THE end looks in sight for a once thriving York pub, as city planners will this week be urged to approve its replacement with a fast food outlet.

The former Frog Hall Inn, in Layerthorpe, finally saw time called last month.

The pub continued serving throughout last year, despite the prospect of closure hanging over it when owners Enterprise Inns agreed to sell up.

The pub and area surrounding it is now expected to be redeveloped, with a McDonald's drive through and a video store to be built there.

Two other, as yet unidentified shops are also to be built on the site.

City of York Council planning chiefs have recommended the application is approved on Thursday - subject to a long list of conditions.

These include the hours the McDonald's can open, restrictions on what the shops can sell, and information on car and cycle parking.

Several objections to the plans have been lodged, including one from York and Ryedale Friends of the Earth, who are concerned about an increase in car use in the area.

The Campaign for Real Ale also objected strongly to the Frog Hall's closure, as did 1,427 York residents who signed a petition against its closure.

In a report, council development control officer Mick Britton says the proposed retail use is "generally acceptable".

He adds: "The loss of the public house is difficult to resist. The application is supported with suitable conditions to cover restrict opening and construction times and reserving details of the restaurant's air extraction equipment."

Before he left, landlord Wayne Allan described the closure as "the end of an era".

He said: "It is a real shame. In an ideal world I would have loved to stay, but it is one of those things."

Shortly before the pub closed, Enterprise Inns Managing Director Philip Wilson said he hoped work on the site would start at Easter.

"It is regrettable the Frog Hall has had to close but it is inevitable if the area is to be regenerated."

York Licensed Victuallers Association Secretary Alan Rowley said today: "It is another nail in the coffin for the British pub trade.

"Why these pubs on the outskirts keep closing I don't know, but it is bad news for the people who drink in the pubs and the people whose livelihoods depend on them."

Updated: 08:52 Monday, February 25, 2002