YORK'S first city centre Morrisons supermarket is expected to bring 350 jobs to the city.

Work has finally begun on the huge project at Foss Islands - eight years after plans for the site were first debated.

The 78,000 square foot store, which will form part of a massive £40 million development at Foss Island Road, is expected to open towards the end of 2007.

The redevelopment of the 14.5-acre complex is now under way following the relocation of the council's waste disposal depot to James Street.

Morrisons will have a petrol filling station and car wash facility. The site is also expected to include a 4,000 square foot restaurant, a bus route into the site, a 3.5-metre wide cycle path and pedestrian links into the city centre.

A Morrisons spokeswoman said: "Work on the construction of the new Morrisons supermarket at Foss Island in York is now under way.

"The site will be unrecognisable from its former use as a council refuge when the new store opens, offering a wide range of goods from fresh food and grocery items to home and leisure goods along with beer, wines and spirits.

"It will feature an in-store caf and Market Street - Morrisons' unique collection of traditional, specialist fresh food counters, including the butcher, baker and fishmonger.

"Morrisons at York will also have a petrol filling station and car wash facility on site."

Sir Ken Morrison, who owns Morrisons and lives in Myton-on-Swale, near Boroughbridge, had been known to be interested in opening a York store for a number of years, but had been unable to find a suitable site.

DIY chain Homebase is also expected to open a new store at the Foss Islands development in December 2008.

The current Homebase store next to Sainsbury's will close, leaving room for that supermarket to double its size in a bid to win York's battle of the supermarkets.

The Foss Islands development was also one of the main reasons for a new congestion-busting link road which opened six weeks ago.

The £2.7 million James Street link road, which has been welcomed by motorists and local businesses, connects Layerthorpe and Lawrence Street, and City of York Council traffic officers hope it will relieve congestion in Foss Islands Road before the new businesses open.