Campaigners today promised to fight on against the controversial Northern Gateway Park and Ride scheme after it got the go-ahead from a council committee.

Amid jeers and heckles from protesters packed into a stormy meeting, the City of York Council's planning and transport committee approved the planning application to build the car park at Rawcliffe by nine votes to five.

It must now be approved by the full council, and be referred to the Secretary of State for the Environment - as a departure from normal Green Belt policy - before it finally becomes a reality.

A motion from Councillor Steve Galloway that the application be rejected was defeated by the committee.

Today Nick Blitz, from the Northern Gateway group which opposes the scheme, said: "We have no doubt that the (full council) meeting will be just a rubber stamp, so there's no benefit for us getting too involved.

"We now have to persuade the civil servants in Leeds that there's a good case against the proposal, so that the Minister himself is aware that there is strong dissent locally.

"We must keep interest simmering until then."

Around 200 members of the public, most of them opponents of the proposed site, attended last night's meeting at the Clifton Park rugby and cricket club, and members of the Northern Gateway Group demonstrated outside beforehand.

Many of those opposed stressed that they supported Park and Ride as a principle, but not the council's choice of site.

Angry words were exchanged before the meeting began, between demonstrators and the pro-Northern Gateway Start Group, represented by Gordon Thomas, who accused the protestors of being "NIMBYs".

"This site is the best option for the City of York", said Mr Thomas.

But Kerry Hutchinson, from the Northern Gateway Group, told the meeting that the council's report on air pollution at the site was flawed.

After the meeting, he attacked the council's attitude.

"What we saw was hostility towards the objectors. There was no democracy. They were clearly acting politically."

Nick Blitz added: "The new council is acting like it's still just running the old City of York area. It's as we expected, the Labour group has a majority which prevails."

But Coun Dave Merrett defended the consultation process.

"It was clearly very difficult reaching a decision. We have probably carried out the widest consultation for a planning application that we have ever undertaken. I think the issues have been very well aired.

"Of course people are interested in their own communities and they have every right to be so, but we have to consider the wider context. It was a majority view, supported by more than one party."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.