THE owners of a York shopping centre have been given a boost for their £10 million revamp plans which would create 200 jobs and five new stores.

Proposals to demolish a section of Clifton Moor Retail Park where DIY chain Wickes was previously based and replace it with a new “retail terrace” will be debated by City of York Council’s planning committee next week.

Officials have said the scheme should be given the go-ahead.

The building where the scheme would take shape has been empty since Wickes moved to new premises in nearby Lysander Close earlier this year, and its replacement would be split into five units with an extra 2,360sqm of retail space.

Its potential new occupiers have yet to be confirmed, but would be “bulky goods” firms, such as those selling furniture or electrical items.

The stores would employ 50 full-time and 150 part-time staff.

A report by council planner Michael Jones said they would not be in direct competition with city-centre businesses, and the shopping park was also being asked to contribute £10,000 towards transport schemes including a new pedestrian and cycle path to the site.

The report said there were no other suitable sites coming up in York which would meet the needs of the retailers planning to move to Clifton Moor, with York Central, Hungate and Castle Piccadilly having all been investigated.

He said: “It is considered the development will not have an unacceptable impact on the city centre.”

Agents acting for the applicants, Clifton Moor Ltd, have also said they want a cover over a pedestrian walkway near the retail park’s Tesco superstore to be demolished to make the new stores easier to see from the Outer Ring Road, and that the companies which will move there aim to recruit a local workforce and run a recruitment advertising campaign.

The scheme would see 30 car-parking spaces being lost, but this would still leave enough spaces to cope with the shopping centre’s busiest times.

The planning committee will also be asked to approve a facelift for the front of Clifton Moor’s other shopping units, except Tesco.