PLANS for a merger of two Catholic primary schools in York are back on track after the original blueprint for a new building was withdrawn.

The Diocese of Middlesbrough has tweaked its proposals for a purpose-built facility on the site of the current English Martyr’s RC Primary School in the Holgate area of the city after temporarily taking them back to the drawing board.

It will cater for children both from the existing school in Hamilton Drive East and those currently attending Our Lady’s RC Primary School in Acomb, with the aim being for the new site to open next September.

The revised scheme, which has seen issues such as flood risk, drainage details and the community consultation element of the proposals given a fresh look, has now been submitted to City of York Council and is expected to go before planners in autumn.

The Diocese withdrew its original plans just as Education Secretary Michael Gove announced the Building Schools for the Future programme, affecting hundreds of projects across the UK, was to be axed. However, no York schemes have been affected by the decision.

Merging the two schools will cost £5.675 million, with the new facilities at Hamilton Drive East including a football pitch, performance space and a library. The Our Lady’s site in Windsor Garth would be sold to help finance the project. It will cater for 420 pupils and include a 52-place nursery, with all the schools’ current staff transferring to the new site.

A design and access statement forming part of the new application said: “The new building will be a significant investment in the area and will build greater integration between learning and the community.

“The vision and ethos of the school is to raise attainment through first-class teaching and learning environments which can be flexible and adaptable to future demands on the curriculum.”

As well as winning planning approval, the scheme will also have to be rubber-stamped by the Department for Education.