A major blow has been delivered to traders and residents fighting plans for student flats on Oxford’s St Clements car park.

A planning officers’ report recommends that city councillors approve the scheme when it goes before the west area planning committee on Wednesday.

The news has infuriated local campaigners who say the scheme going before councillors is substantially different from the one they had been consulted on.

They claim that in the revised plans one of the student buildings is taller, with the number of windows substantially increased and the facade of the building changed.

And they say the scheme, from which the council could gain £3.5m from the development on its land, should not be allowed to go forward without further consultation.

Traders, who fear that they could go out of business through loss of car parking space during building, urged against approval being rushed through before a promised site for temporary parking had been located.

The council received 500 comments opposing the scheme to create three accommodation blocks on stilts above the car park to house 141 students.

Forty pensioners living in the nearby Anchor Court retirement home have organised a petition and are seeking legal action in a bid to stop the scheme.

One of the residents, Muriel Crockford, 66, said: “Some of our rooms will be overlooked and the sun will be blocked. Some residents would not be able to see any open space whatsoever.

“And this would add to noise in an already noisy environment.”

The officers’ report to councillors says: “It is recognised that any redevelopment would give rise to some adverse impacts. However, this should be balanced against the benefits of the proposal.

“There is the benefit of providing purpose-built student accommodation within a sustainable location. There is also the benefit of securing a new public car park and toilet facilities within a more secure and active environment.”

The report commits the council to providing a temporary car park during the construction period but adds “details of this temporary solution are at this stage unavailable”.

Sites rumoured to be under consideration for the temporary car park include Magdalen College-owned land on Marston Road, an area of South Parks and land attached to Oxford University sports facilities on Iffley Road.

Restaurant owner Clinton Pugh, who owns Cafe Co-Co and two other restaurants in Cowley Road, said he feared once the plans had been approved, traders would be faced with accepting the temporary car park no matter how far away it is from their businesses.

He said traders had employed their own planning consultant, who had identified many significant changes to the refreshed plans.

Mr Pugh said: “The plans have been changed and nobody is to have the chance to comment on the scheme. It is totally unfair and this doesn’t seem very democratic. People around here cannot believe what is happening.

“Our planning consultant tells us there have been substantial changes and in no way should it be considered without re-advertising and re-consulting.”

But Louisa Dean, city council spokesman, said: “This proposal has had extensive consultation and publicity “Because we do not normally consult on limited changes received after an application has been submitted, it has been decided not to formally consult for a third time.”