REVISED plans for a "statement building" that will "help to kick start Hereford's university" have been approved by councillors.

The planned 178-bed student accommodation block set to be sited near Hereford railway station on the site of the former Rockfield DIY store, currently a busy car park, will house students from both the Art College and NMiTE, Hereford's new university.

Following heavy criticism, the previously "monolithic" proposed design has undergone a major revamp in a bid to lessen the impact it will have on the street scene.

Councillors lauded the new, warehouse-style design which now features a pitched roofline and red brick cladding to better match the nearby Hereford's Grade II listed station.

They voted overwhelmingly in favour of the revised application, accompanied by an outline application for a standalone ancillary commercial element at the site, when it went before a planning committee at Hereford Shire Hall yesterday.

But despite the significant changes, the application still garnered harsh criticism from some quarters.

"What was a pretty poor design has been hastily amended and as a result, is still a poor design," said councillor Anthony Powers.

"This whole area is being designed in a piecemeal fashion," added councillor Felicity Norman.

"There is no masterplan, no vision for the area."

Objector Jeremy Milln, of the Hereford Civic Society, also decried the "lack of a consistent approach to planning in the county," and said the proposed development on this "important site" was "out-scaled, fails to generate local employment, compromises the railway station building and threatens the hospital's viability and resources".

And it was not just objectors who criticised the approach to the area surrounding Hereford's new city link road.

Councillor Phillip Edwards proposed approval of the scheme, but said: "I have to agree with the Civic Society on one key issue; what a shame we do not have a whole site plan.

"It is imperative to have an overview of where people are going to park."

However, despite the criticisms, the application was approved by a majority of 10-2 with two abstentions.