A former primary school is to be demolished at the "earliest opportunity" with approval granted to redevelop the site into new homes and a care home.

The plan is for up to 70 homes and a 75-bed care home to be built at the former Little Furze Primary School in Gosforth Lane in South Oxhey.

The school shut in 2004 and landowner Hertfordshire County Council says 24 hour security is needed to protect the site from trespassers.

Redevelopment plans for the site were initially passed in 2018 by Three Rivers District Council. However, papers submitted by the county council's planning agent this year says the care home and residential scheme are now planned to take place separately, with the care home to be constructed first.

And because time has run out to secure approval of reserved matters relating to the residential phase of development, another outline planning application was required, in order to get that time back.

The district council's planning committee agreed the latest outline planning application for up to 70 homes at a meeting on October 21.

As it is an outline application, more detailed plans for the 70 homes will still need to come back to committee.

As is stands, the proposal includes 22 houses of three or four beds, along with 48 flats in seven blocks, with 140 spaces across the development.

Eighteen of the 70 properties are set to be designated as affordable, including 70 per cent of those for social rent and 30 per cent for shared ownership.

The 18 affordable homes represents a quarter of the scheme, and below the council's policy of 45 per cent.

However, vacant building credit, which was introduced by the Government to promote development on brownfield sites, has been used on the Little Furze site to lower the affordable housing contribution.

Planning agents Vincent & Gorbing said in its planning statement published earlier this year it is the county council's intention to demolish the existing school buildings at "the earliest opportunity", once bats have been removed lawfully.

The buildings are said to represent a "significant health and safety concern" and "repeated trespassing" means "continuous" repairs to the building are required, as well as 24-hour security patrol to prevent further trespassers entering the building.

By 2013, the county council had already spent nearly £500,000 for security purposes at the school site.

Related: Hertfordshire County Council spend almost £500k securing former Little Furze School in South Oxhey