York's historic buildings could face heavier attacks from damaging acid rain if a power station increases emissions of sulphur dioxide.

That was the stark warning today from York MP Hugh Bayley as an environment watchdog drew the city into a major consultation exercise over Drax Power Station's controversial proposals.

The Environment Agency says the station's emissions tend to concentrate in areas up to 30 kilometres away, such as York, because the station's chimney is 850 ft high.

Resulting acid rain eats away at historic structures in the city made of soft limestone, such as the Minster, city walls and medieval churches, said Mr Bayley today.

The power station now wants temporary permission to almost treble emissions of sulphur dioxide from 100,000 to 270,000 tons a year while its flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) plant, which filters out 90 per cent of emissions, is out of action because of cracks in booster fans. But Mr Bayley said he would strongly resist further emissions from Drax.

"York is immediately downwind of the power station," said Mr Bayley. "It's a very serious problem."

Green campaigners Breach claim more sulphur dioxide would be emitted under the proposals than prior to the installation of FGD at Drax.

And City of York council's environmental protection manager Paul Robinson said: "We are not very happy about it. Obviously, the lower the limit, the better it is for York."

The council would be responding to the consultation exercise, but he wanted to know whether there were any plans to compensate for the increase at Drax, for example by reducing emissions from other stations.

A spokesman for the Minster today declined to comment on the matter.

The Environment Agency is adopting a new-style "consult the people" approach to dealing with the station's request.

A spokesman said a new voluntary consultation procedure would be held, including two public meetings within the next 10 weeks, as well as broadening consultation to places as far as York, Leeds, Goole and Doncaster.

He said that without FGD, Drax would use up its annual sulphur dioxide limit of 100,000 tons by as early as the end of June.

"We need to relax the limit, but the station has to do all it can to minimise releases while the FGD filters are down," he added.

Drax's head of environment, Jeff Gyllenspetz, said that without increased emission levels, the station would be shut down by law.

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