Student accommodation plans for York village set for another decision amid opposition from locals
Plans to convert a vacant 18th Century building and offices into student accommodation are set to go back before councillors after being put on hold amid opposition from locals.
Mason Residences UK Ltd’s application to convert the Grade II-listed building and The Hive in Heslington’s Main Street into a 25-bed accommodation block has been recommended for approval.
The applicant’s agent O’Neill Associates stated the conversion would allow existing buildings to be viably re-used after alternative uses had been deemed impractical.
But 19 objections have been lodged against the plans claiming the development could cause parking problems, noise from its residents and conflict with the character of the village.
The plans are set to go before York Council’s Planning Committee B on Thursday (June 12).
It comes after councillors deferred the application in March to seek further clarity on campus-based student accommodation at the University of York and the marketing of the site.
Miranda Lam, speaking on the applicant’s behalf, told councillors in March the plans aimed to meet future demand for accommodation as serious shortfalls are forecasted locally.
But the Heslington Village Trust’s Nicolas Allen said the plans threatened the area’s quiet, rural nature which it had preserved despite the growth of the nearby University of York.
The University of York sold the site, which consists of the 18th Century building which was used for storage and a mid-century office block known as The Hive, in 2023.
Plans set to go before councillors would see the buildings converted to house four clusters with 17 bedrooms overall and eight studio apartments, three of which would be accessible.
A planned extension at the back of The Hive has been dropped since the application was first submitted and the development includes two disabled parking spaces.
A council report on the plans since March’s meeting stated there was currently no unmet demand for housing that the university needed to address, according to the latest 2023-4 survey.
But it added that because the site was classed as being on the university campus there was no requirement to address a potential loss of an employment site.