A MAGNIFICENT London Eye-style wheel could soon make the historic heart of York its home - in a plan which could attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.

Civic chiefs said a 54-metre (177ft) observation wheel in Tower Gardens would be fantastic for the city.

If installed, it could be the centrepiece for a year of festivals, including Royal Ascot and the 400th anniversary of the gunpowder plot.

World Tourist Attractions, based in Nuneaton, is behind the scheme to bring the wheel, which would be almost as high as York Minster, to the city in March for 11 months.

Its £3.5 million, 365 tonne wheel, has already brought the landscapes of Manchester and Birmingham to legions of visitors.

Now the company has set its sights on York, and has put forward a plan which tourism bosses see as a "fantastic addition" to the city's tourist attractions.

Coun Keith Orrell, pictured, City of York Council's leisure chief, said the authority had been working with World Tourist Attractions for three to four months on the scheme.

It would be built on land only 25 metres away from the River Ouse.

Although the land is prone to flooding, a report from the applicant states that the positioning of the wheel, on timber sleepers, would take it above any flood waters.

The wheel would hold as many as 42 gondolas, each of which could carry up to eight people.

It would be open every day of the week between 9am and 11pm.

Coun Orrell said: "We want to make York as eventful as possible, and we think this will have that impact. We have been working on this for the last three to four months and it would be spectacular.

"We think many more people would come to York to look at it, and those who do come will have an extra reason to stay as a result."

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said: "We would support this venture and feel it would be a fantastic new addition to York's attractions.

"It would offer visitors and residents a fun experience and offer the opportunity to see York from a different perspective. This is a really exciting opportunity and we hope after the proper consultation that the city can back it."

In Birmingham, when the wheel first arrived in 2003, 24,000 people visited it in the first month.

But passengers were left amused when technical difficulties led to them being invited to admire central Paris rather than downtown Brum. The wheel has returned since.

The York plan will now be considered by officers before councillors take the final decision in the coming weeks. The siting of the wheel would mean that some trees on the site would be felled.

Coun Andy D'agorne, York Green Party councillor, said: "It would be interesting to find out how nearby residents feel about this.

"It may be of benefit to the city, but there would have to be a very careful look at how it was sited to make sure it was appropriate."

Updated: 10:25 Wednesday, January 26, 2005