A major new development that could generate more than 1,000 new jobs is being proposed for 41 acres at Monks Cross in York by a top local developer, the Evening Press can reveal today.

Plans have been submitted to the City of York Council for a hotel, restaurants, leisure facilities and a sports medical centre on green belt land by Jockey Lane to the south of Ryedale Stadium and Waterworld in Huntington.

The project would also include a new Park and Ride area to serve the north-east of York.

The project has been submitted by architects David Lyons and Associates, acting for local developer Richard France's Oakgate Leisure Ltd.

Although Green Belt, the site is earmarked in the council's local development plan proposals as an area that could be used for employment purposes, with the exception of two of the acres to be used for Park and Ride.

Mr France said buildings could be erected by the year 2002 and "at a rough guess" could generate more than 1,000 jobs.

But he recognised that the plan was likely to get a rough passage. It is understood there have been objections to the suggested uses in the development plan from the Yorkshire and Humberside regional planning office as well as Monks Cross developers Huntington Ltd.

Mr France said that Oakgate had obtained options on the land from its four or five owners. "We chose the site because of its closeness to Ryedale Stadium and the swimming pool and the opportunity to link with other forms of leisure, and a Park and Ride would be invaluable."

He also disclosed that there had been an approach to the site owners from a large well-known leisure organisation whose needs may form a separate application on part of the land next month.

Ian Thompson, head of development and regeneration for the City of York Council, said: "We will need to look at the Oakgate application and consider it in the context of decisions members make on the local development plan, to which there have been objections."

Paul Murphy, chief executive of the York Inward Investment Board, said that there may be problems removing the green belt tag from the site.

But in a meeting with Oakgate he had suggested that one element of the application should be for speculative office building.

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