Chic riverside flats for Selby

Councillors said the £25 million development, in Ousegate and Shipyard Road, would revitalise a run-down area and boost the town's economy.

A total of 214 dwellings will be built on 15 acres of land, in a joint project by landowners Powell Duffryn Shipping Ltd and housebuilders Barratt York Ltd.

Derelict land behind the General Freight Company, in Ousegate, will be used for 74 houses, including two-storey terraced and three-storey town houses, a children's play area and parking spaces.

Three separate blocks of flats - some of which will be luxury apartments - will be built off Shipyard Road, on land used by General Freight for its warehouse and yard.

There will be 140 apartments, some of which will have balconies overlooking the Selby Canal basin and the River Ouse.

The development, which is in a conservation area, will also include 50 "affordable" homes for people on low incomes to either rent or buy.

Selby District Council planning officer Richard Borrows said it was an exciting scheme.

It would help regenerate a part of the town centre that currently housed a range of run-down buildings with limited use.

He said: "Some of the apartments have aluminium roofs. They are modern and innovative and would be an attractive contribution to the townscape."

Selby Chamber of Trade chairman Colin Wallwork said: "Upmarket penthouse flats are exactly what we need to raise the standards along the waterfront."

District councillor Wendy Nichols, whose ward includes Ousegate, said: "Similar apartments have been built successfully on the riverside in York, so why not Selby?"

Selby Council's planning committee chairman, Coun Wally Norton, said: "We welcome any plans that will enhance the run-down waterfront area."

The detailed planning application is due to go before the council's planning committee next month and, if approved, building work could start by the end of the year.

Updated: 14:16 Wednesday, July 16, 2003