Chester Race Company is pleased councillors backed its plans to build a £35m accommodation complex for 550 students although the scheme has been referred to the Secretary of State.

The Race Company has teamed up with London-based developers The Stephenson Group to deliver the scheme on its Linenhall car park site in the city centre.

Rising to six storeys on the ring road side – opposite the eight storey Crowne Plaza Hotel – the huge building includes a mix of 143 studio flats and 59 shared living apartments.

Members of Cheshire West and Chester Council's strategic planning committee backed the project, which has proved controversial with neighbouring residents, by seven votes to one in favour.

But planning officer Mark Lynch revealed an undisclosed individual had referred the application to the National Planning Casework Unit which acts on behalf of Secretary of State Eric Pickles.

The unit will have 21 days in which to decide whether to refer the case to Mr Pickles for a final decision although this is thought unlikely.

Richard Thomas, chief executive of Chester Race Company, who attended the meeting, believes the unit has probably decided to look at the plans given issues around student accommodation are a hot topic in Chester.

"I think it's anything to do with students in Chester," he told The Chronicle afterwards, adding: "We are grateful it's gone through, as it's gone through at the moment. Obviously it's subject to being referred."

City centre councillor Samantha Dixon, who represented the views of many neighbouring residents, told the committee: "So, does this application help us provide a supply of housing that will meet the needs of present and future generations? No it doesn't. This is not the accommodation that we need in Chester. We need family homes.

"It places a huge community, with a lifestyle very different, right alongside an existing community that will suffer directly as a result."

But the meeting was told there was an existing permission for a previous scheme on a similar scale involving commercial apartments which was never built.

Planning officer Mr Lynch said in many ways the impact of the latest project would be less and it would be difficult to defend a refusal decision if the applicant went to appeal.