A SECOND attempt is being made to win approval for a major new sheltered housing complex in the county town of North Yorkshire.

In the summer of last year, an application to build 57 apartments with associated parking and landscaping in Malpas Road, Northallerton, was rejected.

Members of Hambleton's development control committee decided it was contrary to policy for a number of reasons.

They included the visual impact of the scheme, its lack of open space and affordable housing and its potential harmful effect on the amenity of neighbours.

Developer McCarthy and Stone lodged an appeal but withdrew it in May this year, but has now submitted an amended application.

It involves 56 sheltered apartments for elderly people, together with a house manager flat, a communal lounge and refuse area, 25 parking spaces and landscaping.

The proposal is for a single building, varying between two, three and four storeys, around a central corridor, with apartments to the front and rear.

Officials will make a recommendation to councillors when they meet in Northallerton on Thursday, but the Allertonshire Civic Society has already urged that it should be refused.

It said that very few of its objections to the original proposal have been addressed.

In its response to the application, the society said: "Concerns remain about the length and design of the Malpas Road frontage and that the bow-shaped roof lines give an industrial feel. The treatments are not sympathetic to neighbours."

The concerns of local people include fears that parking problems in the area would be increased and that the building design is out of character and would dwarf nearby buildings.

Some have likened the development to a "cheap industrial warehouse", and say it would block sunlight to other properties.

North Yorkshire County Council Archives, which is situated nearby, has also raised concerns about extra strain on local drainage, which could potentially lead to flooding.