HUNDREDS of new jobs could be created at a York shopping centre.

The trustees of Monks Cross Shopping Park are drawing up a masterplan which could pave the way for the arrival of three big-name “anchor” stores and 300 jobs at the out-of-town site.

Proposals outlined to City of York Council’s planning committee also involve creating some extra smaller shopping units at the centre and adding mezzanine floors to the current stores.

The Monks Cross Shopping Trust says the plan could increase the park’s existing 900-strong workforce by a third and place York in a better position to attract leading retailers.

The trust said such retailers were currently put off the city because the units they required were not available, and they chose rival locations such as Leeds instead.

To take its vision forward, the Trust will need to “refresh” the centre’s current planning guidelines, but it said the move would not hit traders in the heart of York. It said any changes would limit the extent to which Monks Cross could be developed and increases in floor space would be kept within its existing units.

The centre’s trustees – British Airways Pensions, Legal & General, asset management firm Schroders and the Universities Superannuation Scheme, who all have stakes in the site – also say they are in talks with retailers who may want to move to Monks Cross if the scheme succeeds.

A Trust spokesman said: “Monks Cross Shopping Park is very successful and complements the retail offer in the city centre.

“But significant numbers of shoppers currently go to Leeds and other centres because the types of unit modern retailers require are not available in York. This will only get worse as new developments come forward, such as those in Leeds at Eastgate and Trinity.

“We want to offer York residents the range of shops they want while putting a limit on the future growth of the park. Our plans are to reconfigure the current planning permissions so we can create space for some larger and smaller retailers, along with the first floors many shops now demand.

“Combined with improved pedestrian links and transport access, we believe this will ensure York continues to compete with neighbouring centres and offers the types of shops local people want to visit.”

A full planning application for the changes is expected to be submitted in the summer.