THIS picture of sporting heaven is set to provide a lifeline to dozens of sports teams and hundreds of sporting individuals across York.

The computer-generated image shows how the Civil Service Sports Council's proposed £7 million complex would fit in behind the Ikon & Diva nightclub at Clifton Moor, if planning permission is granted.

The site could prove a lifeline to hundreds of sportsmen and women who have lost out following the recent closure of the old Civil Service Sports Club, in Boroughbridge Road.

Facilities at the 11-acre complex would include 12 all-weather five-a-side football pitches and two full-size football pitches, a swimming pool and gymnasium, four tennis courts and squash courts and a cricket square.

The Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) had teamed up with Harrison Developments of Malton to come up with the scheme.

On Tuesday, the CSSC asked the public for their opinions about the plans at a meeting. The application is set to be submitted to City of York Council next week.

Members of the sports club have expressed their disappointment at leaving the club's original site in Boroughbridge Road and some fear the site may now become a base for travellers.

But CSSC estate manager Ray Haskell said financial problems left them with no choice but to close the club site. He said that if the planning application for the site at Clifton Moor was turned down the CSSC would be forced to pull out of York.

Updated: 08:54 Thursday, May 01, 2003