MORE people will be able to address councillors at the crunch meeting on York's Arc Light Centre than during any previous debate, council leader Steve Galloway claimed today.

He said up to 14 speakers will have a chance to express their views before the executive decides on May 2 where the city's homeless centre should be relocated.

"This would be the largest number ever to do so, or to address a council meeting for that matter," he said.

He also defended the ticketing arrangements for members of the public wanting to attend the meeting, at which seven councillors will select one from a shortlist of four possible new sites for the centre.

"The ticketing system was a genuine attempt to ensure that we got a cross-section of residents into the public gallery, and that people didn't waste a journey if demand was high," he said.

Coun Galloway was responding after coming under fire over restrictions on the numbers of people able to attend and speak at the meeting.

Micklegate sub-postmaster Paul Abbott has claimed he has been gagged from speaking on behalf of traders in the street, and Emma Walker, of Bootham Terrace, has contacted the newspaper to complain only one protester from each area will be able to speak, saying: "They surely should allow two or three people from each area."

Because of health and safety rules, only 60 people will be able to sit in the public gallery - far less than are expected to want to attend, and the council has decided to issue tickets for the first time for such a meeting to ensure a number of people from each area can get in.

Coun Galloway stressed the meeting was an executive meeting in public - not a public meeting - and that it was the quality of written arguments in letters rather than speeches which would carry the greatest weight with councillors.

He said: "The public ward committee meeting took place before Easter. That was the opportunity for residents to express their views verbally to their elected representatives."

He said on May 2, the executive would simply be indicating its willingness to release a particular site for the centre.

The preferred site would then have to go through a separate planning application process before any final decision was taken.

He said: "There are 14 different councillors, representing all the political groups on the council, who are members of the planning committee and who will take a fresh look at the issues. They will have a (planning) officer's recommendation in front of them."

Updated: 10:00 Saturday, April 22, 2006