Yorkshire property specialist Helmsley Group has received recommendation for approval for the final part of its Coney Street Riverside masterplan which will play a key role in reconnecting Coney Street to the riverfront.
Approval of this section would see the development of 3-7 Coney Street, with work expected to start on site as early as summer 2025. The development will also create a new snickelway connecting Coney Street to a riverside walkway on the River Ouse.
The recommendation follows recent approval from City of York Council (CoYC) for the development of 19-33 Coney Street and 39 Coney Street to 2 Spurriergate which saw members vote both the masterplan planning application and a separate listed building application through with overwhelming majorities.
Currently used only for bin storage, the land Helmsley Group hopes to develop is not utilised by the general public and would be another example of the business’s “fantastic use of unused space,” as noted by CoYC in its recent planning meeting.
The creation of the new snickelway will also allow for the introduction of restaurants and cafés with external seating and is in keeping with Helmsley Group’s ambition to create a much-needed public realm of national standing and improve both connectivity and accessibility within central York.
In addition to the creation of an extensive public realm through the introduction of the access route, the plans would also introduce new residential apartments into the currently unused upper floors of buildings 3-7 Coney Street. Bringing underused upper floors back into use is a key aspiration across the Coney Street Riverside regeneration.
Max Reeves, development director at the Helmsley Group, said: “A recommendation for approval brings us a step closer to securing the final piece of our much anticipated Coney Street Riverside masterplan. Our plans would realise a 50-year ambition to reconnect Coney Street with its riverfront and honour the area’s rich heritage while sensitively taking the necessary strides required to secure its long-term future.
“As well as creating a welcoming, family friendly offer through the realisation of these plans, we’re also seeking to introduce much-needed housing within the city centre. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reinvigorate a much-loved but sadly under-appreciated area of the city centre, and one that has played such an important role in York’s history to date.”
Led by York-based developer the Helmsley Group, the Coney Street Riverside masterplan seeks to create 250,000 sq ft of mixed-use retail, leisure, commercial, residential and student space, alongside extensive public realm.
The project team for the scheme includes Helmsley Group, brown + company, O’Neill Associates, Corstorphine and Wright, Montagu Evans, Aspect4, Gillespies, Troup Bywaters & Anders, Billinghurst George & Partners, Jane Simpson Access, Knight Frank, DS Emotion and Aberfield Communications.
