English Heritage say plans for a £60 million extension to Coppergate's shopping centre appear to differ little from those they have previously dismissed as unacceptable.
The conservation body has concerns about the impact the design may have on nearby Clifford's Tower and other historic buildings in the area, and about the proposed demolition of Caf Andros, a listed building.
Developers Land Securities recently unveiled revised proposals for the site, between the tower and Piccadilly.
The application is currently undergoing a consultation period which will end on June 1 and a model of the proposed shopping centre is currently on public display at 9 St Leonard's Place.
English Heritage have not yet completed their assessment of the application, but they intend to air their views to City of York Council within the next few weeks."At first sight the current proposals do not appear to differ substantially from the ones we saw last October," said an English Heritage spokesman today.
"At that time our views were that the proposed development would have an unacceptable impact on the imminent area because it would be too high, too near to Clifford's Tower and the Castle Museum and too intrusive into Castlegate."We were also unhappy about other points including the demolition of a listed building in Castlegate.
"Despite this we are not objecting in principle to the development of this site but, on the basis of our previous assessment, the current proposals seem to be trying to squeeze too much on to the site."
Land Securities spokesman Richard Akers said: "There are discussions pending with English Heritage where these issues will be fully discussed. We will be in a position to say more in due course.
"We strongly believe that the design that we have proposed is the right solution in urban design terms for this particular area."
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