After two successive visits to European cities, for this year’s annual Summer Study Trip, the team at Planning & Design stayed a little closer to home with a visit to the cathedral city of York.
Following visits to Copenhagen and Milan, this year’s venue was deliberately chosen as there is much to learn from home, and no more so than York which is in the process of undergoing a series of enhancements to its historic core. This includes the ambitious York Central scheme , one of the UK’s largest, and most exciting, city centre regeneration schemes. Located next to the railway station, near to the National Railway Museum and adjacent to the city’s existing retail and business core, this previously rail locked, brownfield site is being transformed into a vibrant and distinctive mixed-use development. In addition, work is underway on the mixed use Castle Gateway Masterplan with an updated planning application submitted which aims to transform the area surrounding some of the city’s most important and sensitive landmarks around the castle, where the River Foss meets the River Ouse.
The focus for our visit was the area around York Minster which has benefited from improvements instigated by the York Business Improvement District (BID). This is a not-for-profit, independent organisation who are funded by city centre businesses to deliver projects and improvements that enhance the city centre and create a more profitable trading environment. Since launching in 2016, the BID has invested more than £7.6m into projects that support the vitality of the city centre and businesses. It has proven itself to be a forward thinking and effective delivery organisation, driving lasting and positive change. The York BID is one of over 350 operational BIDs across the UK.
Our Chartered Town Planner Mollie Arif led the day with a talk about the biggest programme of planned works at York Minster and within the Minster Precinct Neighbourhood Area. The York Minster Precinct Neighbourhood Plan is currently in progress, with key milestones achieved, but not yet fully completed as of July 14, 2025. The plan, adopted in June 2022, aims to create a sustainable future for the Minster and its estate. A key part of the plan is the creation of the Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management. This is a first-of-its-kind project that will establish the York Minster Precinct as a world-class campus facility for research, education and training in traditional craft skills, including world class stone masons who can work on not only the Minster, but other ecclesiastical institutions and heritage estates. Various other projects within the precinct are underway, including the reordering and repurposing of existing buildings, and exploring opportunities for new facilities. The plan emphasizes sustainability, including air source heat pumps and 184 solar panels that have been installed on the roof of the Minster that were switched on for the first time on 9 January 2025 during a blessing ceremony led by the Dean of York.
York Minster worked collaboratively with key stakeholders, including City of York Council and the local community, to develop its Neighbourhood Plan. An ambitious Masterplan that aims to sustain and enhance the cultural significance and environmental value of York Minster’s Precinct and its buildings through specially created planning policy. The Delivery of this Neighbourhood Plan signals the biggest programme of planned works at York Minster and within the Minster Precinct Neighbourhood Area since the 1850’s.
Tasked with discovering more about the Minster and the Neighbourhood plan, and in an appeal to our competitive natures Mollie then put us into three teams and we proceeded to complete a scavenger hunt of the York Minster Precinct. Following clues and hunting for answers we learned a great deal about this wonderful city, exploring the Shambles, discovering some of York’s ghosts, enjoying panoramic views from the city walls and needless to say much needed refreshments in the Guy Fawkes Inn, birthplace of the infamous pyromaniac in 1570. According to York CAMRA, this is just one of 107 pubs within the city centre area so we were certainly not short of choice.
Ahead of annual summer meal at French bistro Rustique, we visited Spark*a community driven initiative that is home to York’s best independent food and drink. Opened in 2018 on a on a site that had been derelict since the 1990s the project was inspired by a vision to create a vibrant and inclusive destination in a forgotten part of York city centre. The site has an interesting past, as a trolleybus shed, as the Airspeed aviation factory in 1931, and then as a garage, Reynard’s Garage, as it became known locally. We were really interested to see this site in operation, with news that plans are in place for something similar in Derby to link Sadlergate with St. James Street.
The next day we were all free to roam the city, some visited the York Dungeons for scares, others more tranquil history and heritage while exploring the city walls, extensive cemetery and the York Art Gallery.
A successful trip, and one that has set the bar high for our host city in 2026!
