A PROPERTY owner has pledged to make safe a "decrepit" York city centre building after a shopper was injured by falling tiles.

Workers in a row of nine shops near the junction of Spurriergate and High Ousegate labelled the 1950s building as "unsafe" after the incident.

Owners Clerical Medical have now said redevelopment of the prime city centre site is in the final stages of preparation.

Director of property investment David Evans said he did not want to leave the building in a "decrepit" state any longer than was necessary.

He added that the company had been in the final stages of securing future tenants for the building, which have been rumoured to include Sainsburys, before starting any work.

In the meantime he said the building's project manager was inspecting the site.

Mr Evans conceded that all the tiling may be removed from the frontage for safety reasons.

Shop workers have criticised the building's condition after a foot-long strip of tiling fell off and hit a man at about 3pm on Saturday. Police cordoned off a section of the busy pedestrian street as the Worcestershire man was taken to York District Hospital with his wife and daughter, suffering from a deep head wound.

Phones4U deputy manager Matthew Bairy said the building did "look unsafe" and needed more maintenance.

The manager of a nearby store who did not wish to be named said it was lucky that only one person was hurt.

Passer-by Yvonne Gordon said shoppers were "quite nervous" of more tiles falling after the incident.

Permission to build a three-storey, five shop and 13 flat complex at the site has already been given the green light by planners.

The project will bring the frontage into line with Natwest Bank.

John Fowler, head of building control at City of York council, confirmed that council workers on emergency call had removed some materials that were "potentially dangerous" from the building's frontage on Saturday afternoon.

Updated: 11:43 Wednesday, July 03, 2002