A MASSIVE revamp of York’s congestion-busting Park&Ride network has moved a step closer after the go-ahead was given for a new 600-space site.

Building work on new bases for shoppers and visitors to leave their cars before travelling into the city is expected to start next year, after planning approval was given for a huge facility at Clifton Moor.

Design teams will now work on a final blueprint for City of York Council’s Access York Phase 1 scheme. The project also involves similar sites being created at Askham Bar and Poppleton Bar, for which permission has already been granted, and will increase York’s tally of Park&Ride places from 3,750 to 5,350.

It is also set to incorporate a major upgrade to a roundabout near the Poppleton site, and improvements to bus routes on Boroughbridge Road and Wigginton Road to keep journey times for Park&Ride services down.

Bill Woolley, the authority’s head of city strategy, said: “This is the third and final planning permission to be granted for Park&Ride sites in connection with the council’s project known as Access York Phase 1.

“The project has been given approval to proceed through to the detailed design stage on a shared-cost basis, and we are hopeful full approval to carry out construction will have been obtained in a year’s time.” The Government has provisionally agreed to provide £22.89 million towards the scheme.