COUNCILLORS have been asked to approve the route of the access road to the York Central site at a meeting next week.

The western option, which would see cars, pedestrians and cyclists turn off Water End to access the site, was chosen as the preferred route in March after public consultations.

As part of the route, a small area of Millennium Green would be used and councillors will be asked to approve a £375,000 payment to the Millennium Green Trust as well as landscaping of land used during construction and provision of alternative land to replace the area lost.

If the council's executive members approve the scheme, a planning application for the access road would be submitted in September and detailed design work will begin to ensure that construction work can start at the site in 2019.

Cllr Ian Gillies, leader of City of York Council, said: "Accessing the site has always been the big difficulty with unlocking that potential, so it is encouraging to see this amount of progress and we would like to thank the Trustees of the Millennium Green Trust for all their positive co-operation to reach a constructive agreement."

"York Central offers a unique opportunity to revitalise the city’s economy."

Cllr Keith Aspden, executive member for economic development and community engagement, thanked York Central Partnership for their work and added: "The voice of residents is having a major impact, including the positioning of the access road, and we will make sure that continues."