THE Evening Press today reveals the dilemma facing planners as they try to decide whether to approve the £60 million extension to York's Coppergate Centre.

Evening Press readers have voted by more than four to one in our coupon survey for Land Securities' redevelopment scheme to be thrown out, saying it would not be good for York.

With more than 1,200 coupons returned to the paper, the biggest concerns of readers were the impact of "eyesore" buildings near historic Clifford's Tower and the effect of the scheme on existing shops elsewhere in the centre.

But in a separate random survey of 675 shoppers in York city centre - also organised by the paper - a clear majority of respondents claimed the proposals would be good for the city and should be given the green light.

And many claimed the scheme would mean more jobs, improve the choice of shops and keep businesses in York.

The strongly-contrasting results come as City of York Council planning committee prepares to make a crucial decision this autumn on the city centre's biggest shopping scheme in 20 years.

Land Securities, which wants to redevelop the land between the tower and Piccadilly with shops and restaurants, said today it "took great encouragement" from the favourable verdict of shoppers in the city centre survey and said it was not surprised by the contrasting views of our readers.

Assistant director Richard Akers said: "We are pleased that the majority of York citizens who took part in the (shoppers' survey) poll felt that the development would be good for the city and that it should be granted planning permission.

"The results show that they could see the benefits of the scheme in terms of job creation and the way in which new shops and restaurants will add to the vitality of York and be good for existing businesses in the city. This certainly mirrors the very positive response that we received to the plans when they went on display during July.

"The result of the Evening Press poll, which required readers to complete and send in a coupon or respond by e-mail, came as no surprise to us. Experience shows that those who are opposed to planning applications are much more likely to put pen to paper than people who are actually in favour. With this in mind, we are also encouraged by the fact that so many people took the trouble to write in to support our proposals."

The council's director of environment and development services, Roy Templeman, said the authority was pleased to receive the results of the Evening Press surveys.

"This will be valuable information to add to the results of our own consultation and comment," he said.

"Clearly there is a wide difference of opinion between the people who shop in the city centre, the majority of whom support the scheme, and those who have responded to the questionnaire, where the majority object to the scheme.

"I can assure the public that we will be considering the points raised from the consultation process very seriously."

A suggestion by some that the area next to the Castle Museum and Clifford's Tower be turned into a park was doubtful, he said, as the council would lose car park revenue of £500,000 and could need to find up to £750,000 of public cash per year to fund it.

Certain retailers, some with a direct interest in out-of-town shopping, had commented on the proposal's potential impact on the city's historic core. Mr Templeman said independent retail research showed the development would be "largely beneficial" to the city centre.

He added that the council was still in discussion with the developer on the "critical design issue". A lot had been done to address the problems, such as the massing effects on Clifford's Tower.

The full text of the council's reply will be published tomorrow in the Evening Press.

PICTURE: CLIFFORD'S TOWER SCENE: Roy Templeman (right) receives reader survey coupons from Evening Press assistant editor Bill Hearld today (Computer-generated picture by Frank Dwyer)

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