A MULTI-MILLION-POUND project to replace a historic venue looks more likely to go ahead after councillors withdrew their reasons for refusal.

The planning committee agreed yesterday that bigger windows and noise reductions put in by the developers meant their reason for refusing plans for The Astoria in January no longer stood.

The new designs still have to be accepted by the Government's planning inspectorate, to whom ThreeSixty Developments appealed the refusal.

But yesterday's decision is an indication of what might come and also wards off a potential legal bill for the council if the developers won their appeal and the council's refusal had been seen as unreasonable.

Planning officers urged councillors to drop their reason for refusal, saying the overall benefits now outweighed the harm.

Voting at yesterday's Brighton and Hove City Council planning committee, Councillor Joe Miller said: "I support the officers' recommendations for refusal because I think if we don't do that and the planning inspector accepts the new drawings, then I think the reason for refusal no longer stands and we would have potential costs against us."

The grade II listed property in Gloucester Place which entertained movie lovers for 44 years and was last used a bingo hall in 1996.

Refusing the application in January, councillors said many of the flats would be “substandard” because of a lack of natural light, potential for noise disturbance and a lack of privacy.

Immediately after the decision, the applicants indicated they would look to model the flats for students instead which requires lower living standard requirements.

But they instead decided to appeal the refusal and, in an effort to avoid a public inquiry and speed up the inspector's decision, submitted amended plans to increase the size of windows.

Developers claim that new daylight assessments show that 194 of 208 flats would meet or exceed recommended minimum guidelines leaving just eight south facing rooms left in the shadow of Blenheim Place offices and six kitchens.

The decision was made with seven approvals and the five abstentions.