A property developer has put forward new plans to demolish a former Derby hotel and put up 42 apartments.
Developers bought the La Gondola Hotel & Restaurant in Osmaston Road, last year, but a previous application to demolish and redevelop the site was refused.
In December Derby City Council said it had concerns about a number of issues, including the overall scale of the proposed development, which back then would have had 58 apartments.
Matthew Montague Architects has been appointed to make a fresh planning application with the apartments spread across two blocks.
In a statement, the architects said: “The scale of the new proposal has been reduced so that it isn’t overly dominant on the street scene.
“By splitting the volume into smaller masses, the arrangement and hierarchy replicates that of the former hotel.”
Located about a mile from Derby city centre, La Gondola was one of the city’s most fashionable venues in the 1970s and 80s. The venue finally closed in 2009.
One of the blocks in the new design still has four floors, but the ground floor is to be set lower and the fourth floor stepped back to minimise the impact.
A statement filed to the city council on behalf of the applicant said: “The city council’s target of 11,000 homes reflects evidence of a finite capacity for the city to meet its own needs within its administrative boundaries on brownfield and other sites.
“The city’s additional housing needs are proposed to be predominantly met through urban extensions across the boundary, mainly into South Derbyshire.
“Locations around Derby provide better opportunities for reducing reliance on the private car. This is particularly the case where new homeowners retain strong connections to the city, for instance for employment.
“It has been demonstrated that the proposed development would be compliant with both local and national policy.”
