York City stadium redevelopment director Ian McAndrew signalled traffic as the major obstacle to a move to Huntington Stadium, which will only be allowed a maximum attendance of 5,350.

McAndrew outlined a range of problems at last night's Supporters' Trust annual meeting, admitting that traffic considerations are the main barrier between obtaining planning permission to redevelop the Monks Cross site.

He added that relocating the athletics club remains a major issue and he was due to meet officials from the Nestl Rowntree outfit today.

McAndrew also revealed that in order to obtain a licence to play football at Huntington the maximum gater permitted will be 5,350, despite the planning application providing space for a thousand more supporters.

At last night's Grand Opera House meeting, McAndrew said: "I have to assume that Bootham Crescent Holdings will not grant us an extension to our lease and, therefore, a planning application is put in for no other reason than to ensure we have a home to play in the Football League.

"I have to be blinkered and work towards that aim for the purpose of survival. If that does not come to be and we stay at Bootham Crescent then great but I have to close my eyes to that.

"There are a lot of issues with Huntington and any planning application has to be accompanied by a travel plan. You can't just have a 'get yourself to the ground' system any more. We have that at Bootham Crescent because we have a history and have been here for a long time.

"The City of York Council gave us an option of paying £160,000 to operate a parking system on match days but we have not got that capital to pay them.

"It has been made clear that any costs involved in 'Park and Ride' schemes would have to be paid by the club and not the council.

"They have said then that we will have to minimise the use of the motor car but all their ideas were going towards every match being made all ticket. Parking there is already a nightmare and the problem is we compound those issues.

"The council assume people would not walk more than 20 minutes and there's also a consideration of people parking outside people's houses in Huntington.

"We have been told to work under the assumption that the ground is always full which is a farce even though it would be fantastic if it was true. The council have accepted some of our points because we have said it is an entirely different situation playing against Southend than it is against Hull at home.

"You do not want to pay for a 'Park and Ride' for 150 Southend fans if nobody uses it but, with 3,000 Hull fans, you need police and traffic management so we have suggested an annual review of the fixtures.

"I am sure we could make Huntington Stadium into a good, four-stand little ground but traffic is the biggest problem and causes the biggest debate.

"There will have to be a degree of compromise and whatever system is decided upon must be sustainable for ten years in order for us to be allowed to play in the Football League.

"We also have to find and pay for new facilities for the athletics club in order for the application to be successful."

Finance director Terry Doyle also stressed the importance of getting supporters through the turnstiles at Huntington if the club are forced out of Bootham Crescent.

He said: "I would like to think everybody as York City fans would support us wherever we play."

McAndrew added that a 21-day consultation period over the application has just begun when the local authority will be speaking to the parish council, Yorkshire Water and various other relevant bodies about possible objections to the redevelopment.

Members of the public are also free to express their complaints and can view the plans at the council's St Leonard's Place offices.

There are also plans to display the application at the football club and details of the dates for viewings will soon be released.

Updated: 11:32 Thursday, December 18, 2003