RESIDENTS are furious at plans to build a high-rise block for students next to their homes in York.

People living near to the site of the proposed seven-storey block in Navigation Road, on the banks of the River Foss, fear the development will tower over their homes and choke the area with traffic.

Petitions are being circulated calling on the city council to turn down the bid to provide the 311-bedroom accommodation for students at York St John College on the site of the old bus depot, which is currently used as a car park.

Residents also plan to voice their opposition to councillors on the authority's planning committee when the application is considered.

Olive Hardy, a resident of nearby Rosemary Court, said: "I am absolutely furious. I was born and bred in Walmgate, I went to St Margaret's School and attended St Margaret's Church, and to stick this seven-storey monstrosity here is just appalling.

"This is so wrong. This building is seven storeys high and it will tower over our houses. There's plenty of building land outside the city walls that they could use."

Thelma Burns has collected more than 30 signatures on a protest petition and is encouraging fellow residents to also voice their opposition in letters to council planners.

She said: "It think it is a dreadful idea. I am 80 years old and I live in a ground-floor flat and I'll never see daylight if this thing gets built."

City of York Council has said the application would be judged on its merits. There is currently no height restriction on buildings in the city but the Minster is used as a central reference point.

The application, made by the Domain Moorfield Group, will be considered by the council later in the year.

Updated: 11:09 Monday, January 07, 2002