A FORMER school site in Bradford could be transformed into a new housing estate next year if planners give proposals the go-ahead.

Hutton Middle School, at the junction of Victoria Road and Cavendish Road in Eccleshill, is currently boarded up and disused.

Property developers Gregory Projects Residential Ltd has just bought the site, which covers 1.5 acres, and is hoping to replace the school with an estate of around 29 new homes.

They would include houses with between two and four bedrooms and although the company still needs planning permission for the site, they anticipate starting work on the site early in the New Year.

Planning application notices went up at the site a few days ago, but Councillor Dorothy Wallace said she believed neighbours were keen to see the site redeveloped.

There had been some opposition when the building was converted to a gym after the school closed, but that business had shut and the building had become a target for children.

"Neighbours who are close to it want something to happen," she said.

"It has been empty for three years and kids are getting in. I am told the interior has been trashed and the police are there regularly because people have found a way into the building.

"I have had no objections, I walk past the place most days and people say they just want something to happen."

However, the loss of the school building would mean another change to the identity of the village with a distinctive building being replaced by modern housing.

If planning permission is granted by Bradford Council, work on the phased development would start in the New Year with the first residents expected to move in in June 2015.

The construction work on the development would be complete by the start of 2017.

Andrew Foggitt, director of Gregory Projects Residential Ltd, said: “This is a very attractive site in a strong residential area and we have established a high level of interest in the homes in advance of acquiring the site.

"We will be offering opportunities for buyers to reserve plots off-plan.

"It's a prime site for ourselves. There is a received demand for family housing in Eccleshill but there is a shortage of it.

"There has been a long period of time when this site has been empty."

The development would be the first project for Gregory Residential, which is the newly established residential development arm of Gregory Property Group.

That firm has been operating in the north of England for the last 28 years and has won awards for the quality of its work, including a £40m retail park in York and a mixed use scheme in Halifax with a similar value.