A NEW policy to control the number of new hotels opening in the region’s tourism capital is due to be published next month.

City of York Council has revealed a draft hotel strategy has been drawn up, with the final version to be published in September.

The report comes after council leader James Alexander first mooted the need for hotel development to be monitored in 2011.

"It think it is wrong that a city like York that relies so much on tourism has not had a strategy for the quality and number of hotel bed spaces in the city,” he said.

"It is something I have discussed with the York Hoteliers Association some time ago, and I am pleased a strategy is coming to fruition.

"It has taken longer than expected but I think it is right that time was taken to get it right, and a lot of work has gone into it."

Earlier this year hoteliers voiced their disappointment over the lack of strategy following the council’s decision to approve selling the Reynard’s Garage site in Piccadilly to one of four developers, which all included a hotel in their plans.