TENNIS fans were today celebrating a major victory in their fight to secure a new tennis centre for York.

Councillors have agreed planning permission for a £10 million centre in Hull Road, for Next Generation Clubs Ltd and the College of Ripon and York St John, despite protests from a care home next door.

Next Generation failed to get approval for another site in Monks Cross last year.

The application has now been referred to the Secretary of State for the Environment, because the site is in the Green Belt.

Building work could start in March next year, and the centre could be open in January 2002.

Vanessa Lindsay Smith, manager of Woodlands Respite Care Centre for MS victims, said afterwards she would be taking advice on making representations to the Secretary of State.

She told the meeting the centre was one of three in the country and helped 400 people every year and said the stress-free and peaceful environment was vital to their respite care.

"If this was St Leonard's Hospice, we wouldn't be here," she said.

Andrij Jurkiw, speaking for local residents against the scheme, questioned whether there would be benefits to the local community, adding: "The suggestion that this will produce a master race of tennis players is quite simply a fallacy."

But fellow resident Fiona Himsworth said many other local people backed the scheme and were worried that if the plans were not passed, playing fields would be lost.

Norrie McLeod, head of project development at Next Generation, said the company had already made changes to the plans and showed flexibility.

Labour and Liberal Democrat Councillors said strict conditions on noise should be put in place. Conservative councillor Gerald Dean voted against the application.

Meanwhile tennis fans were celebrating.

Floss Slack, chairman of the York Tennis Championships, said: "We do need a tennis centre in York. An awful lot of juniors have to travel away to be able to play especially through the winter."

Tony Jack, whose daughter Linsey, 15, who is a member of the junior county team, said he had to take her on an 80-mile round trip to Hull at least four times a week.