A HOUSING association has won permission to demolish a row of houses in Selby and replace them with modern homes – at the second time of asking.

Planners at Selby District Council threw out proposals in April to build six new three-bedroom properties in Douglas Street, forcing the organisation behind the scheme to take it back to the drawing board.

But now Broadacres Housing Association (BHA) has succeeded in gaining approval from the authority for the development after submitting its fresh plans.

The association has said the scheme will give the street a new lease of life after the empty houses became run down, and has vowed to protect the conservation area the development site stands within, as well as the neighbouring St James the Apostle Church, which is a listed building.

“These properties, which have been unoccupied for an extensive period of time, are in a poor state of repair, with room layouts unsuitable in either size or arrangement for current standards of residential design,” said a statement sent by BHA to the council as part of the fresh application.

BHA said the new homes would each be two-and-a-half storeys high and would be kept a certain distance from the adjacent church, while the properties would also produce far less carbon emissions than the current buildings.

Selby Town Council, which was among the organisations consulted about the revised application, raised no objections to the development, while North Yorkshire Police said they had not identified any crime issues which would surround new homes being built.