MAJOR plans to move the council to a run-down area of York and attract £50 million to the city could be given the green light this month.

The council has announced it wants to build £30 million offices for 1,600 staff, which will include a one-stop shop for customers, in the heart of the massive Hungate development, off Stonebow.

It is hoped a further £50million of investment would be attracted to York as a result of the move.

Plans for the sprawling Hungate site already include 720 homes, bars, shops and offices.

Members of the council's ruling executive are being asked to approve the move at their meeting on November 22.

The landmark proposals would mean a huge streamlining operation for the council, moving workers out of 13 separate buildings in the city.

Three of the council's current quarters would be retained: The Guildhall, St Anthony's House in Clarence Street - both of which are council-owned - and the Acomb office at 50, York Road, which is on lease.

That would leave seven premises up for sale, including the large St Leonard's Place block, netting the council £10.5 million which it will put towards the new scheme.

Resources chief Coun Quentin Macdonald said: "This is excellent news for the council - for the way we do business.

"It will transform the council's methods of working."

An independent review into the council's offices, which are currently scattered across 16 separate leased and owned buildings, concluded that many were outdated and expensive.

The new building will provide 12,870 square metres of office space, with construction work planned to start in February 2008 and a target finish date in early 2010. It will be three storeys high at the front, stretching to six at the back, and will meet disability requirements.

The council has said it plans to borrow £17million from a loans board run on the Government's behalf to complete its ambitious proposals. But it estimates savings of £29million will be made over 30 years on current rents and running costs.

Council chiefs believe Hungate is the best option of several sites across York, including Blackfriars House in Rougier Street and the old Reynard's garage site in Piccadilly.

These two sites have been set aside as 'fallback' options.

Chiefs in charge of the council's "accommodation review" have reassured staff that no job losses are planned.

A spokesman for Hungate (York) Regeneration Ltd - the developers behind the £150 million Hungate development recently given the green light after the Deputy Prime Minister did not call it in for public inquiry - welcomed news of the council's planned re-location.

"We see this as a further vote of confidence in the plans that we have for regeneration of this part of the city," he said.

Updated: 08:41 Monday, November 14, 2005