RESIDENTS were dismayed today after a controversial all-night train washing depot was given the go-ahead by York planners.

The Leeman Road depot will operate seven nights a week, from 8pm to 5am.

Trains will be washed and refuelled at the site, toilets cleaned, and light maintenance work carried out.

Councillor Richard Walker, chairman of City of York Council's planning committee, said Siemens, the firm behind the project, had made significant concessions to the demands of people living in nearby streets.

But one elderly householder, of Aldborough Way, who did not want to be named, said: "When we bought these houses we looked at the site and we saw the railway on one side and the river on the other, and we thought there couldn't be any further development.

"The council have got residents there who pay towards the running of York, and our dwellings are now going to be devalued if we want to sell them.

"I feel like asking for the name and address of who has approved it, so I can go round there to get a good night's sleep."

The land is owned by Network Rail, which enjoys permitted development rights. That means that if permission had been refused, the company could still have undertaken the work, and councillors said that would have left residents in an even worse position.

Certain conditions were imposed by councillors. Noise absorption barriers will be erected to reduce disruption to residents, and the track layout has been amended from the original plans, to minimise the need to repeatedly stop and start engines.

Supporting the application, Coun Ann Reid, said: "If we refused this, and they still put in the works, we would have no control whatsoever."

Coun Walker said: "I do somewhat feel that we are having a gun held to our heads on this one."

Representatives from Siemens said at the meeting that the firm would be a "good neighbour."

But Elaine Shrewsbury, of St James Court, said: "Unlike Siemens, we are fighting for our way of life, not for profit margins."

Gareth Maunder, 33, of Victoria Court, said: "Siemens have said they want to be a good neighbour, but have told the council if they don't pass the application, they will go ahead with it anyway."

He claimed the noise from the depot would be in breach of the Human Rights Act, which entitled people to a decent quality of life at home, and claimed residents might be able to mount a legal challenge.

Updated: 14:12 Friday, April 29, 2005