A NEAR £7 million transport masterplan for York's Foss Basin is to go before city planners - but the Hungate blueprint might not be debated until September.

A traffic report has been prepared into proposed development in the Foss Basin, including the 720-home Hungate plan, and will be discussed on Thursday.

The report, linked to the Foss Basin masterplan, looks at bus priority measures, a walking and cycling plan as well as stressing the importance of the planned James Street link road.

Last December, city council planning chiefs said they were waiting for the traffic report before the Hungate application could go to planning committee.

The Hungate application was originally submitted in November, 2002, and it was expected to be debated next month.

Rick Deakin, land director at developers Crosby Homes (Yorkshire) said it might get to committee in the summer.

But a council spokesman said planning procedures, including a retail impact study, changes to the planning brief and public consultation would push things back to mid-August.

The spokesman said: "Realistically, it will be looked at in September. These are statutory processes, they have to take place."

Time spent on the plan has now gone way past the Government's 13-week target for major applications.

Mr Deakin said: "It will go to planning this summer. I can't see it (being dealt with) before then. The council does its traffic impact assessment then we will have to go and do our own again.

"Then there is the development brief that is being revised and there will be a consultation process involved in that.

Mr Deakin said it was "frustrating" that the application was being delayed.

He said he believed the authority wanted to avoid a repeat of the Coppergate shock, when a scheme was thrown out despite extensive work by planners.

Council planning chief Ann Reid said: "This is a major application. It is important to get it right. We would rather take longer and get something that is right and everyone is happy with."

The Hungate Community Trust, set up to ensure the development meets the community's needs, criticised any further delay.

Spokesman Gordon Campbell-Thomas said: "The time taken has now become far too long, the decision should have been reached by now. We want to see regeneration of that blighted area of York."

Updated: 08:08 Thursday, February 26, 2004