Selling a city centre shop, a lease deal for a heat-generating data centre and land for a village community garden are among plans drawn up for – York council owned assets.
A City of York Council draft five-year asset management strategy would also see a canoe club offered a base in Rowntree Park and a lease for a disabilities social enterprise’s café.
A council report on the proposals stated they aimed use its estate of around 1,300 assets to produce positive outcomes for communities, generate income and reduce costs.
It comes as the strategy, which would run from this year to 2031, is set to be discussed by councillors on Monday, January 26.
The council’s executive would then decide whether or not to approve the plans in March.
Draft proposals feature plans for the council’s property estate which is worth around £396 million, including schools, and generates about £6.9m in income.
Its estate include commercial property, operational estates such as its West Offices headquarters and Hazel Court tip and logistics hub, community assets and land earmarked for housing.
The council’s plans include selling 25-27 Coney Street, which is currently let to health store Holland & Barrett, sold to developers Helmsley Group.
The firm is behind plans to redevelop Coney Street and the area behind it overlooking the River Ouse.
The council bought the building in 2019 in an effort to influence the plans for the development, with the report stating it helped secure the inclusion of a riverside path.
Proposals would see Helmsley lease a newly-refurbished ground floor retail unit back to the council for no rent following the sale.
It could then be offered to a commercial tenant by the council.
Helmsley are set to start the redevelopment of Coney Street later this year.
New data centre
Plans for council assets also including leasing land next to the LNER Community Stadium to Deep Green, a company which plans to build a data centre there.
The firm has planning permission to build a data centre which would provide excess energy to heat the Community Stadium complex’s swimming pool.
A similar facility being developed by the company in Trafford, Manchester is set to save an estimated £80,000 in energy costs and cut yearly carbon emissions by about 150 tonnes.
Spark’s lease on its current site at 17-21 Piccadilly would also be renewed under the strategy.
The pop-up food and drinks venue was granted planning permission to stay for five years more in October while its potential future home at York Central remains under construction.
Around 750sqm of land off York Road, Stensall, could be leased to the village’s parish council for a peppercorn rent to create a community garden.
Part of Rowntree Park’s maintenance depot would be leased for a peppercorn rent to the York Canoe Club (YCC) for 15 years for equipment storage.
The club currently lacks a permanent home and has been saving for one for around 20 years, according to the council’s report.
A modular building in Hull Road Park would be leased to Choose 2, a social enterprise working with disabled children and adults, who have run a café there since 2017.
