Downing Street is holding talks with developers about moving the House of Lords to York after the Prime Minister"s chief of staff identified the city as the "feasible choice" for the relocation of the chamber. Sir Eddie Lister is understood to have backed plans for the upper House to be relocated to a 111-acre site in York which is controlled by a partnership including Homes England, the government agency he chaired until joining Number 10 last year. Boris Johnson"s aides are now holding detailed discussions about constructing a chamber on the site, along with office space for staff and peers and a possible summit venue, when parliamentarians decamp from the Palace of Westminster in 2025, for long-planned restoration works. The move is likely to alarm peers who had made light of the suggestion that Mr Johnson could move the upper House outside London, when it was first reported last month. The disclosure also drew criticism from some parliamentarians who said Number 10 should "concentrate on the things that actually matter like health and social care". Mr Johnson ordered his advisers to examine the possibility of moving the chamber outside of London as part of an effort to demonstrate that he was serious about "refocusing attention and investment" away from London. In recent weeks Sir Eddie has examined the possibility of moving the chamber to Birmingham and York - both of which were identified partly on the basis that they could be reached from London in two hours. But the northern city is seen as the "feasible choice" after Mr Johnson"s chief of staff visited the York Central site along with Cabinet Office officials on Jan 31. The site, adjacent to York railway station, is one of the largest brownfield sites in England and is earmarked for 2,500 new homes and up to 968,000 sq ft of offices, shops and hotels. Sir Eddie has been drawn to York Central because it is largely government-controlled and has already received outline planning permission for large-scale development. Mr Johnson"s advisers believe that the city provides a "suitable character" for hosting a parliamentary chamber given that it was the historic capital of the North. Last week Neil Ferris, City of York council"s director of place, told a council committee: "The only thing I would say in respect of the House of Lords is that officers weren"t aware of the proposal - but we understand that the government are seriously looking at it. "Whether or not it has any mileage is a matter for government. "The [council] leader has written to the Prime Minister effectively welcoming their proposal. The fact that the Prime Minister"s aware of the site, that the quality of the site has been raised nationally and internationally, can only be good for the city." Last month James Cleverly, the then Conservative chairman confirmed that the Government was "looking at is a whole range of options about making sure every part of the UK feels properly connected from politics." He added: “When the PM stood up the day after the election and said this is going to be the people’s government he meant it. That meant connecting people with government and politics. “The referendum in 2016 wasn’t just about our relationship with the EU, it was about millions of people and their relationship with politics as a whole.”