FEARS that redevelopment of the former Terry's factory will create traffic gridlock in a York suburb have sparked calls for a bypass.

Grantside Limited is set to create about 2,800 jobs on the site of the chocolate works, where it wants to build new offices, hotels, a creative technology centre for Science City York, a health centre and a care home.

Proposals for the Bishopthorpe Road site also include a nursery, public park, gallery, pub and restaurant, brasserie and café and a central piazza.

But City of York Council member John Galvin said he feared vehicles accessing the site would use roads through Bishopthorpe as a rat-run to and from the A64.

Coun Galvin, who represents the Bishopthorpe ward, said: "The quickest access for the site is down Bishopthorpe Road through Bishopthorpe to Sim Balk Lane, Tadcaster Road and the A64. We have to have a bypass for Bishopthorpe or it is going to get completely jammed up and it will be a nightmare for residents. Slow traffic doesn't generally threaten anybody's life, but it will cause major traffic problems and have a serious impact on quality of life."

He called on the city council to consider building a link road between Bishopthorpe Road and Sim Balk Lane to run parallel with the A64.

He said: "I realise it is going to be contentious because the road would run right across green belt land, but I think that's the price we are going to have to pay to avoid blocking up Bishopthorpe."

Grantside's development director Peter Callaghan said such a link road was not being considered, but reassured Bishopthorpe residents that measures had been taken to minimise traffic.

He said: "What we have done is assess the network capacity in conjunction with City of York Council. We have looked at where traffic will be generated and where people will come from and what we have put forward is a package of measures to mitigate the impact of that.

"The development brief for the site is very specific that we have to encourage people to use the route via Campleshon Road, Knavesmire Road and Tadcaster Road to reach the A64."

Damon Copperthwaite, the council's assistant director for transport, said the authority was also looking at improvements to junctions and signalling in the immediate area surrounding the site, and improvements to Tadcaster Road.