THE council leader has slammed a government planning inspector's decision to allow a huge eight-storey student accommodation block to be built in Chester.

Members of Cheshire West and Chester Council's (CWaC) planning committee unanimously rejected PJ Properties (Chester) Ltd's application for the 376-bed block on Hoole Way in April last year.

But it has emerged that the company's appeal to The Planning Inspectorate against the council's decision has been successful.

And to rub salt into the wounds, the developer has applied for CWaC to foot the bill for all costs associated with the appeal.

Council leader Samantha Dixon responded with shock on Twitter, saying: “I am staggered and dismayed by the inspector's decision. Does democracy mean nothing?”

And Reg Barritt, who has campaigned against the 'studentification' of Chester for many years, was similarly appalled.

Mr Barritt, the general secretary of campaign group Chester Community Voice UK, told the Standard that local democracy meant nothing in the face of current national planning policies.

“The people that are the community of Chester are very much side-lined while predatory development interests overrun the place in which we live,” he said.

“Our councillors seem powerless to do much about it.”

He suggested the city needs to reintroduce 'area forum meetings' so residents could raise concerns and join forces to oppose a perceived tidal wave of student accommodation developments.

This newspaper reported in April that plans had been rejected for PJ Properties' £30 million student block on land near Black Diamond Street and Hoole Way, near the Royal Mail centre and railway bridge.

Having visited the site and heard residents' concerns, locally-elected councillors on the planning committee queued up to slam the proposals.

Cllr Gill Watson said: “It looks awful. It's just not something I can support.” And Cllr Eleanor Johnson added: “It's huge, it's enormous; it's totally out of keeping.”

Members said that nearby homes would be completely dwarfed by the student block, and would likely receive little natural light.

“They're going to be blacked out completely,” said Cllr Norman Wright. “They will need lights on in the middle of the day!”

Cllr Dixon, council leader, said she agreed with comments by The Civic Trust that the plans resembled the much-maligned former Travelodge on the city's fountains roundabout.

“It's an excellent example of 'pile it high and sell it cheap',” she told the committee.

Lisa Miller, representing 50 households with residents' group Newtown Chester Locals, said the noise and mess caused by students would irrevocably affect people's quality of life.

“It will create a chaotic parking crisis,” she added.

Ben Roberts, representing the applicant, had tried in vain to convince members that the development represented a “high quality building” fit for a gateway into the city.

By offering dedicated student accommodation it would free up 100 to 150 traditional homes in the city and “help the university attract the best students”, he said.

The main entrance was on Hoole Way, meaning local businesses would benefit and the students would not need to venture into Black Diamond Street and St Anne Street.

However, his words failed to hit their mark and the application was rejected on the grounds of design, scale and impact on public amenity.

But the developer lodged an appeal and nine months later planning inspector Andrew McGlone announced his decision.

He wrote: “In my judgement, even though the proposed building would be next to low-rise residential properties, it would be in keeping with the character and appearance of the area which has a blend of different scaled development, due to its design, height, mass and scale.

“I do not consider that the building would be incongruous and dominant.”