AN AMBITIOUS 30-year vision for the future of York is set to be opened up for the city’s residents to have their say early in the New Year.

The New City Beautiful blueprint, drawn up by a team headed by urban design expert Professor Alan Simpson, suggests how the city’s future prospects could be enhanced through a range of steps including revamping its riverside frontages and creating more parks and green spaces.

It also envisages a ‘Great Street’ through the heart of York, a car-free city centre, the filling-in of the missing links in the Bar Walls route and remodelling Park&Ride sites as country parks.

The Yorkshire Forward-funded masterplan was discussed by City of York Council’s local development framework working group, along with a report by principal city development officer Derek Gauld including a framework for how public consultation could be carried out.

It proposes a series of events during January and February, centred around a public meeting and local council ward committee meetings, with summaries of the plans being laid out in the authority’s YourCity and YourWard publications, as well as encouraging more feedback via the council’s website.

Responses would then be analysed during March and April, after which a detailed plan for how the idea can be taken forward would be compiled.

The vision has also stressed the importance of the stalled York Central scheme to the future of the city and highlights the possibility for new park areas at the Museum Gardens, Foss Basin and Kings Pool, with tree-lined paths and open spaces forming a ‘Rampart Park’ connecting the gaps in the city walls.