Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
21
Oct 2024
Plans to turn redundant primary school near Masham into housing
Plans to convert a redundant primary school near Masham into housing have been submitted.
Leeds Diocesan Board of Finance – of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds – put change of use plans to North Yorkshire Council on Monday (October 14).
It seeks approval to turn the former Kell Bank Church of England Primary School, in Healey, into two adjoining houses.
The former North Yorkshire County Council closed the 200-year-old school in 2021, after leasing the site from the church. Pupil numbers dwindled significantly and just six children were enrolled at the time the closure.
Planning documents show unit one – which was once used as classrooms and a resource centre – would become a single-storey, two-bedroom property.
Unit two, once a headmaster’s house with outbuildings, would be converted into a two-storey, two-bedroom dwelling.
Both units would include on-street parking spaces and bike storage, plans show.
Unit one can be accessed via a gate at the lower end of the now-defunct playground, while unit two would be accessed via a shared footpath from Keld Bank.
The scheme also includes plans to re-surface the tarmac playground to provide a grassed garden area.
The building and grounds have not been maintained since the school closed three years ago, with planning documents adding extensive vegetation has grown around the units.
A planning statement adds there have been several reports of vandalism at the site since the school ceased operating, including broken windows and internal elements being destroyed.
The proposal intends to “extend the life of the building” and the applicant hopes it will re-purpose a site that may have otherwise deteriorated.
There are also no demands to restore the school to its former educational purpose, plans say.
The former Kell Bank Primary School.
Applicant and ownership
North Yorkshire Council told the Stray Ferret all the school buildings and land were handed back to the Church of England Diocese of Leeds in May this year.
The Stray Ferret contacted the diocese to ask how the ownership of the houses would work, including whether the church would own the homes once developed, should plans be approved.
A spokesperson for the Anglican Diocese of Leeds told the Stray Ferret:
The Anglican Diocese of Leeds is seeking planning consent for two family homes on the site of a school property that was leased to the local council until April 2024.
This is prior to any sale of the site for re-development.
North Yorkshire County Council took the decision to close the school with effect from August 31, 2021. The building has been vacant since that time and they were unable to find any alternative use, due to its remote location. The planning application is the first step in giving the building a new life.
The council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.
0