THE fight to save a well-used York footpath may not be over - even after councillors threw out plans to close it.

City of York Council's east area planning and transport sub-committee abandoned a proposed order to close a footpath running through St Peter's School in Clifton.

Councillors went against a decision made last November by members of a council urgency committee, who voted that the footpath should be closed to protect staff and pupils from violence and harassment.

But councillors at the latest meeting said the school had not produced enough evidence to show crimes committed at the school were a result of the footpath being kept open.

Coun Ruth Potter said: "I don't think the criteria for closure have been met. I think this is a well-used path.

"If the path was closed I think the crime would still happen - it seems to be crime against property rather than crime against people."

Coun Derek Smallwood said: "That footpath has been there for longer than the school has, and has been enjoyed by the people of Clifton as a public right-of-way."

The vote went against officers' advice, which would have seen the order referred to the Government for a final decision.

St Peter's School said it had a right to appeal - and was consulting its legal advisers about its options. An appeal could lead to a public inquiry.

Stephen Bushby, the council's alleygating officer, said in a report that the school had spent thousands of pounds in improving its security, including repairing fencing, CCTV coverage and security patrols by staff. He said crime figures showed that at least 30 crimes were clustered around the path.

Latest figures for St Peter's School show four crime incidents between October 27 2004 and April 11 this year.

Crimes over the previous three years have included car theft, assault, burglary, antisocial behaviour and robbery.

The order to close the right-of-way was put in place in January this year. Letters of complaint flooded in, with 181 objections from locals, as well as the Cyclists' Touring Club and the Ramblers' Association. Nine letters of support were also received.

Jim Begley, who spoke at the meeting on behalf of the Clifton Path Action Group, said afterwards: "This is a victory for local residents."

A school spokesman said it was "extremely disappointed", adding: "We remain convinced that closure of the footpath is essential to improving the safety and security of pupils, staff and all who work at St Peter's. This is a view supported by North Yorkshire Police, as well as independent security consultants. We have the right to appeal against this decision, and we will now be consulting our legal advisers."

Updated: 09:49 Saturday, April 16, 2005