CAMPAIGNERS opposing a 14-storey student accommodation block in the city centre have drawn up alternative plans for how they think the site should look.
Members of the 18th-century Bromley House library are unhappy about plans for the former Odeon cinema site in Angel Row. So today, library members will unveil alternative proposals, which include a block that is five storeys shorter but has the same number of apartments.
Victor Semmens, chairman of the library, said the developer's plans would reduce the amount of light entering the house and garden.
He said: "These proposals will have an irreversible and damaging effect on Bromley House, its garden and setting. The buildings would be out of proportion with neighbouring properties and adversely affect the views and skyline."
Julian Marsh, an architect and member of the private library, has come up with the new plan, which reduces one of the blocks to nine storeys and the other from nine to five or six levels.
Fellow library member Bob Cullen said: "We don't oppose student accommodation in principle but the building will perpetuate the mistakes of the 1960s and 70s."
The site already has planning permission for offices, but in December, Mortar Developments submitted an application to use the site for 450 student homes instead.
But Robert Monk, of the company, said its plans were smaller than those which already had planning consent.
He said: "The building fits inside the volume of the building that's already got planning permission.
"They're putting forward an alternative scheme that involves land belonging to other people. It's nonsense. They haven't got an argument."
Part of the land in the scheme proposed by the library – an empty yard at the back of Central Library – is owned by Nottingham City Council.
Mr Cullen said: "The city council could make it available if they wanted to reduce the height of the building."
A council spokesman said he could not comment because the idea was not part of the scheme submitted by the developers.
Campaigners will today fly a balloon to show the height of the proposed building.
Nottingham's Urban Design Guide, drawn up by the city council, states that some of the buildings in Maid Marian Way "do not respect the character of the city's streets or the heights of its buildings". It adds: "The task today is to guide development in a way that addresses these issues and ensures that future development does not make the same mistakes."
Mr Cullen believes the plans for a 14-storey building are not in line with the city's aspirations.
The library members will submit their plans to the city council as part of their opposition to the proposals. They are not submitting them to formally receive planning permission. "Angel Row is a very nice bit of Nottingham and Bromley House is a little sanctuary," he said. "This building will be negative for the citizens of Nottingham because it impacts on the square, which has just had a lot of money spent on it and is beginning to work as the centre of the city again."
The council is awaiting amendments to the proposals from the developer. There will then will be a 21-day period in which people can comment.
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