York St John plans 210 flats at Peppermill Court

York St John University seeks to build the flats to cater for its rapidly-growing student numbers at Ramsay Court, west of Huntington Road.

The redevelopment of Peppermill Court is described as “essentially a car-free development.”

It will also feature landscaping, tree-planting and other environmental measures to make it ‘sustainable.’

Plans submitted to City of York Council say the 1990s-built health centre is no longer needed and the university has planning approval to demolish it, which it aims to do by the end of the year.

The centre was previously a 24-bed mental health care facility but after the 72-bed Foss Park mental health hospital at Haxby Road opened, Peppermill Court was no longer needed. For a time, it also helped the NHS in the fight against Covid.

Now, York St John University, which paid more than £3m for the site in 2020, seeks a 210-bed three-storey scheme it says will enhance the area, with landscaped courtyards.

The university will own and manage the development, alongside its existing The Grade student housing nearby, offering accommodation at ‘affordable’ rates, as it guarantees accommodation to first year students, a policy it aims to continue.

York St John is growing, with staff numbers up 54 per cent over the past six years, and student numbers up from 5,500 full time equivalents in 2017 to 8,500 today, 7,500 of whom are taught from York.  Continued growth is expected to see 11,500 students by 2030, 9,000 of which will be York-based.

York St John has no room to deliver student housing on its Lord Mayor’s Walk campus so this must be provided off-campus. The university manages its own sites or works with specialist and private providers, giving it a portfolio of 1600 student bedrooms.

To keep the first-year accommodation guarantee, Peppermill Court aims to provide 210 student bed spaces, comprised of 34 clusters varying in size from 4 to 8 rooms. There would be 1x4-room cluster, 4x5-room clusters, 21x6-room clusters, 4x7-rooms clusters and 4x8-room clusters.

The application said: “The clusters will each contain generous kitchen and living/dining areas, and the ground floor of the building contains further facilities including social areas, laundry, and study zones. A ground floor management suite is provided for University staff to oversee the day-to[1]day operation of the residences.”

Saying it met a range of local and national planning policies, the application concluded: “The proposed scheme represents a high-quality, refined and contemporary design that will make a positive contribution to local area and enhance the setting and significance of St Mary’s House and the character and appearance of the nearby Conservation Area.

“The development will not result in adverse impacts on residential amenity or highway safety.”