LET there be no mistake. The decision taken by a York planning committee last night marked a huge milestone for the city.

What happens at the 'teardrop' site - that vast expanse of railway sidings and forgotten industrial buildings hidden away behind the National Railway Museum - is of enormous importance to York's future.

York Central, as it is formally known, will be almost as big again as the entire centre of the city within the bar walls. It has been described as one of the biggest brownfield sites in Europe, and could accommodate 3,000 homes as well as a new business district and conference and exhibition facilities.

Get it right, and York could be immeasurably enhanced as a place to live and work. Get it wrong, and everything that makes the city so unique and special could be swamped.

That is why those who last night urged councillors not to rush approving the York Central planning brief have a point.

The awful example of Coppergate II, which has divided the city, been subject to endless delays and got the city council ensnared in a costly planning hearing which is still yet to be resolved, is one that needs to be avoided with York Central at all costs.

It is essential, as council leader Dave Merrett himself conceded, that this is one we get right from the beginning.

Not to take the opportunity that development of the site offers, however, would be a wasted chance. Last night's decision to approve a planning brief was simply the first step.

Now there must be extensive consultation with the people of York and all interested groups to create a detailed master plan for the multi-billion pound development. A plan with which - unlike Coppergate II - most of people who live and work in York can broadly agree.

Updated: 11:15 Friday, April 25, 2003