A film premiere has taken place of a video extolling the virtues of York and some of its major development projects.

The event, at the Park Inn Hotel on Tuesday, attracted a packed room of businesspeople and other stakeholders.

Five figures behind some of the biggest schemes also spoke about their projects.

York BID director Andrew Lowson said: “York has really good stories to tell. Sometimes they are often talked about in isolation but this film was a good way to bring them together.”

Helping with the video was City of York Council, Make it York, plus various property developers and businesspeople, with Sarah Czarnecki of Hospitality Association York a ‘driving force’ behind it.

Mr Lowson said York may have missed out on government levelling up money, but these private sector schemes speak volumes about the confidence business has in York.

Alex McCallion, head of the York Minster Precinct, spoke of the Neighbourhood Plan that has been created for the minster precinct and its proposed £5m Centre of Excellence.

The plan will also deliver a new refectory restaurant in the Spring, plus new public realm gardens.

Max Reeves, director of the Helmsley Group, spoke of his Coney Street and riverfront schemes.

Coney Street’s retail offer, he said, would be ‘repositioned’ to create more of an ‘experience’ and there would be “people living in the city centre.”

There would be three “riverside connections” and fully accessible public realm with the river front opened up.

Leon Guyett, director of Regeneration and Partnerships for York Central, said with £130m of public sector funding, the scheme involving Homes England, Network Rail, City of York Council and the National Railway Museum, can now be ‘unlocked.’

York Central promises 3million sq ft of development, including up to 2,500 new homes, a hotel of up to 400 beds and ‘key public realm.’ Preporatory work on infrastructure has started, with the overall scheme taking 10-20 years to build.

David Jennings, CEO of the York Archaelogical Trust spoke of the Roman Quarter, which includes a hotel, flats and an attraction called Eboracum.

The trust, he said, is best known for the Jorvik Centre, and Eboracum hoped to emulate this, with an attraction three times its size. Developing the site would include a two-year excavation and much community engagement.

Michael Howard, head of active and sustainable travel at City of York Council spoke of York Station, which will see a new front with the removal of Queen Street Bridge.

He also spoke on the £70m outer ring road dualling, due to start late this year, with completion in 2025; plus the £25m Haxby Station, due to start in late 2023, with completion by December 2024.

Mr Lowson added: “York has some really ambitious projects and we need to shout about it.”

The video can be seen at: York’s Future Developments - The York BID