SEVEN halls of residence which could house more than 280 York students have secured planning approval.

The University of York plans to build four three-storey blocks and three four-storey blocks, containing a total of 285 study-bedrooms, on its Heslington campus.

The buildings are phase three of a building programme at Alcuin College, which is situated between the JB Morrell Library and the department of chemistry.

The blocks will be laid out in a courtyard arrangement around three landscaped areas, and linked to one another by cycle stores containing a total of 165 parking spaces.

A new tree belt is also planned west of the nearby reservoir, to link with existing planting along the northern boundary.

There will be no additional car parking created, other than disabled, in line with the university's policy of not allowing students to have cars on campus.

Local residents and organisations have raised no objections to the scheme, with Heslington Parish Council seeing it as a possible solution to the rising number of students seeking private housing due to a lack of campus accommodation.

Fulford Parish Council has asked for the future increase of the campus population resulting from the plans to be taken into account when the council carries out a traffic survey into the impacts of university expansion plans and proposed housing at Germany Beck and Derwenthorpe.

Members of City of York Council's planning committee have also approved revised plans for residential accommodation for delegates visiting the new National Science Learning Centre.

Work on the £11 million flagship complex, which is being built next to Alcuin College, began last month.

The original application was for two three-storey blocks, but this has been changed to a single three-storey building with 52 single bedrooms, ten double rooms and two for disabled people.

The footprint of the new building would be 25 per cent smaller than that of the original two blocks combined.

The building, and the proposed blocks at Alcuin College, will be accessed by a new road, which has already secured planning approval.

Updated: 10:38 Tuesday, November 30, 2004