A LEISURE firm could face a race against time in its plans to carry out a multi-million pound revamp of York's Barbican Centre by the autumn.

A planning application by Absolute Leisure failed to get on the agenda of City of York Council's planning committee earlier this week.

The council hopes it will now be considered at the next meeting at the end of May, although it says this cannot be guaranteed.

But even if the proposal is considered and also approved, the company will still have only five months to prepare the site, carry out pile-driving if needed, construct new bars and restaurants, refurbish the auditorium and tidy the site before re-opening the centre by the beginning of November.

The Royal British Legion has been promised the Barbican for its annual Festival of Remembrance in early November, and a Community Carol Concert and the UK Snooker Championships are also set to be held there between then and Christmas.

Back in 2004, Absolute Leisure said nine months had originally been set aside for the refurbishment project and, although the timescale could be speeded up, this would push up the costs.

Absolute Leisure boss Tony Knox said last December the company would be ready to start the project by the beginning of February, with the work scheduled to finish by the end of the summer.

Asked if the scheme could now be completed in just five months, a spokeswoman for the company said today it was "fully intending to have the centre up and running this year."

She said: "They are expecting the application to be passed fairly quickly, although they don't know the exact date."

The application involves a number of modifications to an original scheme which was given permission some years ago.

Ernie Dickinson, the former leader of the campaign group Save Our Barbican (SOB), who is now standing at the forthcoming elections as a Labour candidate for Fishergate, said today he did not believe it would be possible for the work to be done in the remaining time.

The Liberal Democrats say in their election manifesto that private investment is modernising the Barbican, adding: "It will re-open in the autumn."

Coun Steve Galloway, the party's council leader, said today he understood there had been a "minor issue" with a redesign of the proposed glazed front to the building.

"I remain confident the modernised centre will open in the autumn," he said.

"Absolute Leisure will confirm that part of the original nine- month period included a time for sourcing materials, which they have already made a start on."