An application has been made to turn a defunct records office in the centre of a Suffolk town into a pre-school building.

A planning application was submitted to Suffolk County Council for the Guildhall Feoffment Pre-School and Nursery in Shirehall Way, Bury St Edmunds.

The former records office is an annex building next to the school that is now empty, with direct access to the pre-school.

If approved, the building would be turned into a new activity area, with a lobby, toilet, and staff area, and there are also plans to remodel the kitchen and group room in the pre-school.

According to the application, demand for numbers at the school has increased in recent years, and so the changes would create additional pupil places at the school.

If approved, the plans would be expected to create 17 full-time and four part-time jobs, according to the application.

The plans require full planning permission as the site is positioned within the Scheduled Ancient Monument of Bury Abbey. The buildings themselves are not listed, but the ground beneath them is included.

Sewage from the site would be disposed of through connection to the existing school drainage system, details of which require confirmation from Historic England.