PLANS which help to assure the future of the school and village hall at Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe have been approved by North Yorkshire councillors.

A joint action committee has prepared a scheme on the small shared site involving replacement of the existing corrugated iron hall and an extension to the school to make life more comfortable and convenient for users of both buildings.

The county planning committee on Wednesday conditionally approved the scheme and gave conservation area consent for demolition of the existing village hall and school toilets, despite objections from the parish council about parking arrangements.

At present the single-storey stone-built school has one purpose-built teaching area with an office in a decommissioned entrance lobby and a small hard play area. The existing village hall is used for dining and as extra teaching space, but wall panels are loose and the roof leaks.

The joint action committee wants to create a purpose-built library, teaching area, head teacher's office and separate infant teaching area for the school. The new village hall would be used for dining, indoor PE and assembly, with normal community use outside school hours.

Planning officers said they had no objection to the general scheme and, although the highway authority acknowledged that parking arrangements at present were not ideal, the situation was handled sensibly by the school and would not be made worse by the new development.