STUDY will be carried out by city council bosses before the number of cars allowed to park in the future York Central development is determined.

City of York Council officers assessing the results of a Faber Maunsell study into transport at the 70-acre site say they will undertake a detailed report - looking at parking at the "Teardrop Site" and the city centre - "before a firm view" is made.

The Evening Press reported yesterday how radical plans which could transform the face of York have been unveiled by council chiefs.

The study, giving initial ideas for a site which will be developed in the next 15 to 20 years, advocated building a new pedestrian bridge, closing roads, creating new routes and establishing a hugely improved public transport system.

Council leader Steve Galloway said the development had the potential, in terms of the city's future prosperity, to be the biggest thing to hit York since the birth of the railways in the early 1800s.

Parking levels in the planning brief were set at about 3,000 for residential use, 1,920 for office and 900 public spaces.

But the study said: "Simply setting parking levels for the York Central development, without any wider consideration for transport levels in York, will not produce the desired results."

A council report, written by its capital programme manager Tony Clarke, said: "There is a concern that the levels of parking provision indicated within the current planning brief may not encourage low car use for trips to and from the site.

"The parking provision needs to be considered together with the proposed public transport improvements and access restrictions to the site. The implications for development, with any revised parking allocation, would need to be assessed."

Coun Galloway said: "Clearly, if we have 5,000 vehicles attempting to drive into the new development at any one time that would present major issues.

"It's something we will look at very carefully, bearing in mind that the site is located immediately next to the best public transport option you are likely to find in the area.

"It may be that some of the residential properties (built) might not have car parking on site - there are already one or two examples in the city centre."

Plan 'great for the city'

NATIONAL Railway Museum boss Andrew Scott said the unveiling of a consultants report on transport for York Central was "great for the city".

Mr Scott said the museum, based at Leeman Road, has been partners in the project to develop the 70-acre site since the beginning and had been constantly informed of developments.

He said: "It became clear quite a while ago that it was crucial to look at the transport issues across the city that would arise from York Central and that's what the current report is all about.

"One of the things that comes across quite strongly is that there are no easy answers. I think it is really good that the city is looking at the big picture and trying to understand how York Central can be accommodated on a city-wide basis.

"There are a lot of issues outside the site. How will traffic be handled? The assertion that in the site itself only 20 per cent of journeys should be by car is quite striking.

"This is not another Clifton Moor. If York Central is going to work it is going to be part of the city centre. It should not be a big motorway from the A59 into the middle of the city."

Updated: 10:00 Thursday, January 12, 2006