PLANS to transform a city centre office block in residential accommodation have been submitted for a third time following another U-turn over the number of proposed apartments.

The proposals for Hudson House, in Toft Green, have seen apartment numbers fall from 115 to 82, before now rising to 139 in the latest application to City of York Council.

Change-of-use approval was originally granted in November 2014 by the authority to transform the majority of the 1960s-built Hudson House into a residential property, with 38 one-bedroom apartments and 77 two-bedroom apartments.

However, in June last year, the property’s parent company Palace Capital redrew its plans and submitted an application which would see only two thirds of the building renovated for residential use, creating 82 studio, one and two-bedroom apartments, with the remaining 37,000sq ft to remain as offices, and be refurbished to Grade A standard.

The property currently comprises around 103,000sq ft of office space, of which about 55,000 sq ft is let on short-term tenancies, and the remainder has been empty for some time.

However plans to retain a commercial presence have now been completely abandoned, with the latest plans seeking to convert the entire property.

Chris Darley, planning director at Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners, planning agents for Palace Capital said: "The building itself is split into four interconnected perpendicular blocks of varying heights around a central courtyard.

"The precedent for the change of use of Hudson House to residential has already been established. City of York Council confirmed in December 2014 that prior approval was not required for the change of use of Block C, and the upper floors of Blocks A, B and D from office to residential use to create 115 residential units.

"This precedent has demonstrated that there are no flooding or contamination issues which would prohibit residential use at the site.

"This new application proposes the change of use of all four blocks of Hudson House from office to residential use, taking into account all floors and including the ground floor areas which were not included as part of the previous application."

Sitting next to City of York Council’s new offices and Network Rail’s regional headquarters George Stephenson House, Hudson House has been home to Network Rail, Corus, BRB (Residuary) Ltd and Olivers of York.

The building was acquired in October 2013 alongside 23 other UK properties by Palace Capital plc for a sum of £39.25 million.