A former Catholic school that has lain empty for years could be turned into flats.
Plans have been lodged with Perth and Kinross Council showing how the St Stephen’s building in Blairgowire could be transformed into nine homes.
The school has stood empty for five years, following the opening of the Blairgowrie community campus.
If the proposal is approved, St Stephen’s would be converted into five two-bedroom and four one-bedroom flats.
Developer JR Brown Building Designs says the “affordable” housing would be aimed at people on the council housing list.
Documents submitted to the council state that the exterior would be left largely intact.
“One feature of this conversion project is that very few alterations are required to the exterior of the building,” it states.
“Apart from the installation of disabled access ramps to comply with current building regulations, the main external alteration is the installation of entrance doors in place of the six large windows in the front elevation.
“There, new, fully-glazed doors, side screens and windows would be designed, in consultation and agreement with the planning department and Historic Scotland, in bespoke timber with traditional Victorian mouldings and would be in keeping with the period of the building.”
It added: “The brief from the clients was to provide the maximum number of comfortable, affordable private-rented houses with one or two bedrooms from the building, utilising all the available space.
“The surrounding streets are all entirely residential with a complete mixture of homes, from large detached villas to small terraced cottages, therefore the small, affordable houses in this development would be perfectly compatible.”
St Stephens, a category B-listed building, dates from 1841 and was bought by the Catholic church in 1879.
Education reforms led to Perth and Kinross council taking control of the premises until 2009, when the Blairgowrie Community Campus opened and the school moved location.
The upkeep of the property then reverted to the Diocese of Dunkeld, which had retained ownership.
The old school building has remained on the market ever since, with several attempts to purchase it falling through. It remains on the buildings at risk register.