HIGH-RISE plans for student flats have been submitted to City of York Council.

The scheme would introduce seven storeys of student accommodation to Navigation Road, on the banks of the River Foss and inside the city walls.

It would replace the old bus depot, now being used as a car park.

The building would provide 311 bedrooms for students at York St John College.

But it would also create one of the tallest buildings in the city, affecting York's skyline.

There is currently no height restriction on buildings in the city.

A City of York Council spokesman said: "Nothing is set in stone. All applications are judged on their individual merits, but it is unlikely that anything that would be out of keeping with the city would be accepted.

"The Minster is used as a central reference point for any building applications."

Proposals have been knocked back by the council in the past because of concerns about height.

They include early plans for the hotel currently being built on the former Victoria House site in Micklegate.

Applicants had wanted to build a four-storey building, but councillors said it would not fit in with surrounding buildings.

It was later accepted after designs were changed to make it fit in with the historic street.

The Navigation Road development, applied for by the Domain Moorfield Group, would be a flat-roofed block.

Neighbouring properties are being consulted by City of York Council before it considers the application later in the year.

A spokesman for York St John College said the college was in the early stages of negotiations with the developer and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

Updated: 14:48 Friday, January 04, 2002