Embracing our riversides
After listening to your views as a vital part of the Our City Centre York project (previously named the My City Centre project), the Our City Centre York vision has now been approved.
The River Ouse and the River Foss are a defining characteristic of York's city centre, being a determining factor in the founding of the city; they have had a formative influence on the urban form throughout its development.
The function of York's rivers has changed over time, from commerce and servicing, to currently being principally amenity and recreation related use.
Climate change is affecting how our rivers are managed and how they interact with the city.
The constrained city centre turns its back on, and presents a poor environment to the rivers in many places – a huge lost opportunity to celebrate and enjoy these spaces.
Our ambition is to redefine York'srivers to create high quality spaces and routes which contribute fully to the city’s unique sense of place, whilst also ensuring river safety and protecting ecology.
Ideas for embracing our riversides
Explore and encourage:
- celebrating the historic, cultural and environmental benefits of our 2 rivers, providing riverside spaces and links for local communities
- the creation of new accessible riverside walkways at Coney Street and Castle Gateway, and progress a new Ouse footbridge
- improving river corridors as sustainable travel routes to and through the centre
- living well with water to manage flooding impacts and ensure river safety
Also see
Our City Centre York
Delivering a new vision for York’s city centre