The application to accommodate up to 2,300 students was heard by a special meeting of the Full Council sitting for the first time as a Strategic Planning Committee.
An identical application by Bell Developments for the 67-acre site, between Parkgate Road and Shelley Road, was thrown out by Members in January.
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Members agreed by 51 votes to one – with three abstentions - with the planning officers’ recommendation that the application failed to demonstrate the special circumstances crucial to permitting development in the Green Belt.
Planners ruled the scheme would obstruct views of historic buildings on the city’s skyline, describing it as "a major incursion into the open countryside which would adversely affect the rural character of the area".
The scheme generated thousands of objections including two petitions of 2,670 and 120 names respectively, and 400 letters. Only 25 letters were received in support.
(CD/IT)
