A PROPERTY developer has lodged a planning application to convert a former Victorian school into apartments.

Businessman John Lamb has applied for permission to create 25 apartments on the site of the former Stanley Board School.

The three-storey building in Front Street, which dates back to 1891, operated as a school for several decades and has since been used as council offices, but is now boarded up and last month was damaged by fire in a suspected arson attack.

Although the building is not listed, the application report says: “The external fabric of the building will remain by-and-large unaffected so it retains its attractive facade”.

The application is for a 2,235 square metre site, including the 900-square metre school buildings and headmaster’s house, and the rear car park.

The develop is seeking permission to convert the buildings into 15 ground floor flats, with five first floor flats and five second floor flats, as well as a 30-space car park to the rear.

Durham County Council is expected to decide on the application within the next few months.