A NEW office building on the former York carriageworks site - set to generate 750 new jobs - looks likely to win the go-ahead.

City of York Councillors are being urged to approve a 60,000 square feet, traditional red brick, three-storey operations centre for Card Protection Plan Ltd, at Holgate Park.

But planning officers are recommending a series of conditions, including a legal agreement which deals mainly with the proposed 280-space car park.

Council officials want a barrier or pass system to control use of the parking area, a reduction in the parking spaces available if the company leaves the site, and shift changes to be timed to avoid peak morning and evening rush hours.

A report from senior development control officer Susan Heywood to the planning and transport committee, meeting tomorrow says office use has already been agreed in principle on the site, adding: "The design of the building and landscaping of the site are considered acceptable and the inward investment and job creation opportunities are to be welcomed."

She says the major issue the scheme raises is the amount of parking space, which is larger than standards laid down in the Local Plan.

But she points out that the number of employees is higher than would normally be expected in this type of office building.

"In addition, the shift patterns mean that employees will be arriving and departing at unsociable hours, when public transport is limited and when walking and cycling is also less attractive, for example from 12.30-1am and 6-6.30am."

The applicants had also produced a "Green Transport Plan" to reduce the numbers of employees travelling to the site by private car.

CPP, which provides credit card insurance to millions of people, has already started operations in an old building elsewhere on the former carriageworks site.

It hopes to move into the new office building in about a year.

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