A NEW homes plan will breathe new life into a former secondary school on Portland.

Plans have been revealed by Homes England to bring forward plans to redevelop the former Royal Manor Arts College on Weston Road.

Royal Manor Arts College closed in 2012 following the merger of Brackenbury Infant School, Grove Infant School, Southwell County Primary School, Underhill Community Junior School and Royal Manor Arts College.

Now, Homes England, which owns the site, have put forward plans to redevelop the site in 52 homes providing a mix of dwellings from two-bed apartments to four bedroom houses.

A narrow street width is also proposed to create a pedestrian-friendly street that encourages walking and cycling.

The development will be delivered in two phases while 25 per cent of the new homes would be affordable with a mix of rent and shared ownership homes.

At the consultation which took place earlier this summer, Homes England said that redevelopment of the former school tennis court and hard surfaced ‘pitch’ would provide an opportunity to invest in sport and recreation elsewhere on Portland.

They added: "There’s no shortage of alternative kickabout and sports fields."

Homes England continued: "Redevelopment of the site should pick up on the positive aspects of the character of Weston & Easton.

"The new dwellings should be contemporary in style, however, pick up on the architectural quality of historic properties within the area which varies slightly in style and scale but are typically constructed from Portland Stone."

Cllr Charlie Flack, Portland Town Councillor for Tophill West added the development would cater for a variety of people including first-time buyers.

However, he stressed that local services including doctors and school may not be able to cope because they were oversubscribed.

Commenting on the plans, a spokesman for Homes England, said: “Homes England are developing the former Royal Manor College site in Easton. "We invited feedback on a potential new housing development from the local community at a public information event over the summer and are currently developing our plans.

"Once planning permission has been secured for the site we will be seeking a developer to deliver high quality and affordable new homes on this site.”

Plans for the site are expected to be submitted to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council later this year.