DEVELOPERS have lost their bid to build 119 flats near Huddersfield town centre.

They appealed after Kirklees Council rejected their application for a site in Queen Street South.

But now their challenge has been rejected.

Countryside Properties hoped to build a seven-storey block of flats on the site of the disused Hepworth Honda motor showroom and workshop.

A two-day public inquiry after the council refused planning permission was held at Huddersfield Methodist Mission last month.

In her decision on the appeal planning inspector Kathleen Ellison said: "The proposal would be harmful to the character and appearance of the surrounding area and would not preserve the setting of nearby listed buildings.

"It would fail to achieve a high quality of design and sense of local identity and would thereby conflict with the relevant design and town centre policies."

The Essex-based developers appealed to the Government after Kirklees refused plans for the seven-storey block.

A previous application for 140 flats had already been rejected.

The first plans were refused in January last year.

Councillors were still not impressed with the plans for fewer flats. They said problems included parking and access.

The developers argued that the proposed building had been designed carefully to reflect the established character of the surroundings.

They also said mill buildings across the road to the proposed site were substantial enough not to be dominated by any new development.