Students could face an unacceptably high risk of crime if a new dockside accommodation project goes ahead, according to Hull planners.

Manor Property Group, which owns the 6.75 hectare site around the historic St Andrew's Dock, is proposing to construct six buildings with a total of 1,231 bedrooms, a gym, a retail unit, and a cafe, while turning the dock into a landscaped water feature.

Councillors will discuss the proposals when they meet on September 5, but planners have already recommended that the proposals be rejected.

Planners said that while there were "many positive elements" to the plans, which would regenerate a dilapidated site which is clearly visible to those approaching the city, the safety of students was paramount.

In the absence of a bus, students would be forced to either walk or cycle through an underpass into an industrial region with limited surveillance, or negotiate a roundabout with no facilities for cyclists or pedestrians.

The planners said the plans would "increase the potential for crime and fear of crime for residents" arriving and departing from the site on foot or on a bike both in the daytime and at night.

Copyright Press Association 2012