Refusal recommended for York PBSA
In what is probably a surprise for developer Danehurst, which has been in pre-application discussions with the City Council since 2022, plans for a 220-bed scheme are set to be rejected next week.
Danehurst Development was looking to demolish a Mazda car showroom and build the student accommodation on 17-27 Layerthorpe, situated just outside of the city centre and next to the River Foss.
The council is likely to reject the application due to risk of flooding, with almost all of the site in Flood Zone 3.
It notes that the building itself would be around six or seven metres away from the neighbouring river and set around one metre lower than street level, leaving the ground floor communal areas at risk.
Danehurst has worked alongside planning consultant ROK, architect Jefferson Heard Sheard, and – perhaps crucially here – Fairhurst, which carried out the flood risk assessment.
Fairhurst’s conclusion on its flood risk analysis stated: ‘The development has a high risk of flooding from fluvial sources, however is at a low risk of flooding from other sources.
‘Despite the high risk of fluvial flooding the proposed mitigation measures would allow the development to be occupied safely for its lifetime, and the development would not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere.
‘Surface water run-off would be managed appropriately through the incorporation of SuDS.’
Designs for the proposal show a four-storey building, rising to five storeys on the block facing the river, which would comprise 94 cluster flats and 114 studio apartments.
Amenities include a gym, cinema, common room, study room, a gaming room and a launderette, as well as space for 159 bike parking spaces.
There is a well-documented need for more student accommodation in York, and the design and access statement notes that a pre-application in 2022 and again in 2023 received ‘generally positive’ feedback from the council, with the project set to regenerate the ‘under-utilised brownfield site’.
Although the risk of flooding cannot be ignored, the summary from the 2023 meeting states ‘flood risk and ecology impacts are acceptable with proper assessments’, and so it will be interesting to see what happens next.
More details about the scheme can be found by searching York’s planning portal using the reference: 24/01077/FULM.
