HOUSEbuilder Bovis Homes has been given planning permission to build 156 homes on the old laundry site opposite Swindon College in North Star.

The homes will take the form of apartments arranged in five blocks of three or four storeys.

The original plan was for 165 apartments in a five-storey building, but this was refused by Swindon Council's planning committee in February because the buildings were too tall.

Coun Michael Barnes (Lab, Western) said there had been concerns about the development from residents in Osborne Street and Whitehouse Road, but said the amendments to the development made by Bovis Homes were satisfactory.

"We have heard the differences and changes in the application and it is no longer the very intensive development that was originally proposed," said Mr Barnes.

"Residents are still very alive to the fact that there is still an appeal, which I hope will now be withdrawn."

Councillors gave the building the go-ahead at the meeting but said Bovis would have to meet a number of conditions, including ensuring that trees on the site are protected and that bicycle racks are incorporated into the design of the buildings.