A prestigious Ribble Valley private school is set to offload a £500,0000 bunk house it uses for visiting students and staff due to costs associated with its refurbishment.

Stonyhurst College is a Catholic independent school in the Ribble Valley countryside, close to the towns of Clitheroe, Whalley, and Longridge, which charges just shy of £41,000 a year for boarding UK students, almost £45,000 for overseas students, and nearly £25,000 for day pupils.

The school uses bunk houses away from the school site for visiting students and staff, one of which can be found at Avenue Farm in Hurst Green and on the market for half a million pounds.

READ MORE: Plans submitted for six holiday cottages in Clayton-le-Dale

In 2014, a successful planning application saw the house change use from a normal dwelling to a house of multiple occupation for visitors to the school, but now a new application to revert to the old use has been accepted by Ribble Valley Council.

A planning statement said: “The site in question currently accommodates a two-storey, three-bedroom property which is currently in use as a bunk house.

"The property is currently owned and used solely by Stonyhurst College for the accommodation of visiting teaching staff and students.

“The use as a bunk house is no longer necessary or viable for the college due to the distance and accessibility of the property from the college building, and the need to carry out general refurbishment and redecoration of the interior.

“In light of the costs associated with refurbishment and the property’s unsuitability for use as intended, the property has therefore been marked with the intention to dispose of the building.

READ MORE: Plans re-submitted for eco home at rear of Read Hall

“The property is currently on the market and a sale has been agreed; however, the prospective purchaser wishes to occupy the property as a single residential dwelling and therefore wishes to secure planning permission for changing the use of the building.”

The statement added no external alterations will be made to the building as part of the plans and the scale and appearance will remain as they currently do.

The property, which is listed as sold subject to contract with Mortimers of Clitheroe, was put on the market for offers in the region of £500,000 and described as a "picturesque plot ripe for renovation".