York care home planned near former Terry's Chocolate factory site and York Race Course

David Tyro of McCarthy & Stone has applied to the City of York Council to build the "extra care accommodation", featuring 73 apartments, at the site in Bishopthorpe Road near York Race Course.

The nearby factory ceased production in 2005 and buildings there stood empty for years before redevelopments started.

Documents say that the latest project would be located opposite the former factory site on Bishopthorpe Road, closer to the River Ouse, around one and a half miles from the south of the city centre.

The factory itself has already been converted in to apartments, and its headquarters has become a separate care home, say documents.

In a design and access statement submitted with latest plans, the developer said: "This is a much specialised form of accommodation, which is currently limited within York. The most important functional requirement for this type of retirement housing relates to the ease of movement throughout any development.

"The building should accommodate self-contained apartments linked by heated corridors accessed from a secure entrance.

"Communal facilities in the form of a homeowner’s lounge and bistro, guest suite and refuse rooms must all be located at the heart of the scheme.

"In addition to these functional requirements, the proposal must address site specific conditions such as its physical context, historical context, surrounding character, constraints and opportunities, neighbour’s privacy and amenity."

A two-storey car park would also be built as part of the plans.

The site is near the Terry's clock tower, whose four distinctive dials were lifted back onto the landmark as part of a major restoration in 2019.