AT LEAST 400 jobs could ultimately be created by a proposed new high-tech business park near York, consultants behind the scheme said today.

And they claimed it could also help tackle York's traffic problems by providing work, particularly for local people living in the Strensall, Haxby and Wigginton area. Charles F Stead and Co is seeking outline planning permission from City of York Council to build the park at The Tannery, situated just off Sheriff Hutton Road and alongside the River Foss at Strensall.

Villagers have greeted the proposals with mixed feelings, with some saying they would welcome the loss of tannery smells and the creation of extra employment, but would also have concerns about extra traffic in the village.

Consulting engineer and surveyor Donald Mitchell-Hill said the tannery currently employs about ten people involved in warehousing and trimming hides, servicing a main tannery run by the company in Leeds. Alternative employment would be offered to these staff in Leeds.

He said the proposed five-acre commercial park would probably provide employment for 400 people or more, in the professional, technical and medical sphere, such as architects, engineers and vets, and also the high-tech industrial field.

"We are talking about areas such as software, not deliveries with big lorries," he said, promising that the development would mean fewer lorries than with the tannery.

He claimed the park would be landscaped and designed in brick to fit in with the character and setting of the village. A new well-designed footbridge was also intended over the River Foss, alongside the hump-backed bridge, which currently has no footpath.

Mr Mitchell-Hill said a large population lived in the area but there were few employment opportunities nearer than Clifton Moor.

The business park would provide work for local men and women, many within walking or cycling distance.

Peter Crack, managing director of Charles F Stead and Co, said the proposals would give people an opportunity to work in a "nice location, not too far from home."

But it would also fit into the wider picture for York, which was looking to be regarded as an area of scientific excellence. "We hope we are tapping into a stream that everybody else is flowing along," he said.

"A feasibility study has indicated we will not have any difficulties letting the property. It's a great opportunity for Strensall."

Resident Thelma Nixon said she would prefer it if the existing buildings, which she felt were "aesthetically quite pleasing," could be refurbished and converted rather than replaced. Joan Rambridge said: "What about the traffic coming out of there? But the jobs would be a good thing." She said she would also welcome a new footbridge.

Philip Thorpe, chairman of Strensall Parish Council, said the application would be discussed at a planning sub-committee meeting this afternoon, and he did not wish to comment until afterwards.

Updated: 10:40 Monday, November 26, 2001