DEVELOPERS have applied for more time to redevelop the site of a former grain store in York.

Former warehouses at Water Lane, in Clifton Moor, were bulldozed two years ago to make way for 200 new homes as well as a hotel, health centre and office space.

The 19-acre site, which had stood empty for years and had been branded an eyesore, is to be redeveloped by Harrogate-based property and investment firm Wilton Developments following a drawn-out planning battle which ultimately led to permission for the project being granted by City of York Council.

But the firm has now asked for an extension to the time limit within which it is allowed to complete the work, and although its original application for this to happen has been withdrawn, it is expected to submit a fresh bid in the near future.

The development will also include the creation of public open space, pedestrian and cycling links and parking for cars and bikes, with the aim being to provide four acres of buildings for employment use over a four-acre stretch of the site, formerly part of a Second World War airfield, and family homes on another slice of land nearby.

Jason Stowe, development director for Wilton Developments, said: “The scheme will offer a sustainable mixture of uses, including homes and employment opportunities.”

Wilton Developments bought the former grain store, which operated for more than 20 years, from the Government’s Rural Payments Agency in 2005 and handed in a planning application for the scheme to the council two years later, but was then forced to lodge an appeal after the authority ruled it was unable to make a decision.

That led to a public inquiry in 2008, after which Wilton was ultimately given the go-ahead.

After being consulted about the application for an extension, Clifton Without Parish Council said it did not object, but would want to see the extra time within which work could start being limited to two years.