A LONG standing scheme for a new road in the centre of Lancaster could finally go ahead - but it all hinges on the developers proving the need for a supermarket at Kingsway.

Developers CR Chelverton last week announced a multi-million pound scheme covering two of the city's most neglected sites at a meeting with Lancaster Chamber of Commerce.

A supermarket would form the centrepiece of the regeneration of the lower part of the site.

The company wants to resurrect part of the 1980s Eastern Relief Road in order to improve access to Kingsway and the former brewery site, which could become a retail and leisure area.

They argue the road could only be funded by a highly profitable development such as a superstore.

The company, which hopes to begin work within two years, would also build housing along Parliament Street, which would conceal the supermarket building and improve the appearance of the area.

CR Chelverton owns options to buy a large part of the site and, having been knocked back in its bid to re-develop the council owned former bus depot and leisure centre, is now looking at a plan, which, it claims, would complement the 'mixed use' scheme for that area.

However, a 'development brief' for the Kingsway site - approved by the Lancaster City Council's regeneration review board only last month - says that a limited scope for growth in spending on ' convenience' goods and the constraints on the site mean 'the council does not consider the site suitable for a food store,' though a demand for ' bulky' goods could be met.

The guidelines also raise the possibility of community facilities - including a long awaited skateboarding centre - to be included.

Other suggestions include a hotel or youth hostel, as the Youth Hostel Association are interested in establishing a facility in the city.

Council officers are now asking the company to come up with more detailed plans, and intend to deal with all three aspects of its application - Kingsway, the brewery and the road - as a whole.