"I THINK this is the most important planning application in York for a decade."

It will create 2,800 jobs - about 2,500 at the offices and another 300 at two hotels, a nursery and a children's gym.

And the man behind the multi-million pound plan to bring Terry's factory to life, says it has become even more important than when he acquired the huge site earlier this year, since when hundreds of jobs have gone at Nestle Rowntree, Norwich Union and British Sugar.

The words today of developer Steve Davis, as he submitted a massive planning application to City of York Council for the redevelopment of the former Terry's chocolate factory.

And as dozens of boxes of documents were handed over to planners, the managing director of York-based Grantside York Ltd had this message to the authority "I hope this will be treated as a great priority for York."

He said that if permission was granted by February, as he hoped, the aim was to make a start on the hotel, apartments and offices by mid-spring.

"We would hope to complete the hotel by the middle of 2008, but the whole project is expected to take between three to five years," he said.

"This masterplan is in line with the development brief for the site, which was drawn up after extensive public consultation. This will be a high quality working and living environment "We have retained most of the trees around the site to screen it, in line with the public's preferences, while also opening up the site by creating new pedestrian access points, again in line with the public's wishes."

He said Grantside was submitting a "hybrid application" - part of it a detailed plan and part of it an outline application.

"We have lodged a detailed application for the listed buildings - the former Terry's offices and the five-storey manufacturing building. The former offices will become a luxury four-star plus 120-bedroom hotel, with the existing glazed atrium being retained, and a spa behind it featuring a swimming pool, fitness centre, mud and salt treatment centre and ice room.

"Membership of the spa will be open to York residents.

"The old factory will have live-work units and studios on the ground floor, and apartments on the four storeys above. The roof will have four new glazed luxury apartments and two penthouse suites.

"We have also applied for detailed permission for two new office buildings, which will be in a contemporary style, glazed with terracotta screening.

"One, a five-storey building, will accommodate a new creative technology centre for Science City York, which should create about 450 jobs.

"The other four-storey building will be serviced offices for anything from a one-man business upwards, outside the Science City York area, which should create about 300 jobs.

"We are also submitting an outline application for the rest of the site, and this includes a proposal for a second hotel, a three-star 96 bedroom hotel suitable for business people visiting the area. Both hotels would be able to accommodate racegoers and other people attending events at the racecourse.

"There is a proposal for a public park with a children's play area along the side of the site fronting on to Bishopthorpe Road, and a gallery, restaurant, brasserie and caf around a central piazza and incorporating the old Clock Tower.

"There will also be a new cycle and pedestrian route through the site, linking up the existing cycle path across Knavesmire with Campleshon Road, and a new cycle path linking up with the riverside cycle path.

"The plan includes assisted living accommodation for 110 over 55s, and a 60-bed residential care home.

"We have also applied for a ground floor convenience store with studios above it, and for a new medical centre, which could include a dental surgery as well as GP surgery.

"The proposals include a nursery and children's gym, which would be available both for people working on the site and from the wider community.

"The existing car park on the other side of Bishopthorpe Road would become a concierged car park for the luxury hotel and also provide some parking for the offices."

The plans also involve some underground basement parking for the offices and homes.

"We would hope to create a grand new entrance way to the racecourse, with which we have worked closely."

He added that none of the new buildings on the site would rise as high as the old clock tower and massive factory building, which would continue to dominate the skyline.

Chocolate factory site plans lifts jobs gloom

THE prospect of thousands of new jobs on the Terry's factory site could hardly come at a better time for York.

For 2006 has been the city's worst year for a decade in terms of redundancies - the worst since York Carriageworks closed down in the mid-1990s with the loss of 750 jobs.

Confectioners Nestl Rowntree have announced two waves of jobs losses - more than 200 in the spring and another 645 in September.

Another 450 York redundancies were announced by the insurance giant Norwich Union in September, and 103 permanent jobs are to go next year at British Sugar's beet processing plant in Boroughbridge Road.

The American owners of another York business, Accent Optical Technologies, formerly Vickers Instruments, said last month that about 25 manufacturing jobs were to go at the Haxby Road base, although York's research and development arm was set to expand.

Authority will look to avoid delays'

COUNCIL leader Steve Galloway said today he wanted the Terry's application to be dealt with as "expeditiously as possible."

Coun Galloway said that while residents were entitled to express their views, the authority would want to avoid delays caused by anyone trying to exploit legal loopholes.

"I am pleased that Grantside are now in a position to submit a planning application," he told The Press.

"The site is an important one from the viewpoint of providing more homes, jobs and community facilities for the city and I will be asking officers to deal with the application as expeditiously as possible. Clearly, though residents are entitled to express their views on the proposals, we will want to avoid any possibility of delays being caused later by groups seeking to exploit legal loopholes which can be used to frustrate progress. I look forward to development starting on the site and will be personally delighted if the forecast number of jobs does materialise."