Dave Nelson and Dan Phillips asked shoppers at Monks Cross why they were there instead of the city centre. Their comments may not come as a surprise to hard-pressed city centre retailers, but they will hardly be welcome.

EASY access, and no charges. Those were the key reasons why shoppers were visiting the Monks Cross shopping centre instead of heading for the centre of town.

Julie Sunderland, 41, from Strensall, said she preferred Monks Cross to the city centre for shopping, saying: "The best thing about Monks Cross is the parking; it's easily accessible and it's free."

Jill Rhodes, 34, from Thirsk, said she hardly ever went into the city centre any more, saying Monks Cross had everything she needed.

"The best thing is the parking," she said. "It's free and there are baby spaces."

Malcolm Cameron, 37, of Melbourne, said there were good baby changing facilities at the out-of-town shopping park.

"Monks Cross is more child friendly and has better parking than the city centre," he said. But he tended not to go to Monks Cross on a Saturday because it was so busy.

A shopper who did not wish to be named said he believed the city was run by a "bunch of parish councillors, whose attitude to parking is appalling."

Thomas Peter Jackson, 78, from Heslington, said: "I've got a friend with me in a wheelchair. Monks Cross has better access and is more convenient (than the city centre). But I never come on a Saturday."

Steve Mann, 27, from Holme-on-Spalding Moor, said: "Parking is fine in the week, but at the weekend it's terrible." Mr Mann said he hardly ever made the trip into York.

Updated: 09:56 Thursday, July 01, 2004