A LANDMARK building in a town centre conservation area is to be demolished and replaced with housing.

Plans to pull down the former St Anne’s School complex on Kingsway, Bishop Auckland, and 18 homes on the site have been approved.

Members of Durham County Council’s area planning committee (south and west) described the unanimous decision to allow the scheme as bitter-sweet.

The school complex comprises of the historic National School built in 1850 and a group of late 19th and early 20th century buildings facing onto South Church Road.

The building, which has been empty more than five years since the education offices based there closed, has been subject to arson attacks, frequent vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Due to its poor state of repair it has become an eyesore on a main route into the town and there have been public calls for action to save and improve the building.

Objections to its demolition included Bishop Auckland Civic Society which was against the loss of a ‘prominent ashlar stone Victorian building’.

Durham County Councillor Joy Allen feels the current owner Brian Robinson had ‘let a beautiful building fall into a state of disrepair’ and The Victorian Society objected strongly describing St Anne’s as a ‘locally important’ and ‘handsome and characterful group of historic buildings’.

But as it was deemed beyond economic repair after a serious fire around two years ago Mr Robinson applied for consent to clear and redevelop the land, a scheme many neighbours supported.

Darlington based Prism Planning designed a scheme of four one bed apartments and 14 two bed semi-detached houses in two blocks, with 23 parking spaces.

Salvaged material from the old building will be used in the new development.

Steve Barker, managing director of Prism Planning, said: “It’s not very often that a planning committee commend you for a scheme that involves losing an old building in a conservation area but the fact that they did is testament to all of the hard work we put into proving it was the only way forward, as well as having an excellent scheme to go back on the site.”