RESIDENTS living near a planned 319-unit student accommodation complex in York fear the impact that having 1,300 students living nearby will have on the area.

Yet planners for York City Council are recommending councillors approve the 3-5 storey scheme on the former Alton Motors site in James Street, which will add to other student blocks there.

Plans were initially submitted in the autumn for 338 flats by S Harrison Developments, but they have been revised downwards following further public consultation.

A report prepared for next Thursday’s (Feb 3) meeting of planning committee notes the area surrounding the site is dominated by 3-4 storey flats and industrial buildings.

The proposed student accommodation has 319 bedrooms; a mix of 253 within clusters and 66 studios.

The building would be A-shaped in footprint, with two landscaped courtyards and 3-5 storeys high (with the top floor within the roof).

The report notes SJ Harrison developed student accommodation south of the application site at the former Lawrence Street WMC and in recent years James Street and the immediate area has become more residential, with the aesthetics of the area increasingly important.

The council’s Conservation Areas Advisory Panel did not oppose, but the Guildhall Planning Panel objected citing over-development.

“The building is too high. It should be setback from the site boundaries to allow for landscaping. It would overlook the dwellings to the west. Too many apartments are proposed and a lack of green space”, they said.

York Civic Trust ‘broadly’ supports the scheme saying it was better designed than other student accommodation schemes in York, but could not support current plans, due to shortcomings in the design, choice of materials and in its internal layout.

Eight other objections said the flats would harm the amenity of residents to the west, with loss of light and privacy, due to the height of the buildings and location of overlooking windows. Five storeys is taller than nearby flats.

Opponents also raised concern over the scheme and others in Lawrence Street would amount to some 1,300 student rooms in the area

“The increase in student accommodation numbers has led to issues of noise, anti-social behaviour and congested car parking. This scheme has inadequate car parking and will lead to further parking problems locally.”

However, planners noted government policy favouring residential development where needed.

“There is evidently a trend in re-using former industrial land in the Walmgate, Lawrence Street and Layerthorpe areas for residential/student use, which has been beneficial to regeneration and the vitality and viability of the city centre,” they said.

When Alton Cars marketed the site, their only interest was from developers of student housing and recent schemes set a precedent for such development.

The report added the scheme was ‘acceptable in principle’, with it comparable to nearby schemes, with no harm to setting of the nearby conservation area, and ‘no undue effects’ on neighbours. Overall, the scheme’s benefits outweighed any adverse impacts, it concluded.