RETAIL leaders are calling for fresh plans to be drawn up to revive run-down Piccadilly in York, following the Government decision to throw out the Coppergate Riverside scheme.

They said the car park area between Piccadilly and Clifford's Tower should also be redeveloped, but with a more "appropriate" project than Land Securities had been proposing.

The York Chamber of Trade and the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce were giving their views in the wake of the landmark Coppergate decision.

Adam Sinclair, chairman of the chamber of trade, said he was very pleased for members, most of whom he claimed had been subjected to ridicule and even intimidation over their stance on Land Securities' proposals. "I feel that our consistent arguments over the past four years have been totally vindicated," he said.

He said the chamber was looking to see development of part of the site, not necessarily with a large retail building but with something that had regard for the heritage and setting of the historic city.

He suggested a cultural building, with Heritage Lottery Funding, could form part of the development, along with a piazza or open space. Len Cruddas, chief executive of the chamber of commerce, said he would like to see some development of the area on an "appropriate scale".

He said the redevelopment of Piccadilly had been put on the backburner because of its inclusion in the whole Coppergate Riverside scheme, but the area now needed sorting out.

He said he wanted to emphasise the value of independent retailers to the city's retail offer. "We should do our best not to exclude them from what is going on."

Meanwhile, the Castle Area Campaign Group, which bitterly opposed Land Securities' scheme, is to display a scale model of Clifford's Tower at a Without Walls march on September 24

Spokesman Stuart Wilson said: "Our work is not done yet. Something will and needs to happen with the Castle car park, and we want to be able to make sure that these plans take in the views of the citizens of York."

Colleague Stella Davis said: "Surely the council must now see that it must listen to the people it serves, and accommodate their views in any future plans."

Updated: 11:24 Thursday, September 18, 2003