ONE of the longest-running development wrangles in Durham City's recent history is to come to a head next week when the future of the former ice rink is decided by planners.

Members of Durham City's development control committee will decide on Wednesday whether to grant planning permission for a multi-million pound housing and leisure project on the banks of the river.

The £20m development has attracted considerable opposition, not least from English Heritage, which is concerned about the proposed demolition of the medieval remnants of the Bishop's Mill and the effect on Durham's famous skyline.

However, planners are recommending that the application be approved - subject to no fewer that 28 conditions.

For 30 years, the riverside site, which now stands across the road from the Walkergate development and the Gala Theatre, was home to the city's ice rink.

Opened at the end of the Second World War, the ice rink was home to the successful Durham Wasps ice hockey side but, despite a vociferous campaign by the sport's enthusiasts, closed in 1996 when the team moved to Newcastle, and the owners were left facing a £250,000 repair bill.

Later that year, the site was bought and turned into the Kascada Bowl, a ten-pin bowling alley, and Meridian Health and Fitness Club in a £3.5m conversion, although not without a protracted planning row, which eventually went to appeal over the cladding on the building which stands within sight of the world famous cathedral.

Last year, a planning application was submitted for another change of use of the prime site, which would have created 150 apartments in a five-storey building, along with a leisure suite.

After the proposals attracted a lukewarm response, they were withdrawn without ever being put to the vote of councillors.

In March, a revised application was submitted, for 99 apartments, cafe bar, public square and walkway with underground parking. Durham-based architects Howarth Litchfield Partnership, acting on behalf of an undisclosed developer, launched a summer charm offensive, with a series of public meetings and exhibitions in the city to explain the proposals.

After some adjustments, in light of concerns raised by planning officers about the "monolithic" design, the final application which councillors will vote on next week is for 93 apartments, a further six homes, incorporating living and office space, an oval lace-wing building, which would provide recreational space, including a viewing gallery above the old mill race, a riverside walkway and open square and a 150-space basement car park.

The design changes have won over some, although not all, of the doubters. Planners are now recommending approval, subject to an exhaustive list of conditions, including regulations over the materials to be used and archaeological investigations.

While the City of Durham Trust welcomed the design of the building, English Heritage, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment have both raised concerns about the proposed development, which they say is not of sufficient quality for such a historically sensitive and prominent site.

The Trustees of the Wardens of Durham City Freeman object to the traffic implications of the site.

Due to the intense interest in the development, the city council has taken the unusual step of staging an exhibition of the revised plans ahead of the meeting.

A spokesman for the authority said: "Any member of the public has a final opportunity to view the proposed development of apartments on the afternoon of the meeting, before the committee starts.

"The scheme has been remodelled, with the assistance of an external design consultant, with the aim of producing a scheme of much-improved quality and includes breaking it down from a large rectangular block into three blocks of varying sizes and shapes."

The exhibition will be held in Durham Town Hall, from 2.30pm, ahead of the council meeting, which starts at 5.30pm.