TRADERS in York have urged planning appeal inspectors to go ahead with a controversial scheme for another international airport in Yorkshire.

York Chamber of Trade, the breakaway group from the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, has formally backed the prospect of a new £80 million Finningley Airport with a 1.9 mile runway on 800 acres of the former RAF airbase outside Doncaster.

The scheme, formulated by Peel Holdings, has already been backed by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, but opposed by Leeds Bradford, Humberside and Sheffield airports. The public inquiry starts next Tuesday.

Adam Sinclair, chairman of the York Chamber of Trade, has sent a letter to the planning inspectorate expressing concern that "the eastern side of the North of England lacks a substantial and easily accessible airport"

Finningley would be well served by road and rail links and save many millions of people being forced to travel hundreds of miles by car, it argues. And it would mean a massive economic and inward investor boost for Yorkshire.

While other key organisations in York, such as the Inward investment Bureau and the city's economic development unit agree with that conclusion in principle, they have some reservations about what they perceive as a lack of infrastructure in the present proposals.

Both Paul Murphy of York IIB, and Tony Bennett, assistant director for economic development with City of York Council, have visited the site.

Mr Murphy said: "It is clear that if all their ambitions come off it could be a great asset to the region and particularly for York. But at the moment that is still quite a big 'if' and we were struck that there's still a long way to go both in the planning process and the necessary infrastructure.

"It will be the back end of ten years before we see any benefit to York, but if it does come off we would want to see it develop as a business airport rather than as a package tour airport."

Mr Bennett agreed that air services in and out of the region needed to be improved, but argued that not enough thought had gone into the need to extend motorways into Finningley or the effect on the York tourism market. Meanwhile there had to be investment to improve links from York to existing regional airports like Manchester.

- First Choice, the top tour company, announced today that it would support a new Finningley Airport at the inquiry. It has a fleet of 28 aircraft and transports 6.6 million passengers a year.