A PUBLIC consultation has been launched on retail, parking and Park&Ride improvements at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet.

The York retail park’s expansion plans, announced in December, include 25 new shops and restaurants in an extra 3,500 sq metres of floorspace, around 630 additional parking spaces and an improved Park&Ride facility.

It is claimed that the investment at the site, which attracts 4.5 million visitors each year, will create 500 retail and construction jobs, helping to secure the future of the park, which currently employs 1,700 people.

According to centre figures, it is a major employment location for York, accounting for around one in eight of all retail jobs in the city.

Increased parking spaces would ensure that shoppers can park at peak times, and, it is claimed, help reduce local congestion, alleviating traffic pressures on the A19 Fulford Road corridor.

The plans would also see the centre’s Park&Ride service relocating from the east side to a new, dedicated terminus on the south side.

This would improve traffic flow and help support City of York Council’s sustainable transport goals.

The planned public consultations are an opportunity for local residents and shoppers to find out more about McArthurGlen’s proposals and provide feedback ahead of a planning application being submitted later in the summer.

Centre manager, Mike Thomas, said: “We are excited to

talk to shoppers and local residents about our proposals, which will create an even better shopping experience and also help to resolve the pressures on parking that we sometimes experience.

“By improving and relocating the Park&Ride facility, which has been a huge success story, we’ll also be able to commit to its long-term future on our site, ensuring its environmental and congestion benefits are in place for decades to come.

“We are proud to have been a successful part of York’s retails offer for over 20 years and are looking forward to delivering a significant investment here that signals our confidence in the city and will create hundreds of new jobs.”

The planned public consultation events will take place in the North entrance atrium at McArthurGlen on Friday, June 28, from 3-7pm, and Saturday, June 29, from 10am-2pm.

McArthurGlen Group currently manages 24 designer outlets across nine countries, including six in the UK.

Another four new centres are underway or at the planning stage globally, including one in the West Midlands.

For more information about the shopping centre visit mcarthurglen.com