IT HAS just been named Britain’s most picturesque street – now York’s Shambles has received another massive boost with plans to film the next Pirates Of The Caribbean instalment there.

Blackbeard Productions Ltd has told traders it is proposing to film scenes for the third sequel of the popular series in the medieval street in September – with Monday, September 6, pencilled in as the most likely date.

But location manager Michael Harm told The Press that nothing firm had been decided as yet, and he was unable to answer the questions on most people’s lips: will Hollywood legend Johnny Depp tread the historic cobbles?

Mr Harm said Shambles was only one of a number of possible locations for Pirates Of The Caribbean On Stranger Tides, which were currently being investigated. He said: “It’s very early days. We are examining the feasibility.”

He said if Shambles was chosen for filming, Johnny might not be involved, as stunt doubles could be used instead.

In a letter to traders, he said the proposal to use Shambles had generally met with good support, with every business making some comment and expressing some concerns.

He said: “I will endeavour to address each and every one of these when I know more of what exactly we want to shoot at Shambles.

“There are different scenarios for different scenes, which all have a different requirement.”

Shambles already has recent experience as a film set, with scenes for a TV drama, Robinson Crusoe – starring Sean Bean - being filmed there, along with several other York locations, in 2008. Shops and restaurants were closed while filming took place.

Philippa Johnson, of one long-established Shambles business, Cox of Yorkshire, said: “We’re very excited at the prospect of filming Pirates here. It would be great publicity for Shambles and for York.

“If Johnny Depp was involved, they might need to bring in crowd control though!”