JEWISH leaders have told the Coppergate Riverside public inquiry that Clifford's Tower must be treated with the utmost respect and sensitivity.

A senior member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews spoke out about the York site's vital importance since the massacre of 1190 in which about 150 Jews were killed.

He said he did not feel it was within the board's remit to comment in detail on Land Securities' £60 million scheme to redevelop land between the tower and Piccadilly.

But he said it felt that any permitted development must include "the most stringent permanent provisions for the maintenance, cleanliness and safety of the area, and the distinction and importance of the setting of this leading medieval site."

Elkan Levy, vice chairman of the board's community affairs division, said: "Our concern is for the dignity of Clifford's Tower and its immediate surroundings, and the respect due to the place where such horrific events happened."

He said the retention of the current Castle car park was clearly "not satisfactory."

Mr Levy said the views he expressed represented a large number of national and international visitors for whom it was a place of historical and emotional significance.

He said the massacre happened after York's Jewish community had fled to the tower to take refuge from a mob.

Land Securities development director Bob De Barr later told the Evening Press it was pleased that the Board of Deputies was not opposed to the principle of development on the site.

"We believe that Coppergate Riverside will be respectful of Clifford's Tower, particularly as there will be strict control of the uses allowed within the scheme."

He said the company believed more people would be attracted to the castle area through the Riverside scheme, and more would therefore find out about the tower's tragic history.

The inquiry was later told of strong opposition to the scheme by the Ramblers Association. David Rubenstein, a York resident and former national chairman of the association, called for more open space in the city centre and said there should be attractive urban surroundings in which people could walk.

The inquiry continues today.

Updated: 12:26 Wednesday, May 29, 2002