IT'S NOT just Mr Mandelson's Dome that's making good progress towards the Millennium.

Planning applications for York's Millennium Bridge come before the city council next month, and project chiefs are confident the bridge will be complete by midsummer 2000.

The bridge for pedestrians and cyclists across the Ouse will link the South Bank and Fulford Road areas of York for the first time, allowing easy east-to-west access across the river and hopefully encourage more people to forsake their cars for short journeys.

As well as the application for the bridge itself, the council will also consider proposals to improve the riverside promenades on each bank, at Terry Avenue and New Walk. There are also plans to link the bridge to new riverside walks being planned on the River Foss around Piccadilly.

"We want to improve access for wheelchairs, pushchairs and pedestrians in general in the area of the Blue Bridge and Castle Mills Bridge and enhance the area generally", said Brian Jardine, a trustee of the Millennium Bridge Trust.

"We want to link through the Foss Basin to the walkway being planned around Piccadilly and the Castle car park, but obviously, the plans are a little embryonic at the moment."

Mr Jardine was confident the bridge plans would receive the council's assent. "The consultation we carried out suggests tremendous public support. The design has been aired publicly and we don't see any opposition. There will be consultation over details with interest groups - the council will consult certain groups - residents, local forums, special interest groups like anglers."

He said that designers Whitby and Bird were currently working on a detailed engineering design of the bridge. "The design the public have seen is pretty final, but we have to demonstrate to the city council that it will stand up!"

Andy White, a spokesman for the York Green Party, said their survey of public opinion at the Fishergate end of the bridge showed majority support from residents.

But he did say they had found a determined minority of about one-in-five residents who were concerned about the bridge's impact on their area.

"There are people in the streets nearest the bridge concerned that it will make their quiet suburban streets more accessible to youths from the South Bank - the bridge might become a magnet for kids to hang around. They also think their streets might become an unofficial car park for walkers, as there isn't a residents' parking scheme.

"We recommended in our newsletter that the council considers employing a river warden to improve security and look at the parking issue."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.