YORK council leader Steve Galloway has assured residents that the Barbican auditorium will NOT have fewer seats after its planned refurbishment.

He claims the venue will provide more entertainment opportunities than the existing centre.

The Evening Press reported on Tuesday how the new entertainment venue, part of a massive redevelopment scheme for the whole site, was set to have only 1,200 seats - some 300 fewer than the present auditorium.

This sparked fears that the Barbican might find it harder attracting major music acts in future, with fans having to travel instead to venues further afield.

But now City of York Council has revealed that the 1,200 figure, contained in a report to next Tuesday's Executive meeting, was in fact a printing error.

Coun Galloway said: "There will continue to be a capacity of around 1,500 for concerts and conferences.

"The misunderstanding may have arisen because the lower tier of seating will continue to be moveable, allowing for a more flexible and smaller venue to be created where a more intimate atmosphere is considered to be desirable," he said.

"It will be possible to screen this area from the rest of the auditorium."

Updated: 10:30 Thursday, January 29, 2004