A MULTI-MILLION pound housing development is on the way to Worcester – with a derelict old school building set to be demolished to make way for 28 new properties.

Berkeley Homes wants to revamp part of the land off Severn Street, next to the Royal Worcester Porcelain factory.

The old school house, part of the former St Peter’s School, will be knocked down and replaced by a raft of three-storey residential buildings containing 28 one and two-bed apartments with underground parking.

The company says it will breathe more life into the Sidbury and Diglis area – especially as a planned £10m cultural quarter is expected to be built on the plot next to it.

A planning application has been handed to Worcester City Council, with a decision on the complex expected by next month.

Under the plan, it will front onto King Street and sit on part of the site used as a marketing suite for Berkeley Homes.

Twenty of the homes will be two bed, eight will be one bed, and it will be aimed at people who need a base within close distance of the city centre.

A briefing document on the development says it has been “designed to be in keeping with the traditional buildings and historic city” feel to the area.

It also says the current homes on nearby Edgar Street were used as a template in drawing up the character of the scheme.

The report also says Berkeley Homes has been developing the Severn Street and Portland Walk area for residential use already, calling it a “key gateway to the city centre” but suggesting the overall site is “incomplete and unfinished” until the former school land is spruced up.

Back in 2006 an outline planning application was granted by the city council for homes on the land, meaning the fresh bid is a final, detailed one.

A spokesman said: “This is a visually prominent site in the historic city conservation area and the character and appearance of that area will be immeasurably enhanced by the creation of the attractive frontage to King Street.”

It comes just as Colin Kinnear, a city philanthropist, prepares to submit his own planning application over turning the old Royal Worcester Porcelain site into a £10m cultural quarter.

His proposal could see cafés, outdoor dining areas, bistros, a theatre, some shops and art exhibition space created.