YORK is a beautiful city. But for too long it has been depressingly dead in the evening.

People don't flock into the city centre after 5pm to enjoy the pavement cafés and bars, because usually there aren't any.

The shops all close, there is no street entertainment, and there are few alternatives to bars and pubs.

For a city voted the best tourist destination in Europe, this is not good enough. Soon, however, all of that could be about to change.

A wide-ranging council report suggests it is time to breathe new life into the city's night-time economy.

Many of its suggestions are little short of revolutionary. The Bar Walls should be kept open and floodlit after dark, it suggests. The curfew on pavement bars and cafés should be scrapped, and there should be a city-centre zone dedicated for evening entertainment. More shops and visitor attractions should also be encouraged to stay open later - possibly by offering free parking for visitors one night a week.

Could our city be about to wake up at last? We hope so.

Bringing the city centre back to life in the evenings in this way would be great news for everybody. Tourists and locals alike would be able to enjoy the new-found night-life. Local businesses would benefit. And it is even possible crime and drunkenness would fall, if the city centre were taken over by happy people enjoying a meal, a coffee and a bit of street theatre.

Council bosses will meet to discuss the proposals next week. We hope they have the courage to grasp with both hands this chance to turn York into the 24-hour city it longs to be.