CAMPAIGNERS have mounted a last-minute legal challenge to the controversial redevelopment of York's Barbican Centre site.

Lawyers for the Save Our Barbican group have lodged an application at the High Court in London for judicial review of City of York Council's decision to grant planning permission.

Spokesman Ernie Dickinson said the application also concerned the decision to close down the Barbican pool in April.

"We believe that the council has acted unlawfully," he said.

It is understood that the application focuses on a decision not to carry out an environmental impact assessment before granting permission.

The group has major concerns about the impact of the development on people living on the other side of Barbican Road from where large apartments are set to be built.

Mr Dickinson claimed it had now emerged that extensive piling might be needed within 30 feet of residents' front doors.

The application will delay the handover of the site to developers, who want to build a hotel, apartments and conference facilities on the current car park, swimming pool and bowling green.

City of York Council is due to receive £9.25 million for the land, which it says it will plough back into building a new swimming pool on the other side of Kent Street and refurbishing York's two other pools, Edmund Wilson and Yearsley.

Council leader Steve Galloway said today he was confident that the authority's handling of the application would stand up to legal scrutiny, pointing out that the application had already been through an independent test through referral to the Government Office, which had decided not to call it in for a public inquiry.

He warned that if a judge decided there was a prima facie case for a judicial review hearing, it might cause a critical delay which could jeopardise the council's swimming pool plans.

He said that the rising cost of inflation meant that every week's delay could reduce the value of the capital receipt for the site by £20,000.

"I am disappointed that a tiny group of people might jeopardise the provision of leisure facilities that could be used by thousands of people," he said.

Updated: 09:56 Wednesday, December 22, 2004