A GIANT TV screen could be erected on the site of the "splash palace" in York city centre.

Senior councillors have revealed that City of York Council is considering making a space available for a BBC Big Screen in York - and the doomed public toilet block in Parliament Street is one possible location.

Big Screens, which are part of a "Public Space Broadcasting" project, involving the BBC and local councils, show major broadcast events, news, sport, music and documentaries.

There are currently eight such screens in cities and towns across the country - including one in Millennium Square in Leeds - usually measuring 25 square metres.

Coun Christian Vassie, York's executive member for leisure and culture, said the Government wanted 30 to 40 cities and towns to have them by the time of the 2012 Olympics.

He revealed the council had been approached by representatives of the BBC to see whether it wished to have one, and there had already been a series of meetings.

He said the "splash palace" site was just one of four or five potential locations being looked at, but declined to reveal the others at this stage. One of the issues in Parliament Street was whether the view of the screen might by blocked by trees.

He hoped a series of planning applications would be submitted to the council within the next three months.

He stressed that the screens would not just be intended for sport, with a wide range of broadcast possibilities, including arts, and services from the Minster, such as the Christmas Carol Service, when the potential congregation was bigger than the cathedral could hold.

He added that under the Government initiative, local authorities would be expected to contribute much less than had happened with the Big Screens erected so far, making it a much more realistic prospect for a city the size of York.

Council leader Steve Galloway revealed a Big Screen might be heading to York after a resident contacted him to suggest one should be erected in Parliament Street, saying it could broadcast events such as the Proms, racing from Knavesmire, televised ceremonies from the Minster, and maybe even York City FC live from Wembley should they get there.