A village school which many years ago came under threat of closure because of falling numbers has tabled plans to build a new one.

An application to build a single-storey school near the site of Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School, near Ripon, has been lodged with Harrogate Borough Council planners this week.

Governors of the 126-year-old school, which has 45 pupils, were recently given outline planning permission to convert the present school into a home to help finance the project.

Chairman of governors Brian Kitching said the campaign to secure a new school had had setbacks. "But now everyone has something to look forward to," he said.

"We are making further progress with an excellent scheme. People have worked very hard for this and we are now winning through."

The school in Main Street is separated from a temporary classroom by 52 outdoor steps up a steep hillside.

The new school is earmarked for a site at the top of a hill with a new access. A children's play area has also been included in the plans.

For eight years the community has been campaigning and raising money towards the project.

But the initiative was given a boost recently when North Yorkshire County Council approved £300,000 towards the cost of the £410,000 project.