Support for new Clifton homes project

3:50pm Thursday 11th December 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

PLANS to turn a former York school into flats and houses are set to get the go-ahead.

Developers want to convert the old Shipton Street School in Clifton into 19 homes, and add an extension for a further 19. They will be a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom homes.

The building, next to York City’s KitKat Crescent, has been empty for more than seven years, and was at the heart of bitter controversy in 2005 when council chiefs wanted to use it as the new site for the Arc Light homeless centre.

But Yorkshire-based developer Advent has now come up with a scheme that has found favour with city planning officials.

A City of York Council committee will consider their proposals next week, and has been advised by officers to give it the thumbs-up.

David Nicholson, chairman of the joint committee of Clifton Residents Associations, said: “We are happy to support this imaginative regeneration scheme, which has been planned with great care and sensitivity to the existing buildings and the local neighbourhood.

“The development of the Shipton Street School site will be very welcome in our community. The site had been unused for several years and its redevelopment will now provide much-needed housing, including a number of ‘affordable housing’ units too, right in the heart of our community.”

Tim Reeve, Advent’s managing director, said: “We have been working on the applications for some time and I am hopeful that councillors will approve the exciting proposals.

“The plans have been welcomed by the community, who are extremely supportive of our proposal.The scheme provides for an exciting and sustainable regeneration of this much loved local landmark to provide quality, characterful homes.”

Local councillor David Scott said: “This is an appropriate development for the area. It is a mixture of housing, not just flats.

“We have secured a community office as part of it and we hope that the police and community groups will make use of it.”

The application will go before the council’s east area planning committee at 2pm on Wednesday.

In his report to the committee, planning officer Matthew Parkinson wrote: “The scheme secures and brings back into use an important listed building, which has been unused for a considerable amount of time.”