PLANNING officers have again recommended students accommodation should be allowed to be built at a former bus depot, despite opposition from councillors.

Victoria Hall Management submitted a proposal to demolish the former bus depot on Magdalen Street, Colchester, and replace it with five blocks of student accommodation with enough space to house 230 people.

Officers had tipped the plans for approval, but the council's planning committee voted against their recommendation.

Now a second report has been compiled to assess the risks of turning down the plans, but officers still believe it should be allowed to go ahead.

Amongst the objections were the proximity to elderly people living nearby, the potential impact on listed buildings, the plans not meeting the development brief for the area and overdevelopment.

The report says: "Officers have given careful and detailed consideration to the concerns raised by members but in this instance have not been able to identify and recommend any reasons for refusal which they consider could be successfully defended at appeal.

"In the absence of any evidence and lack of support from expert consultees the likelihood of costs being awarded against the council at appeal would be high.

"A planning permission granted by the council and subject to conditions and a legal agreement gives greater certainty than a potential appeal scenario founded on unsubstantiated reasons with a high degree of vulnerability."

Previously, high steward Sir Bob Russell, who represented the New Town ward when he was a councillor, had previously called it one of the worst applications ever submitted for the area and questioned why the council had allowed it to progress.

The plans will be discussed again at a meeting on Thursday, September 15.