the developers was a "major milestone" in the scheme.

He said the work would now be "delivered at pace".

Homes England said up to 6,500 jobs could be created at York Central and the development aimed to grow the city's economy by 20%.