Plans to build 200 homes on a site which was earmarked to become a new school have been unveiled.

The land previously occupied by the Royal School for Deaf Children in Victoria Road, Margate, could be added to Thanet District Council's (TDC) housing blueprint.

It comes after plans to build a 900-pupil school at the site were scrapped for a second time last year.

Permission was granted to demolish the school, where Park Crescent Academy was set to be built.

But Kent County Council (KCC) dropped the scheme following discussions between the authority and the Department for Education over the forecast number of secondary pupils in the district in 2023.

The site has now been put forward as part of a review of the existing Local Plan - which is Thanet council's housing blueprint.

The local authority called upon landowners and stakeholders to propose locations that could be added earlier this year.

In a document submitted to TDC, the county council said: "Given the site is no longer being brought forward for education use, other development options are now being considered.

"Given the highly sustainable nature of the site within the urban area of Margate, residential development would appear logical."

The proposed locations are now being assessed to see if "they are suitable for specific purposes, such as housing or employment development".

Cabinet members will make a decision on which sites should be put forward for the Local Plan Review, which will run until 2040, and there will be a public consultation in September 2023.

KCC added: "Substantive plans have not yet been formalised, however, we suggest a modelled capacity of circa 200 residential dwellings, at an average density of about 35 dwellings per hectare.

"The core design rationale is to create a strongly landscape-led residential scheme, sensitively designed to respect the site’s proximity to the conservation area, whilst balancing the need to make effective use of a highly sustainably located site in the urban area.

"The site is a key opportunity to create a green pedestrian link through Dane Park and the site into Margate town centre with routes to the supermarket, the high street, the beach, and Margate railway station.

"Public open space could also provide greater community public outdoor space for the new and existing community.

"For example, with the incorporation of public open space, an outdoor gym, a children’s play area and a youth play area."

Plans for Park Crescent Academy were scrapped late-last year for a second time - with KCC first dropping the scheme in October 2019.

But in August last year it was revealed that the proposals had been revived.

The Howard Academy Trust had been identified to run Park Crescent Academy, which was set to cater for 900 pupils and open in September 2023.

But again the plans have been axed, with the latest decision agreed by KCC and Baroness Barran, the Minister for the School System.

Goody Demolition's application to knock down the 223-year-old former Royal School for Deaf Children was granted in August.

The old school was founded in 1792 as the first public institution to provide a free education for the hearing-impaired.

It was closed in 2015 after the trust which ran the school, the John Townsend Trust, went into administration.