City centre plans going back to drawing board

3R Land and Property had asked Durham City Council for permission to build on the site of a single-storey garage, in Back Silver Street.

The scheme was to have been debated by the council's development control committee on Thursday night.

However, the company withdrew the application shortly before the meeting. Planners had recommended it be refused.

A planning officer told councillors: "Clearly, the applicant wishes to address issues. We feel there is a realistic chance of those issues being resolved. We would hope they would re-submit it and the committee will have the chance to look at it in due course."

The application was for two blocks, of four and two-storeys, including one retail unit, one office unit and three flats.

It is the latest in a string of attempts to develop the area, all of which have ended in failure - being withdrawn or rejected because of their potential impact on the city centre, a conservation area.

The plan attracted an objection from the county archaeologist, who said steeply rising land behind the garage is one of the few undeveloped areas in the city centre and could be an important excavation site.

In a report, the council's head of planning services said: "Overall, the scheme has much to recommend it.

"The design is of a quality demanded by the location, it has character, appropriate townscape qualities and cleverly overcomes residential amenity and privacy issues. Officers do still, however, have a level of concern on the relationship of the commercial unit to the facing residential building.

"While this issue is balanced, officers feel some (aspects of the proposal) would have an unreasonable effect on the existing residences."

Back Silver Street has undergone several changes in recent years, with improvements to surfacing and street furniture, workshops re-opening and the opening of a coffee shop.

A large block of apartments, called Clement's Wharf, has also been built, facing the River Wear.