Residents of a York city centre apartment complex have claimed they were not told a six-storey hotel was due to be built next to their new homes.

The hotel is to be built at the junction of Piccadilly and Mill Street, on the site of a former Evening Press building, down the road from the new Piccadilly Plaza apartment development.

Developers Hollin Hill Properties won planning permission for the hotel early this year after appealing against a decision by the City of York Council in June last year.

Councillors have now given the go-ahead to the final plans for the hotel. Demolition of the old Press premises is to take place in the next few weeks.

Objector Kate Hewison, of Piccadilly Plaza, told councillors that many residents had not realised the scale of the development close to their new homes.

She said: "We're concerned as residents that we might have youth hostelling people arriving at two or three in the morning in coaches. I presume there may be quite a lot of coach people arriving as there are no car parking spaces.

"There are 97 rooms - where are all these people going to be parking? I can't believe it won't cause any disruption around our development.

"The planning officer said he hand-delivered information to the flats but none of the residents have got it."

David Johnson, planning officer, said he did not know why the residents had not received the information as he had asked Persimmon for the details of those residents living opposite the development.

Mrs Hewison, who was accompanied by fellow resident Sandra Ostergaard, asked when the planning application first came before the committee and was told June last year.

She said: "So before anyone moved on to the site? A lot of people's solicitors did searches and it was brought up about the Travelodge, but no one knew about a six-storey building.

"Persimmon didn't mention it."

Planning consultant Janet O'Neill said, on behalf of the developers, that the hotel would be aimed mainly at business people, who would use trains and then walk or use taxis to get to the hotel.

"They're not going into the market of coach-based holidays," she said.

She confirmed there would be no public bar or restaurant and facilities would be for hotel guests only.

"They won't be able to park on the streets because the area is so tightly controlled," she said.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.