COUNCILLORS are meeting with developers of student accommodation to share their thoughts on criticised plans.

The Alumno Group's plans to build 330 bed student accommodation near the newly opened Curzon cinema in Queen Street have received a huge backlash.

A planning application has not yet been submitted to Colchester Council, but David Campbell, managing director of Alumno Group, said the plans would be a significant investment.

Castle Ward councillor Darius Laws (Cons), said the land should be utilised as a public space.

He said: "The proposed footprint shows a high density set of blocks which encroach on the public realm outside the iconic Rafael Viñoly designed Firstsite building, almost hiding it from view from the Curzon building opposite.

"This is a huge opportunity to create an awesome public space in the heart of the historic town centre and I strongly object to the student flats having any internal courtyards at the expense of the overall public realm for the site."

He and fellow councillor Simon Crow (Cons) will be meeting with the developer on Friday.

Mr Crow said: "Any new buildings on this site should be of a unique design. Fresh, original, perhaps even challenging, certainly unusual, but most important of all, like Firstsite, they should be a talking point.

"Painters Yard is Scheduled Ancient Monument land and as such any development built on it must enhance the area and not be something that could be found in any other town across the country."

Dorian Kelly, festival director and lover of the arts, has come up with an alternative - a new heritage centre and concert hall.

He said: "The presumed brief to the architects who apparently specialise in this kind of thing must have been 'cram in as many student rooms as you can, make it easy maintenance, cheap to build, keep the hoi polloi out and don't bother about things like human scale, and fitting in with the built environment'.

"This population will never create a community, children will never grow up here. No shopping or browsing will be done.

"No walking over to the trees in the evening sunshine. A significant proportion of prime retail and leisure space is is effectively lost to the town in a town centre which is tiny and unexpandable.

"This is a public realm which will be lost to us. If we go there without good reason we will be trespassing. Colchester gains nothing and loses a lot from this development."