A new highly-paid city centre supremo could be appointed for York if plans being formulated by the city's top businesses are realised.

Businesses are set to play a much greater role in managing York city centre - with a host of potential benefits from more CCTV cameras and security patrols to better promotions and events.

Already York Business Pride is beefing up its board to prepare the way for a new private and publicly-funded overlord who could plan strategies to keep York lively and beautiful all year round.

The idea is that the new city centre boss would be funded by York Business Pride (YBP), City of York Council and Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency.

Council leader Steve Galloway and Adam Sinclair, chairman of York Business Pride, have both revealed that a group of business people and council representatives from York visited Chester earlier this year to assess their partnership arrangement for managing the central area.

This involves a city centre manager reporting to a City Centre Management Board consisting of business people and city council representatives, similar to the management make-up of YBP.

There is already a city centre manager in York, but the idea is that the new appointment would extend the role beyond its current scope.

Mr Sinclair said that a special sub-board, chaired by Brian Littlejohn, York area manager for Marks & Spencer, was looking at defining the role and securing funding for the new overlord before recruitment can start.

Three new members of the York Business Pride Board have been appointed to reinforce the idea.

They are Boots area manager for York, Jean Lowe, Len Cruddas, chief executive of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and Coun Charles Hall, last year's Lord Mayor of York and now an executive member for commercial services.

Mr Sinclair said: "Chester employs its own city centre manager at quite a large salary. He reports to the city centre management board consisting of business and city council representatives - just like York Business Pride.

"By adopting this method they have derived a lot of cash support from the North West Regional Development Agency - the equivalent of our Yorkshire Forward."

Yorkshire Forward has already supported the designation of York as a US-style Business Improvement District, (BID) but no decision has yet been taken about when, or if formal designation will be sought.

Coun Galloway said that if BID was approved, benefits could include providing services such as promotion, marketing and security and could include extra litter collection, graffiti removal, extra CCTV cameras, security patrols, extra signage and localised business support services.

He said that a grant of £50,000 per annum would be available for each of the next three years, subject to formal approval of the sub regional investment plan by Yorkshire Forward's main board.

Meanwhile, Boots has pledged £4,500 in sponsorship to York Business Pride over the next three years, bringing the total backing of businesses in the city to about £170,000.

£3,000 spent on new daffs

VISITORS coming to York by rail will be greeted by a dazzle of yellow next year.

It will be the result of a £3,000 investment by York Business Pride into creating new "daffodil" areas in the Station Road area.

The planting out is yet another example of the "flower power" demonstrated by the York's business community which has pledged money towards extra "added value" to the city.

Adam Sinclair, chairman of York Business Pride, said the hanging basket scheme sponsored to the tune of £5,000 for York In Bloom was hugely oversubscribed, with 110 businesses paying the subsidised £45 per basket, whose flowers were fed and watered regularly by the City of York Council's commercial services.

Updated: 10:09 Thursday, July 15, 2004