A HISTORIC former school in Bradford city centre can be converted into flats after Bradford Council approved its re-development.

The Grade II listed former Cathedral School on Captain Street, near Bradford Cathedral, has most recently been the headquarters of Forster Community College.

But the building has been empty since August, when the college re-located to Little Germany.

Now MMR Construction, the Manchester based company behind a number of residential conversions in the city centre, have been granted planning permission to convert the listed building into 16 two-bed flats, three one-bed flats and a three-bed flat. Many of the flats will be two storey or have mezzanine floors.

More modern offices to the side of the building will be converted into two houses.

Planning officers at Bradford Council have approved the planning application to convert the building, and a heritage application, needed because of the building’s listed status.

When Forster College left the building, they said the decision was partly due to the high costs in maintaining the crumbling listed building.

It was sold at auction last December for £288,000, smashing the guide price of £120,000.

The school building dates back to the 1872 when it was opened as a Cathedral School. It was closed in the 1950s after pupil numbers dwindled - mainly due to the number of people moving out of the city centre and into the rapidly growing suburbs following the Second World War. By the time it shut the school, built to accommodate 400 pupils, had just 20 on its rolls.

It is part of the city’s “Cathedral Quarter” and Bradford Council’s City Centre Area Action Plan has designated the area around the school as having the potential to be redeveloped with around 100 new homes.

The action plan called for the school building to be protected, particularly its distinctive tower. The plan says: “Any new development should look to retain the tower of the former school as it is a prominent local landmark at the northern end of this site.”

A well as the internal conversion, much of the building’s features, including the tower, will be refurbished under the plans.