FRESH plans for a student housing complex on the site of a former garage in the centre of York have been drawn up.

Black Lion Limited went back to the drawing board after withdrawing its original proposals to create six accommodation blocks, to house 282 people, on the site of the former Reg Vardy garage in Lawrence Street.

The firm has now submitted a fresh application to City of York Council after design teams worked on the scheme’s scale, with planners expected to make a decision on whether it can go ahead in September.

The revised scheme now incorporates five blocks, ranging from two to three-and-a-half storeys in height.

The company says its plan will ensure any development does not harm surrounding listed buildings such as St Lawrence’s Church. But the scheme has already sparked objections from the Barbican Management Company (York) Limited, which looks after 58 properties at Barbican Mews and has said the scheme would lead to increased levels of noise and disturbance for residents.

In documents forming part of the application, England & Lyle Ltd, which is acting as Black Lion’s agent, said: “Originally, three development options were considered, including three schemes of varying height and density from 270 to approximately 400 bed spaces.

“It became clear a scheme including approximately 400 spaces would be too large and further design work and analysis concluded a scheme of less than 300 spaces would be more suitable for the site. Agreement has now been reached that the scale of the proposed development is acceptable.

“The proposal would not have any direct negative impacts on the historic heritage of the area. It would lead to a significant enhancement of the site which has the potential to improve the character and appearance of the conservation area.”

Before the previous application was withdrawn, representatives of the parishes of St Lawrence and St Hilda opposed the plans because they said their bell-ringing sessions could cause problems for students in the proposed blocks, as well as raising concerns about noise and parking issues and the size of the buildings.