PLANS to transform a York council dump into a major shopping centre are expected to be prepared by next month.

Planning permission has already been given to turn the City of York Council depot, in Foss Islands Road, into an "in town" shopping park offering 130,000 square feet of retail space.

Individual units of at least 10,000 square feet have been on offer.

And developers are expected to reveal further details next month.

Miles Lawrence, of Lawrence, Hannah and Skelton, which represents developers Gregory Properties, said: "It is moving along very well and we have had a lot of interest.

"We are finalising the scheme now, and hope to have that ready to be put in the public domain next month."

The council depot is moving to nearby James Street, although the section used for household waste is expected to remain.

The £32 million scheme, which was approved by councillors last September, also included a proposal for a 4,000 square foot restaurant.

In addition, councillors were asked to seek conditions to ensure the retail units on the site did not sell goods which competed with ones on offer in York city centre.

A retail impact assessment presented by planning officers identified a need "to provide bulky goods retail warehouses in a location close to the city centre".

There have been objections to the scheme, on the grounds that it might cause more pollution by drawing shoppers' vehicles into the city.

Updated: 11:22 Friday, August 17, 2001