FASHION giant Next has scrapped plans to open its fifth store in York.

The high street clothing chain had been given the go-ahead to take over a vacant unit at Clifton Moor Retail Park on the edge of the city in a move which could have created up to 60 new jobs.

But now the company has abandoned proposals to move into the space left behind by the closure of the Northern Electric shop there.

Next's York operation has seen it launch two city centre stores in Coney Street and Stonegate and one at Monks Cross Shopping Park, as well as an out-of-town clearance branch at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet.

It looked set to expand that last year when City of York Council planners gave permission for the chain to open at Clifton Moor after it submitted an application with Shopping Centres Ltd (SCL), which owned the section of the retail park Next was interested in, saying: "It will allow Next to trade more strongly in York and will provide a complementary retail facility to that provided by Next in the city centre and at Monks Cross."

However, a Next spokeswoman has now confirmed: "We do not have any plans to open a store in the Clifton Moor Retail Park at the present time".

The company - whose original interest in the unit was reported by The Press 11 months ago - would not reveal the reasons behind the change of heart.

Its decision comes after a run of success for Clifton Moor, which - as we exclusively revealed last week - is set to welcome a huge new PC World store this autumn and has also confirmed household goods specialist Wilkinson will open there next month, providing 80 jobs, after taking over the former Allders unit.

Meanwhile, Monks Cross will also become the setting for York's second Debenhams store, which could replace PC World when it moves from there along the Outer Ring Road to Clifton Moor.

Nobody from Clifton Moor was available to comment on Next's knockback, but Len Cruddas, chief executive of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said he was not too downhearted by it.

"They know their business and they have got to analyse the market and make decisions when they are ready," he said.

"If there were no Next stores in York and the company had been looking at opening one, then decided not to, it would have been very disappointing.

"But it already has four stores here, which is a lot for the city the size of York, and of course only so many new stores can open in York before you reach saturation point.

"Clifton Moor has had a lot of good news and strong development in terms of its retail side, but it must not become complacent. York has to keep getting better and better as a shopping destination. We are strong both in-town and out-of-town, but if we have a weakness, it is the need for larger units in the city centre."