Homes England and Network Rail Property have signed a development agreement with McLaren Property and Arlington Real Estate, solidifying their partnership as strategic developers for York Central.

The agreement will lead to the transformation of one of the largest brownfield sites in England alongside other partners the City of York Council and the National Railway Museum.

The mixed-use development will build 2,500 new homes (20% of which will be affordable) and create up to one million sq ft of office, retail and hospitality space, along with improvements to the York Railway Station and an enhanced National Railway Museum.


York Central has the potential to generate up to 6,500 jobs and will help to grow York’s future economy by 20%, by adding £1.1bn GVA to the city.

The one million square feet of new offices, retail and leisure uses, to the rear of York station, will create a major new employment hub for northern England.

York Central will include a new 17-acre urban park, with 50% of the rejuvenated site set to be green space, along with vibrant public squares that will connect the new development to the surrounding neighbourhoods and the adjacent York City Centre.

Work is already underway on site, preparing it for development, with £135m of infrastructure works currently underway delivering 2km of new roads including bus lanes, segregated footpaths and cycleways, along with two new bridges.

McLaren Property and Arlington Real Estate have been undertaking initial community and stakeholder engagement and will continue to work closely with the local community on plans for York Central ahead of submitting plans later this year.