A MAJOR public consultation will take place over the future of York's Coppergate site, council leader Steve Galloway revealed today.

A £60m retail and residential scheme, tabled by developers Land Securities, was last month thrown out by a Government planning inspector after a long public inquiry.

An inspector recommended that the scheme, dubbed Coppergate II, should be refused for a number of reasons, including its closeness to historic Clifford's Tower.

But City of York Council bosses are still keen to see the site, particularly the Piccadilly area, developed.

Individuals and groups across the city will later in the autumn be invited to take part in the consultation with a view to drawing up a new planning brief.

Coun Galloway said: "There has been speculation about the future of the Castle car park. Our view is that to rush towards a planning application, whether it be for public open space, another version of Coppergate II, or piecemeal development of the area, we risk the same outcome as the Coppergate II proposal.

"A full consultation will take place. Local residents, the business community, private sector investors and the environmental lobby are all invited to take part."

However, proposals to grass over the car park and create a public open space look to have been ruled out from the start.

The idea had been put forward by York Green Party and the Castle Area Campaign (CAC).

But senior councillors believe the need for open space is greater in York's housing areas than in the city centre.

They also see parking in Piccadilly as critical for the city centre, with the £928,000 a year it raises also critical to council finances. The income was equivalent to a two per cent council tax hike, Coun Galloway said.

If the car park's use was changed under the new planning brief, a new, private, car park could be built on the old Fiat garage site, he added.

Labour leader Dave Merrett welcomed the idea of a new consultation.

But he called for time to allow councillors and York residents to digest the implications of Coppergate II being thrown out.

Coun Merrett said: "The information needs to be put on the table so an intelligent and well-informed debate can be conducted."

Updated: 14:42 Thursday, October 02, 2003