THE team behind transforming part of York’s rail heritage into the city’s new council headquarters must wait until next month to discover if the Government will rubber-stamp the project.

West Offices in Station Rise, which was formerly York’s first railway station, is set to become a new state-of-the-art home for City of York Council, with the aim being for the civic base to be completed by the end of 2012.

The £43.8 million project, which will be carried out by York Investors LLP, was unanimously approved by the authority’s planning committee in June, with the building ultimately housing 1,400 staff and the city’s main customer centre.

But the scheme and the listed building consent it requires first needs to be formally approved by the Government, and although a decision was originally expected by the end of July, the final response will now not be made until next month.

The council turned its attention to West Offices after its original aim of creating a purpose-built HQ on the Hungate site collapsed under the weight of criticism from influential bodies such as English Heritage, which has since given its backing to the approach of refurbishing an existing building.

The reason for the delay is the Government’s need to study in detail the design of the new headquarters’ roof and the intended relocation of its historic canopy.

Chris Hale, York Investors LLP design manager, has described the HQ as having the potential to be “one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the country” and said the development and an neighbouring scheme for a £10 million, 120-bed hotel in Toft Green are aimed at creating “a new Micklegate Quarter”.

The hotel plans were also approved last month subject to certain design conditions being met, with the project expected to create 100 jobs during its construction and 50 more once it opens.

If the Government gives its approval to the HQ scheme, work is scheduled to start later this year.