Coney Street traders back Helmsley Group development plans

And they called on City of York Council to approve the plans by the Helmsley Group later this month.

The plans, which would see a new riverside area created along the Ouse where the backs of retail units currently are, were submitted two years ago.

Some traders questioned why it has taken so long to get them before a council planning committee.

The riverside area which is to be developed under the plans as it currently is (Image: Dylan Connell) Council planning bosses told The Press the plans have had to be revised and amended throughout the process.

They said plans by developers must also comply with York’s policies, like meeting obligations for affordable housing, which takes time.

How the riverside area would look under the plans (Image: Supplied) “We really want to see Coney Street come back to its former glory,” said Brian Marshall, co-owner of The Luxe Company, adding that the plans would be the "catalyst" to do this.

He and wife Lisa opened the upmarket interiors and leisure goods store in Coney Street two years ago.

The plans by the Helmsley Group made them want to open there as the store would be in a prime location if the riverside development goes ahead, he said. “Little did we know that two years on we’re yet to see a spade put in the ground.

“Even if plans are approved next week, then the chances are it’s going to be another two to three years before we see the fruition of those plans in physical asset.

Brian Marshall outside The Luxe Company in Coney Street (Image: Dylan Connell) “It’s frustrating. It’s something that should have been approved a lot longer back in time, we should be coming to the end of that development phase now."

He added: “I just think the council need to get their finger out and get this approved, and let the Helmsley Group get on with it.”

Becky Eades, the council’s head of planning and development services, said the planning department has "actively worked" with the applicant and agent on the application to "allow a number of revisions and amendments to be made by the applicant".

“Changes throughout the process by the applicants then need assessing, both by officers and to be considered by external consultees.

“Above all, the planning application process needs to be fair, robust and transparent, and our planning department have taken care to ensure this is upheld throughout the process, from the initial application right through to the finished development.”

How the new riverside area could look. Picture shows the new street that would be created where Boots currently is in Coney Street (Image: Supplied) Cllr Michael Pavlovic, the council’s executive member for planning, added: “We work constructively with developers where applications are not compliant with York’s policies in order to find ways to make them compliant, so they can be recommended for approval.

“One such policy is meeting developer obligations for affordable housing. Where developers argue these obligations should be lowered or removed altogether, the planning authority has a responsibility to robustly assess the viability of these proposals, as it has in this case. This takes time.

“Our planning policies are important so York is developed carefully and with regard to the special city it is. Applications complying with policy at an earlier stage will inevitably progress through the planning system more quickly.”  

• Read more about the plans: ‘It’s what York needs’: Coney Street masterplan that could transform the city

On the Helmsley Group’s plans, Mr Marshall said he welcomed them.

“I think any city that’s got such a fantastic resource as the river flowing through the centre of it needs to make really good use of that," he explained. “And anything that encourages people to come to Coney Street and use the river facilities that are proposed will have a knock-on effect to the retailers in Coney Street, of whom we are one.”

Of the current state of the street, the 58-year-old said: “I remember coming to York as a kid with my family and Coney Street was the shopping street.

“It’s quite sad to see the number of buildings that are boarded up or unoccupied.

"There's nothing worse than boarded up buildings in a retail street: it’s like a cancer. It spreads. It pulls everything down.”

Coney Street as it currently is (Image: Dylan Connell) He said the area is still busy with people. “But Coney Street seems to have become a corridor from one end of the city to another rather than a destination in itself, possibly because of the number of empty shops.

“If you can change the character of the street in a positive manner and make it not just somewhere that people want to pass through but somewhere people want to be, then that’s the way forward.”

Work must be managed carefully is plans approved, say traders

Similarly, staff at the Lambretta Clothing store, which moved to Coney Street from the corner of High Ousegate and Spurriergate this summer, said the development would breathe new life into the area.

“It’s a bit quiet,” Harry Taylor, the assistant manager, said of trading in Coney Street.

Danny Kilner and Harry Taylor outside Lambretta Clothing in Coney Street (Image: Dylan Connell)

“We have good days and bad days,” added Danny Kilner, the manager, who said he expects business to pick up in the coming months during the Christmas period.

The pair agreed that new businesses have been opening in empty units, but they felt the offering for retail in Coney Street is not as strong as it once was.

They welcomed the development plans but said care must be taken to manage the disruption of it.

Lambretta Clothing is metres away from Lush which, under the plans, would be knocked down so a snickelway can be created to the riverside area.

Lush, where the snickelway would be created to the riverside, under the plans (Image: Dylan Connell) “It will be worth it in the end, it’s just whether small businesses like us can get through the disruption,” Mr Kilner said. “It’s not going to be a couple of weeks.

“We’re not against it at all, it’s just how it’s managed.”

Islam Elzokm, a director at Blue Heaven Bar and Grill which opened last year in Coney Street, also welcomed the plans.

Like The Luxe Company, the restaurant would be in a prime area if the development work is carried out as planned, which encouraged Mr Elzokm to open in Coney Street.

Currently, he said, the business is busy at weekends and quieter through the week.

“We’re hoping for more, obviously. But I understand that people are struggling these days [because of the rising cost of living].”

Outside Blue Heaven Bar and Grill in Coney Street (Image: Dylan Connell) On the Helmsley Group’s plans, he said: “I feel like it’s going to bring more business into the street and more tourists into the city.

“It’s going to make the riverside look more attractive to the people.”

Would more businesses in the area harm those already there? “It will bring more people to the street,” replied Mr Elzokm. “Everyone tries to do a better business, but I think it’s going to benefit everyone.”

Mr Marshall agreed, saying: “Choice is never a bad thing from a consumer point of view.

“Obviously, we are an independent business and we deliberately set out to make ourselves a little bit different from some of the chain stores and other shops that you’ll find around.

“Competition doesn’t really cause me a problem.”