THE York council chief behind the controversial Barbican Centre proposals is set for a face-to-face meeting with protesters next week.

Charlie Croft, assistant director of lifelong learning and leisure, has agreed to attend the next public meeting of the Save Our Barbican campaign group.

He will be given 15 minutes to explain City of York Council's proposals for the sports and leisure centre, which include privatising and refurbishing the main auditorium complex and closing the sports hall, with sporting activities re-located to other sites around the city.

Campaigners will then have 15 minutes to ask questions and give Mr Croft their opinions on the proposals, before having a general discussion, said group chairman John Issitt.

The meeting, to be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday in the centre's upper foyer, is the third such event. Almost 100 people attended the last meeting, at which plans were agreed to stage a march through York and step up a drive for signatures to a petition calling for a public inquiry into the plans.

Mr Issitt said the march was being planned for Saturday, March 27, but two other activities were also being proposed before then to raise the profile of the campaign.

He urged supporters to go to the Barbican at 11am on Saturday March 13 for a "Hands around the Barbican" stunt: people would hold hands around as much of the centre as possible in a symbolically-protective gesture.

He said that on Sunday, March 21, activities were planned in the city centre, featuring the York band Huge, whose lead singer Ian Donaghy has expressed concern about the future of concerts at the Barbican auditorium.

Protesters have hit out at the loss of sporting activities and civic space from the Barbican if the proposals go ahead.

They have also expressed concern about the scale of other buildings which are being proposed on the Barbican site, in particular a large apartment building where the car park is currently based.

Mr Croft has said the scheme would lead to better sporting facilities being provided at other sites in York, with, for example, a bigger and better climbing wall to be built at Oaklands.

Proposed new centre operators Absolute Leisure claimed in last night's Evening Press that they intended bringing more acts and bigger names to the auditorium, as well as twice-weekly Comedy Store evenings.

Updated: 08:24 Friday, March 05, 2004