COUNCILLORS are set to sell several buildings in York's Hungate area to pave the way for its redevelopment - and raise cash for council house improvements across the city.

Four properties in Stonebow, another five in Hungate and a site in Dundas Street are all owned by City of York Council, with all the sites leased out until 2050.

The land was acquired by a former York council as part of a housing slum clearance programme in 1936, a report to the council's executive has revealed.

It said the Hungate redevelopment proposals, which include 720 homes, a substantial office building, retail units and a new footbridge over the River Foss, represented an important long-term regeneration plan for the city.

The council owned the freehold on 8,10,12 and 16 Stonebow, 31, 32A, 32B, 33A and 33B Hungate and a site in Dundas Street, but the developer, Hungate (York) Regeneration Ltd, had acquired the leases on all of them, except 33B Hungate.

But the developer wanted to acquire the freehold in order to assemble the majority of the land in Hungate and carry out the comprehensive redevelopment.

The report, by John Urwin, of property services, said the authority had been advised by surveying consultants CB Richard Ellis.

It has sought to secure two objectives; a comprehensive development and the best return for the council's land.

Normally, half of the capital receipts from the sale of land have to be pooled nationally and surrendered to the Office Of The Deputy Prime Minister.

But 100 per cent can be retained by the council if the money is spent within a year on improving council homes to "decent homes standard", and the report recommends the executive should take this course at its meeting today.

The amount that might be raised by the sale is not revealed in the publicly available part of the report.

Outline consent for the redevelopment of the Hungate site was granted last year by the council.

The developers said earlier this year that the project should finally get under way this autumn, creating hundreds of jobs for the next six years.

The first phase will involve about 140 town houses and apartments in an area of the site formerly occupied by Northern Electric, and bounded by the River Foss and a nature reserve.

Updated: 09:24 Tuesday, May 02, 2006