SPARK:York wants to replace its scaffold stairs, move its lift and add two small decks on Piccadilly. Comments close 19 November; a cut-down plan after a withdrawal.
SPARK:York, the shipping container venue on Piccadilly, has applied to replace its scaffold staircases and move its passenger lift. The plans also include a new entrance door and two small extensions to its first-floor decking.
City of York Council validated the application, 26/01909/FUL, on 26 October. Neighbours have until Thursday 19 November to comment, and the council’s deadline to decide is 21 December (City of York Council planning register).
It is a second attempt. SPARK withdrew an earlier application, 26/00922/FUL, to revise it after talks with council planning officers. The new one is smaller.
What SPARK wants to change
The application covers (planning register):
- two new steel staircases, with landings partway up and built-in lighting, in place of the two scaffold stairs
- the passenger lift moved to the back of the site
- a resurfaced entrance forecourt, with the changes in level taken out
- a single timber-clad door in place of the double entrance gates
- two extensions to the first-floor decking, for more seating
- one new lightwell through the first-floor deck
- the fixed tables and benches taken out of the entrance hall, so it can be used for community events
The architects, Jan Kattein Architects, say in the design statement that the scaffold stairs are “showing signs of corrosion”. The flights also have no landings partway up, which the statement says “is not aligned with best practice for commercial environments in accessibility terms” (Design and Access Statement, 20 October 2026).
What changed from the withdrawn plan
SPARK’s covering letter, from co-founders Tom McKenzie and Sam Leach, lists the changes (cover letter):
| Withdrawn plan (26/00922/FUL) | New plan (26/01909/FUL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Canopy | Canopy structure on the first floor | Dropped |
| Decking | Larger extension, ground and first floor | Two small areas, about 10m² and 28m², both behind existing containers |
| Lightwells | Two | One; the one at the south stair is gone |
| Stairs and lift | Replaced and moved | Unchanged from the first plan |
The letter says the canopy was dropped in response to concerns about “the visual impact on the listed building and conservation area”. It adds that there are no new exposed tables close to homes.
It also says the noise conditions on SPARK’s current permission have since been signed off by the council, and that a sound limiter and sound management system have been installed.
Why now
The site is council-owned, and SPARK rents it. In October 2025 the council approved its use for another five years, to 30 September 2030 (application 25/01151/FUL). The letter says the works are needed to make the venue “more accessible, welcoming and fit for purpose until our lease end date of 2030”.
SPARK opened on 4 May 2018 with 23 shipping containers on the site of the old Reynard’s Garage, which had been demolished in 2015. The design statement gives these figures for it since then:
- over 65 businesses started or grown there
- 26 gone on to open permanent premises
- 92 jobs, or 68 full-time equivalents
- over 100 community groups using the space free each year
- about 430,000 visitors a year
Those are SPARK’s own figures, not the council’s.
Who was asked
SPARK held a drop-in on 18 June 2026, from 3pm to 7pm, with a slot from 3pm to 5pm for immediate neighbours. The statement says it also contacted York Disability Rights Forum about the access changes. It says SPARK runs a WhatsApp group with neighbouring properties and carries out sound checks in the closest homes twice a year.
What it means for you
- If you live near Piccadilly and want a say, comment on 26/01909/FUL by 19 November. The press notice runs to 2 December.
- If you use the venue, the main change is getting upstairs: new stairs with landings, and a lift in a new place at the back.
- Nothing changes yet. The council has not decided, and SPARK has not given a date for the work.
Our York planning news page has the other applications we are following.
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