MORE details have emerged of the leisure complex - including a new cinema - planned for the community stadium site at Huntington.

The city council named the companies chosen to build and operate the new community stadium last week, and also announced bigger plans for a leisure complex and a newly built swimming pool to replace Waterworld.

Now council papers show the park will also house a cinema, two restaurants, and more than 4,000 sq m of shop floor space, as well as the swimming pools, gym, outdoor sports pitches, and community facilities.

A council spokesman said the team behind the stadium project are in talks with a number of potential operators who could take on the cinema once it is built, but in the meantime few details are available.

A new planning application for the scheme is due to be submitted to the council's planning department in November or December this year, and until the proposals gets full approval of how many screens the cinema - set to occupy 1,652 sq m of floor space - could have.

The papers are due to be discussed at a council cabinet meeting next week, and show two restaurants and 4,245 sq m of shop space - around half the size of the John Lewis store at neighbouring Vangarde - will be part of the development.

Frank Wood, of York Retail Forum, said that while anything that could draw customers away for the city centre should be avoided, he did not think the shops would harm the strong offer in city centre.

But Adam Sinclair, who is chairman of York's City Team partnership, said he was surprised to see more shops and attractions planned for an out-of-town site.

The retail trade and "bricks and mortar" shops face unprecedented challenges at the moment, he said, and York's unique city centre underpins the city's economy.

Last week the council unveiled the larger plans for the stadium complex, and cabinet member Sonja Crisp said the on-site shops would complement the sports and leisure focus at the site, while council leader James Alexander has said the cinema will add a new dimension to the leisure offer at the site.

He said: "The proposed new digital cinema is another example of the exciting mix of community and commercial leisure facilities that the York Community Stadium and Leisure Complex is providing for the city."