CONTROVERSIAL plans for a multi-storey car park in the centre of York have been delayed amid claims council bosses 'have lost control of a visionary project'.

City of York Council has revealed that plans to transform York's Castle car park and the Eye of York into a world-class open space have faced a series of challenges.

Councillors are meeting to discuss the Castle Gateway project next week when they will be asked to agree to a series of recommendations.

They will consider an update on the Castle Mills site, which will feature a new riverside park, pedestrian and cycle bridge, and new apartments that will help to fund the wider masterplan’s public benefits.

"Unfortunately, this part of the development has been subject to delays during the initial detailed design and costing process due to Covid-19, Brexit and the current inflationary pressures," said a council spokesman.

"The decision has been made to terminate the existing contract with the external contractor."

The termination process is on-going, and talks continue between the council and the contractor, Wates Construction Ltd.

Earlier this year, the decision about whether to build the new multi-storey car park in York was pushed back to the summer as a petition against the proposal reached more than 700 signatures.

Members will be asked to agree to procure a new contractor to complete the detail design and costing process, to allow construction to begin in summer 2023, subject to executive approval.

Labour Group Leader, Cllr Claire Douglas said: “The Lib Dem-Green council’s Castle Gateway project is in all kinds of trouble, as this latest report makes clear.

"An external contractor on the project has been fired, and ruling politicians know the St George’s multi-storey car park element is dead, with huge amounts of public money wasted, but won’t say so because local elections are on the horizon.

“Ruling parties in York have completely lost control of what should be a visionary project well on its way to delivery.

“This project is drifting into a spiral of endless delays and cost increases. Will it will ever become a reality?”

Castle Mills is the primary funding stream for other aspects of the regeneration work, so the delay means any decision on the replacement car parking which would allow Castle Car Park to close does not need to be made until summer 2023.

Executive members will be asked to use the extra time to collect more parking data, engage more with takeholders, and assess all options to identify the most suitable replacement parking for the closure of Castle Car Park.

City of York Council shared designs for the Castle Gateway area when they submitted a planning application earlier this year, following extensive efforts to find out what residents and businesses would want in the area.

Executive members will also be asked to back the inclusion of the new public realm at Castle and Eye of York in the council’s levelling up funding bid in July.

If approved the £20m bid will provide significant investment to around £10m to deliver the Castle and Eye of York public realm and a further £10m to revitalise the wider city centre, including Coney Street, the Riverside Quarter, and Parliament Street.

Councillors will also be asked to prepare tender documents so the procurement of a contractor can go ahead, should the funding bid be successful, subject to planning consent.

Cllr Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance, said: “The fantastic improvements to Clifford’s Tower and the new plaza area have given us all an exciting glimpse of how the Castle and Eye of York area will be transformed.

"With a planning application due to be determined and funding bids submitted to government, we are making significant progress in transforming the Castle Gateway into a world-class public space.

“Regular reviews and updates are crucial to the delivery of this project to ensure it achieves value for money and delivers the benefits that residents and businesses have told us they would like to see.

“We remain committed to replacing lost car parking from the closure of Castle Car Park and are resolute in our desire to make the best decisions for the city, its economic recovery and our communities.

"Due to the ongoing external pressures, it’s prudent and responsible to take more time to ensure the right decisions are made for our city’s future.

"Collecting and analysing data more data and engaging with stakeholders will enable us to make the right decision on the most suitable car parking solution that protects our city centre economy and creates world-class public spaces for all residents to enjoy.

"We have always and will continue to take an evidence based approach to decision making.”

Since the last executive decision, planning permission has been secured for both Castle Mills and St George’s Field multi-storey car park, and £4m of West Yorkshire Transport Funding has outline business case approval secured for the new pedestrian/cycle footbridge and connecting riverside cycle route at Castle Mills.

The council says the executive remains committed to a replacement car parking strategy that will allow Castle Car Park to be replaced with world class public realm.

The council is installing new car park counters and working with the BID to get more data which will help support future discussions and decisions about parking demand and solutions.

Car parking numbers, which were assumed at the masterplan stage, have changed due to Environment Agency works, planning application amendments and changes in the masterplan design stages.

The new 372 space multi story car park was replacing two surface levels car parks currently providing 594 spaces a net loss of 222 spaces.

Should the multi-storey solution not go ahead as a replacement car parking solution for Castle Car Park there would be a net loss of 327 spaces.