REVISED plans for new flats in Heworth have been approved after opposition to the original plans.

Kim Bowler has received planning approval for three flats at 21 Mill Lane in a scheme that will retain an existing ground floor shop/café and flat above the adjoining 1 East Parade.

City of York Council noted opposition to original plans which would have seen the end of the Heworth Café House, which local residents felt could give a boost to independent businesses in East Parade. Losing it would harm the “character and the function of the residential neighbourhood.”

The original scheme was also seen as “overdevelopment with incongruous design elements.”

The application will involve the demolition of buildings to the rear to provide three one-bed flats at 21 Mill Lane.

Currently, the first building provides space for two offices, currently occupied by the applicant (Kim Bowler & co. Chartered Accountants). At the far end of the site (north) is a single storey building used for storage.

Council planners concluded: “With the retention of the commercial space in the ground floor of No.1 East Parade, the revised design is now considered acceptable and a positive addition to the street scene on Mill Lane and to the character of this part of the conservation area.”