A £6.5 MILLION retirement complex which could create 120 jobs is to be built on the site of a former York pub.

Retirement living specialists McCarthy & Stone plan 28 apartments as well as communal facilities and gardens at Top Lane in Copmanthorpe, where the Fox & Hounds pub used to stand. The plans have been unanimously approved by City of York Council.

The company said the scheme could bring more than £675,000 a year into the local economy.

Steve Secker, regional managing director, said: “We’re delighted with the council’s decision to approve our proposals and we’d also like to thank the local community for their support and feedback as this helped us shape our final plans.”

The pub, next to the A64, closed in 2011 after 150 years, despite a campaign to keep it open. McCarthy & Stone said the scheme – which will have parking for every apartment – would help meet a local need for retirement accommodation.

Its supporters include council leader James Alexander who said: “It will breathe new life into the current site and help ease care pressures in the city as a whole.”