THE developer behind a controversial student flats proposal in York has resubmitted plans featuring fewer apartments and a ‘pocket park’.

City of York Council’s planning committee last month rejected plans for up to 319 student flats on the site of Alton Cars in James Street, despite planning staff recommending approval.

Councillors agreed with nearby residents saying the scheme was ‘over development’ and the council needed a coherent plan for such schemes.

But now York-based S Harrison says it has “made several major changes” in its resubmitted plans after considering such ‘concerns'.

The plans, if approved, will replace a former industrial unit with “a new, modern, energy efficient development for the city’s burgeoning student population".

There would be 231 study bedrooms in cluster apartments, all with their own communal kitchens, living areas and dining facilities, as well as 72 studio apartments.

All students would also benefit from a large central communal area offering study space, games room, cinema, gym and laundry facilities. The site’s central location means it will be almost entirely car-free and a large cycle store will also be incorporated into the scheme.

Changes in the latest plans include wider access along the site's eastern boundary to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians and the building having a ‘significantly’ smaller ‘footprint’, reducing the number of flats by 16 to 303, allowing the creation of a 200 square metre ‘public pocket park’ at the southern edge of the site and visible from Lawrence Street.

S Harrison Development manager Gavin Douglas says the plans give a room size 25 per cent larger than council guidance, they comply with national space standards and are the same or larger than all recently approved student accommodation schemes in York. The plans also include ‘generous’ internal and external amenity space.

Mr Douglas added the most recent data for the 2019/20 academic year shows that student numbers in York are growing at a higher rate than predicted, placing greater demand on existing student accommodation.

York’s universities aspire to grow by 14,000 to 41,335 student places by 2030, and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) schemes catering for the majority of this increase, enough to house half the 2019/20 student population, leaving the other half in unmanaged, rented properties including HMOs.

Demand was outstripping supply and this scheme housing 303 students would ‘save’ 75 private homes from accommodating students, helping release local houses back into York’s residential property market, or delaying the conversion of more family homes into student accommodation.

Mr Douglas concluded: “As the case office in the original planning committee report said, there is a definite trend in re-using former industrial land in the Walmgate, Lawrence Street and Layerthorpe areas for residential and student use, which has been beneficial to regeneration and the vitality and viability of the city centre. We hope the committee recognise the merits of our plans and the significant changes we have made to our proposals.”