MAJOR changes have been made to plans for a new 'modern medieval' hotel near York's historic Micklegate Bar, with the number of bedrooms slashed by more than half.

Following feedback from City of York Council, local residents and stakeholders, architects went back to the drawing board and the scheme has been redesigned. 

The revised plans have been submitted to the council.

York Press: The revised hotel has 81 fewer bedroomsThe revised hotel has 81 fewer bedrooms

York-based developer North Star put forward plans last year for the Minster Van Hire, former Jinnah Restaurant and Bar 127 buildings to be transformed into a new hotel.

In the reworked plans, Bar 127 will be retained, the proposed basements have been omitted and the massing and design have also been amended to make it more sympathetic to its historic surroundings.

As a result, the number of bedrooms has been vastly reduced from the original 146 rooms to 65. They include a mixture of aparthotel rooms and more traditional hotel rooms. 

A spokesperson for North Star said: "The design continues the previous proposal theme of a ‘modern medieval’ building but further work has been put into the design to make it more contemporary. The proposals will provide a vibrant street frontage and replace a ‘detractor’ building."

They said that extensive consultation has been undertaken on the proposals for the site with many people feeding back that they would like to see the site redeveloped.

The spokesperson added: “We have listened to feedback and have significantly altered the plans as a result. The application is for a high quality development to replace detractor buildings on this magnificent street. We feel that these proposals will continue the renaissance of Micklegate.”

The planning application will be decided by the council in the coming months.