A DEVELOPER has announced a £50m scheme to build accommodation for 440 students in Durham city centre.

Student Castle wants to build 311 studios and 24 “cluster flats” at 18-29 Claypath.

The scheme would involve demolishing the existing buildings, which are home to Oldfields restaurant, Kwik Fit, Durham City Snooker Club and Warm Sanctuary; which it is understood would relocate to new premises.

The new complex would be up to seven storeys at the rear and three at the frontage onto Claypath.

There would be a single entrance, reception, common rooms, management offices and a shop fronting onto Claypayth, with the student rooms arranged around a courtyard to the rear.

Student Castle would run the accommodation itself, independent of any Durham University college, but chief executive Edward Cade said there would be staff on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The proposals, nine months in the making, will be the subject of a public exhibition at the Gala Theatre on Tuesday (October 21) from noon to 7.30pm, when officials will be available to discuss the scheme.

Student Castle was established four years ago and operates around 2,000 student rooms across the country in Newcastle, Manchester, Cardiff, Bristol and London.

Mr Cade said the firm wanted to provide a quality service and had a history of developing accommodation in heritage locations.

He said he wanted to remove some “fairly unattractive elements” of Claypath and make an “architectural improvement”.

He also stressed the importance of Tuesday’s consultation event, saying the firm was “genuinely coming to listen”.

“People are often sceptical of these schemes and their impact. Hopefully we can appease those concerns and demonstrate we are here for the long-term.”

There has been strong criticism of the number of privately-run student developments springing up in the city recently.

But Mr Cade said he was not bringing more students into Durham; rather housing them differently, freeing up townhouses currently in multiple occupation (HMOs) for families.

“I’m very confident the demand is there for our product,” he said.

Student Castle hopes to submit a planning application to Durham County Council in November and have the development ready for students in September 2017.

To comment, email: claypathdurham@nlpplanning.com by Friday, October 31.

Last week, Durham Police described Claypath as being "like the Wild West" on Friday and Saturday nights.