In the week when York's designer outlet turned five years old, CHRIS TITLEY asks whether out-of-town shopping has been a blessing or a curse.

LIKE many a birth, the new arrival was heralded by screaming and nakedness. But both came as a surprise at the launch of a shopping centre. The Lord Mayor of York, other civic dignitaries and schoolchildren attending McArthurGlen Designer Outlet's official opening in November 1998 were taken aback when a woman ditched every last stitch and streaked around protesting against consumerism.

It was the last action of a lively but failed campaign by environmentalists to prevent the £64 million complex being built. They have long gone. In their place, an army of shoppers.

Three million of them came through the doors of the complex near Naburn last year, almost double the number in its first year of trading. They can now visit 115 stores, grown from 64; and be served by 1,000 staff, up from 600 in 1998. Turnover, too, has more than doubled, although centre manager Norma Middlemiss would not put a figure on it.

She says the local attitude to the designer outlet has changed as much as the trading figures.

"I remember very vividly at the beginning, every time I got into a taxi, the driver would say to me, 'you are working in that big white elephant. That will never work'.

"I am please to say they were proved totally wrong."

Bad press about the protests gave rise to a feeling that "the centre wasn't for them, that it was going to be very high-priced merchandise", rather than discounted lines from designer and high street brands.

"We have people in the shopping centre regularly who swore initially they would never set foot in the place."

McArthurGlen has undoubtedly been a success for its owners and the stores inside. But what of the wider picture?

Mrs Middlemiss said: "It's been good for the city centre of York. One of the constant things we see from the focus groups is people saying it's wonderful not to have to go to Leeds to buy something special.

"There are a lot of absolutely fabulous shops in York, especially the small, specialised shops.

"But retailing in York at the moment is still fairly limited because of the size of the premises. It tends to mean that a lot of the multiples don't have big stores here."

Besides which, she said the McArthurGlen shops are not in direct competition with York's retail heart. If anything, the designer outlet draws in tourists from a wide catchment area - as far north as Aberdeen and down to southern England - who often go on to spend money in York itself.

Roy Templeman also believes McArthurGlen has been good for the city. But York council's director of environment and development services is speaking with the benefit of hindsight.

The complex was granted planning permission before the new unitary authority for Greater York came into being.

"If you were to ask would the council have made that decision to go ahead with that particular development at that time, I think we would have had to think very carefully," he said.

"We would have had some concerns about the potential effect that out-of-town shopping had on the city centre."

That impact has been reduced because McArthurGlen offers a different sort of retailing, but short-term planning conditions which limited the centre to selling only discounted lines have now run out.

"Some of the planning conditions have evolved since that time," Mr Templeman said. "There is potential for the units in Naburn to become more competitive with the city centre: we have to be mindful of that with three major out-of-town shopping outlets.

"I don't think the council would wish to see a major extension of out-of-town shopping. If you got that balance wrong, it could have a very definite effect on city centre retailing."

He said that McArthurGlen bosses had given assurances that there were no immediate plans to change their successful formula. And the centre had worked well with the council, agreeing to host a park-and-ride site there.

This is designed to take Naburn shoppers into town, as well as the other way around, but Mr Templeman said it "hasn't been as effective as we might have thought".

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, has a different perspective. McArthurGlen has "added to the York tourism product. We put it in all the tourism literature and there has been significant interest from people coming here for a short break.

"We have been pleased as to how successful it has been."

City of York Council had a big idea to balance the popularity of McArthurGlen, Monks Cross and Clifton Moor shopping parks. It was called Coppergate Riverside.

That was thrown out after a public inquiry but both the planning inspector and Secretary of State agreed with the council's case that York needed more shopping provision.

That leaves Mr Templeman and the council looking for new ways to bring to more mid-sized, quality shops to the city centre. He said "a good mix of independent, local and national shops" was needed to protect the prosperity of York as a shopping centre for years to come.

Adam Sinclair is chairman of both the York Chamber of Trade and the new York Business Pride board. He campaigned against out-of-town shopping when it was proposed, but concedes that fight has been long lost.

McArthurGlen is distinctive enough from shops available in York to have had "a positive impact on the city and the area in general," he said.

Indeed, Mr Sinclair has his own outlet, China China, at Naburn to complement his Mulberry Hall store in Stonegate. But he is still cautious about the benefits of retail parks in general.

"I do think we need to be careful to strike a balance. We are well served in this area for out-of-town shopping.

"Our eyes need to be focused on the city centre. York city centre is unique: we need to enhance and expand that character.

"We need to look for shops of character and sustainability in our city centre which doesn't have the advantages of easy access and parking that out-of-town centres have."

He hopes the Spurriergate and Stonegate Walk developments will play a key role.

As for Coppergate II, Mr Sinclair is against another monolith. Instead, he advocates the piecemeal development of Piccadilly, with the Castle area turned into open space.

"I would like to see York be more aspirational. If Leeds can do Millennium Square with heritage lottery funding, surely we can come up with something more distinctive at this location.

"We need to complement all those extra buildings with some piazzas, some space.

"People want to come to York for the experience. Life isn't all about shopping."

Updated: 11:07 Friday, November 14, 2003