PLANS to bring a big wheel back to York could be scuppered after a backlash from angry local residents and conservationists.

People living near the proposed site of the wheel in Museum Gardens claim visitors using it would be able to look straight into their bedrooms, and the structure would dominate the skyline and cause light pollution at night.

Philip Thake, chief executive of York Conservation Trust, branded the wheel “totally inappropriate and totally unsightly”, and claimed it would dwarf historic buildings nearby such as Kings Manor and overlook rooms at properties including the De Grey Rooms, recently refurbished by the trust.

He also suggested City of York Council was rushing the proposals through, as the public consultation only started on Christmas Eve, with today given as the deadline.

Great City Attractions and York Museums Trust want to site the wheel for three years on land behind York Art Gallery, currently occupied by semi-derelict huts, and hope permission will be granted by next month, allowing it to open to the public by Easter.

The wheel is seen as providing a major boost to the city's tourist economy, but a series of people have lodged strong objections with the council in recent days.

One local resident, Colin Black, of Marygate, said the wheel would spoil York’s skyline and was incompatible with the city’s historic centre.

He said: “On a personal note, this will ruin the view from my house and allow people to look directly into my bedroom windows.”

This complaint was echoed by Laurence and Angela Burt, of Marygate, who said: “Even without binoculars (which people use in these attractions) it will be quite unacceptable to have our privacy invaded in this way.”

Janette Ray, a bookseller based in Bootham, said the wheel would be a visual intrusion on either side of the street, and she also objected to the intrusion into the gardens, which she used regularly and which was the only designed landscape near the city centre available for the quiet enjoyment of residents as well as visitors.

Other objectors claimed the wheel would distract students at Kings Manor, and said that if people wanted a view of the city, they had only to climb the Minster tower.

But some backed the wheel, with Gillian Scott, of Sycamore Place, describing it as an “excellent, forward-thinking proposal” which would bring additional visitors and enhance the skyline for residents.

A council spokeswoman said the consultation deadline gave the date by which a response was needed to definitely be included in the application assessment process, but said all comments received up to the date when it was decided would be taken into account.

She said an official press notice was published on Wednesday, giving three weeks for comments.

It was unlikely the application would be considered before February 17.