ROD Hills has been praised for having helped bring 2,000 jobs and 60 companies to York.

The former council leader's work in setting up and chairing the York Inward Investment Board was highlighted by the board's former Chief Executive Paul Murphy last night.

Mr Murphy was speaking at the latest Without Walls Festival of Ideas debate, only days after Mr Hills died of natural causes at a flat in Leeds.

He said Mr Hills' work with the board in bringing jobs and prosperity should stand as his legacy, rather than the "tittle-tattle that dogged him for the last two years of his life."

He spoke of the "false accusations" that had been made before Mr Hills had been subsequently exonerated.

The debate was called to discuss whether York should grow in size.

Mr Murphy called for "gentle, controlled growth" to sustain the amenities residents take for granted and enjoy, and to provide the new resources needed to achieve social and transport improvements.

He also suggested York's boundaries should be enlarged to take in Selby to help ensure a critical mass was achieved.

John Reeves, chairman of York Property Forum and managing director of Helmsley Group, warned of the dangers of York slipping into the "Third League."

He said York had been a poor city in the 1960s and said it was essential for the city to be allowed to grow if it was to avoid slipping back into that situation. He was critical of planners, whom he claimed were holding back too much development.

Members of the public came up with various suggestions, including one that the university should expand on the "teardrop site" behind the railway station, rather than on Green Belt land at Heslington.

Updated: 14:24 Friday, August 01, 2003