A SIGNIFICANT overhaul of a Ryedale primary school has been given the green light.

Settrington Primary School is set to gain a new, single-storey, 187 sq metre building, featuring a classroom, kitchen and dedicated dining hall, with an array of 12 photovoltaic panels on the roof.

It will be built out of traditional stone as the school is located within the Settrington Conservation area. The building, to be started this term and completed by September, will replace an existing 1940s hut which was thought to have been constructed during the HORSA operation after the Second World War, when huts were built to accommodate the raising of the school leaving age.

However, a historical recording exercise that was carried out as part of the planning application revealed that Settrington primary’s hut actually pre-dated this national initiative.

The project has been in planning for some time and there have been some setbacks. A report from the school governors for 2016/17 said they had encountered problems with planning “including a large tree which was in the way of the new building foundations, difficulties with re-routing the electric supply, ownership of land and some design difficulties”.

They added that the combination of these had set the project back about a year.

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan, North Yorkshire County Council's executive member for schools, said: “North Yorkshire is responsible for some 350 schools, many of them small and many with ageing or historic buildings.

“Over this school year we will have provided £5m for capital works from government allocations. We want all our children and young people to enjoy the highest standards in teaching and learning and these works will help schools like Settrington continue to be fit for purpose.

“We also hope that by using traditional building materials for Settrington we will be creating an attractive building which will be an asset to the conservation area.”