PLANS to build accommodation for more than 400 University of Hertfordshire students have been submitted to Welwyn Hatfield Council.

An application to demolish nine dwellings at the uni’s College Lane campus in Hatfield and erect five new buildings comprising 401 en-suite bedrooms has been drawn up by Hatfield Student Accommodation Ltd.

Each building would be five storeys high, with the rooms clustered into 69 flats with kitchen and lounge, and arranged around a central courtyard.

The scheme includes 10 disabled rooms, 12 car parking spaces and five motorcycle spaces, with vehicle access from College Lane.

The application follows the council’s refusal of a similar scheme in August 2010, which councillors rejected on the grounds that there was no proven need for the facility, that it was too big and that it would be out of keeping with College Lane’s established streetscene.

The new application represents a significantly scaled-down version of the original scheme.

The consultation period ends this Friday, March 25.