A FORMER York school could be replaced by flats.

Shipton Street Infants' School, which closed in 2002, is set to be turned into 20 dwellings, after an outline planning application was submitted to City of York Council planners.

It has been agreed that the land and building, in Shipton Street, are now surplus to requirements and can be disposed of. The site is close to York City's Bootham Crescent ground, which is the subject of a separate planning application to build houses.

After closing, the school merged with nearby Kingsway Junior School to become the infant department of Clifton Green Primary School.

A spokesman for City of York Council, which has submitted the application, said it had not yet been decided whether the building would be used to house the new dwellings or pulled down.

He said this would be decided by the planning committee in April. Residents have until March 20 to make comments or objections in writing.

Updated: 10:25 Saturday, March 08, 2003