DEBENHAMS could be set to keep its department store in York's Davygate - at least for the time being, it emerged today.

A planning application to convert the upper floors into apartments has been withdrawn by F & C Property Asset Management Plc, acting on behalf of the property's landlords.

A spokeswoman said today that it had been withdrawn for "the time being," to allow the company to assess its options.

She said it was possible it would come back with an amended application to City of York Council. "But another option would still be for Debenhams to remain," she said.

The Press reported earlier this year how developers had been given permission to divide the ground floor into four separate units, and wanted to turn the upper floors into apartments.

News that Debenhams, one of only a handful of department stores in the city centre, might be quitting Davygate was branded "disastrous" by one city centre councillor, BrianWatson.

Today the retailer reiterated its commitment to the city, and confirmed that it was still hoping to move to a massive new store as part of any revived Coppergate Riverside scheme.

A big new Debenhams store in Piccadilly was always seen as a cornerstone of the original proposals by developers Land Securities to extend the Coppergate Centre onto land between Clifford's Tower and the River Foss, and into Piccadilly.

But the whole scheme was thrown out in 2003 after a lengthy public inquiry, which had heard strong protests about the impact on the setting of the historic tower.

The Debenhams spokeswoman said it was liaising with Land Securities, adding: "Debenhams is committed to the city."

The Press reported earlier this year how Land Securities was still considering whether to lodge a fresh application for the whole site, following the publication of a new planning blueprint last year by City of York Council.

Gerald Jennings, the company's regional director, said it was "still actively considering" the City of York Council brief, and was in dialogue with the authority.

"We have been looking at the brief carefully to find a solution that satisfies the need to improve the city's retail offer", he said.

"While considering the content of the brief and the conclusions reached by the referencing group, we are continuing to seek to balance the needs of all key stakeholders and achieve a development that is commercially viable."