THE door has been left open for a new link road through the Nestle factory site - after councillors called for the idea to be included in a consultation.

A blueprint for the future of the plant, published last week, included proposals for a short-cut between Wigginton Road and Haxby Road for buses, cyclists and pedestrians.

But members of City of York Council's planning committee called last night for a change to the draft development brief, saying a road could be vital in unclogging a nearby bottleneck.

They said the link could help reduce congestion at the junction of Wigginton Road and Haxby Road.

At the meeting, Coun Brian Watson said: "I firmly believe that should be open to all forms of motor traffic because it will alleviate the big problems at the junction.

"I think it will have a positive effect on Gillygate, taking a lot of traffic out of the system that would go there to get round the city."

Coun David Horton said: "I think we would lose an opportunity here if we do not put a road rather than a cycle and footpath to take pressure of that junction.

"I could lead to a vast improvement in the number of vehicles going through there."

The Press has reported how local residents protested against the suggestion that the link road be closed to private traffic, saying it would be an opportunity.

A change to the consultation document was agreed by councillors to include the option of allowing private cars to use the road.

Coun Tracy Simpson-Laing called for facilities for children and teenagers to be a requirement of the development, which will include hundreds of homes.

She also expressed concern about how many cars the development would generate and wanted to make sure buildings and open spaces were designed with disabled people in mind.

Green councillor Mark Hill said he wanted the development to include manual jobs, saying: "I think we should be making a point that this is a place where we should allow at the very least some industrial, noisy, mechanical employment as well as modern computer suites."

Meanwhile, plans for a new multi-million pound Aero plant on the Nestle site were unanimously approved by councillors.

The application for 4,400 sq m extension to the KitKat5 building will involve installing new Aero bar moulding equipment.

Nestlé has said that the new building will be on course for completion by August, with production inside scheduled to start in summer 2008.