Residents are demanding to know when the future of the former Our Lady’s School in Windsor Garth will be made clear.

The school has been boarded up for 3 months since pupils and staff moved to new premises on Hamilton Drive.

While many residents are relieved that parking problems in the area have eased since the move, they are concerned that the site will not deteriorate in the same way that the former Lowfields School building did a couple of years ago. There vandalism led to a decision to demolish the buildings. A decision on the future of the Lowfields site is due to be made by the Council in May.

The Windsor Garth site is different in so far as it is church owned and it is up to the Dioceses to decide when, and how, to sell. Previous assumptions had been that the footprint of the school would be used to build new homes with the open areas added to the Hob Moor nature reserve.

However, house building in York is very slow at present with mortgages still difficult to obtain.

It could, therefore, be a few years before any progress is made. In the interim residents will expect that the site will be secured and kept in good condition.