TOURIST attractions across York and North Yorkshire could face closure if threatened strike action by English Heritage staff goes ahead.

Planning applications and listed buildings consents could also be severely affected if staff vote for industrial action over a pay dispute.

English Heritage's regional office in York and sites such as Clifford's Tower, Pickering Castle, Rievaulx Abbey, Scarborough Castle, Wharram Percy, near Norton, and Whitby Abbey, could be affected, according to union representatives.

About 500 members of the Prospect union and about 350 members of the Public and Commercial Service Union (PCS), representing about 50 per cent of permanent and seasonal English Heritage staff, are currently being balloted.

The ballot follows unsuccessful pay talks between union representatives and English Heritage last year, after which a pay award of 3.5 per cent was implemented.

The union said workers were frustrated that the deal had been imposed, following a series of low pay settlements.

Full results of the ballot will be known at the end of the month.

Steve Jary, negotiating officer with Prospect, said: "Any English Heritage site that is staffed is liable to be affected on the days that we hold strike action, and the chances are that they would be closed.

"We are also going to be running overtime bans which might affect opening hours on other sites, particularly over the Easter period.

"Most of our members are involved in things like planning applications, archaeology and listed building consent, and although the impact on that will be less visible on strike days, work will slow down."

A spokeswoman for English Heritage said: "In a financially-challenging year for the organisation an overall increase of 3.5 per cent on our pay bill, giving individual staff increases of between 3.2 and 4.3 per cent, was the most we could afford and was implemented in December 2001.

"The award is significantly above inflation and comparable with settlements in the wider public sector.

"We very much hope that staff will choose not to take industrial action of any kind."

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said: "Any disruption to York's visitor attractions is going to be bad for tourism.

"We sincerely hope that this dispute can be resolved before any strike action takes place."

Updated: 12:01 Wednesday, February 13, 2002