The residents, who live in the Ainsley Street neighbourhood of Durham, are disappointed planners gave the green light to the development of four blocks of flats for student’s at the city’s university.
Councillors voted unanimously for the development despite the protests from residents and comments from the university about communal facilities for students living in the halls.
Since the decision in December, residents have written to the council claiming the decision was unlawful and should be reconsidered.
The council has rejected the claim.
Now, residents are threatening to take court action by applying for a judicial review of the planning process.
University’s £30m halls plan
Meanwhile, Plymouth University has announced a £300 million project including a proposal to spend £30 million on halls for 900 extra students.
The university will build the housing on campus as part of a project to refurbish and expand the university to attract more students.
The new bedrooms will take the number of students on campus up from 1,750 to 2,640.
The plans include demolishing the Isaac Foot building and replacing it with a 10-storey block.
Jenny Bushrod of the University Partnerships Programme is managing the project. She expects plans to go before the council within a few weeks with the possibility of construction starting in September 2013 and finishing in September 2015.
"These existing buildings are beautiful, but they are not modern accommodation, cost a lot to run and are not an efficient use of space," she said.
Protests against student HMO
In Winchester, residents are also campaigning against plans to build student housing in a residential street.
Developer Robert Ducker wants permission to convert the family home in to a seven-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO).
Neighbours are against the plans and say the development is not in character with the rest of the area and will trigger parking, litter and noise problems.
