A SHAKE-UP is planned for a York retail park which is in line for a major overhaul and changes are afoot for shops closer to the city centre, The Press can reveal.

Plans put forward to City of York Council show that a new shop could be on the cards for Clifton Moor, along with shop front overhauls and changes to shop layouts as the park's owners try to update the 20-year-old site.

At the same time, the owners of Foss Islands retail park have asked the council to scrap legal restrictions which limit the types of things they can sell, making it easier for any new shops to move in.

A spokesman for CBRE, who own part of Clifton Moor including Smyths, Currys, Mothercare and Argos, said their plans could bring major benefits to that part of the city.

He said: "Three applications for planning permission have been submitted to the City of York Council that together seek to regenerate Phase 3 of Clifton Moor Retail Park.

"The proposals include the refurbishment of existing retail units, with the addition of some further mezzanine level space, and the erection of a new retail unit within the car park.

"The aim is to modernise this area of the retail park, bringing it into line with customer expectations , and to make the most efficient use of existing space. The proposals are considered to have significant planning merit, not least related to the appearance of the site and the creation of new jobs."

CBRE's plans are for a brand new1,802sq m store in the car park near the Currys and Maplins stores - space which they say is underused.

At the same time, they want to add an extra mezzanine store in Unit 3 - formerly JJB Sports and now home to the Lidl-owned Bargain Base shop - which would add another 800 sq m to the current shop floor.

The final part of their application is for a "comprehensive regeneration" of the shop fronts in the area, to "open up" the shops and make them more attractive to shoppers and more flexible in the future.

At the nearby Wilkinson's store, which is under different ownership, developers have also applied for permission to put in a new mezzanine and extend the shop - and they want to split the unit between Wilkinson's and a new Furniture Village store.

The plans have prompted some fears from city centre traders, who say any expansion of the offer on out-of-town sites is a worry for viability of the old heart of the city.

Frank Wood, of York Retail Forum, said: "Any retail outside the city centre will draw people away. We are already hearing stories of the congestion problems in York city centre and there are plans to do something about that, but the city centre needs all the help it can get.

"York is a destination city and we are very lucky about that, but we must not get complacent."

York Press:

Restrictions could be lifted at Foss Islands Retail Park. Currently, only certain types of goods can be sold there.

At the Foss Islands Site, landowners Threadneedle Property Unit Trust want conditions, originally put on the site when it was given planning permission in 2004, to be lifted.

Threadneedle's planning papers say the council tried to stop competition with city centre stores by only letting Foss Islands tell the kinds of "bulky goods" like DIY equipment, furniture or carpets, that need a lot of storage or display space, and so banned the park from selling things like clothing, toys, books and music, an luxury goods.

Although those goods were allowed as "ancillary" to other goods on sale, the property groups wants the conditions lifted so the stores can sell a bigger range of goods.