A GRADE II listed pub could be transformed into a private school if new proposals are given the green light.

The Brooklyn Hotel, in Green Lane, Great Lever closed in May with owners Joseph Holt blaming declining trade.

Wigan-based company KYK Holdings bought the pub and the surrounding land, and are leasing it to the principal of Lord's Independent School - Anne Ainsworth.

According to Mrs Ainsworth, the Chorley Old Road school is currently above capacity and she wishes to expand to a second site, which she is hoping will be The Brooklyn.

Mrs Ainsworth , who has taught at the school for 19 years and owned it for the past 11, said: "With the amount of kids we have, we need a secondary site and we've been looking for one for about 12 months.

"We've been interested in The Brooklyn since it first went for sale late last year. It's a historical building with a nice setting and an outside space for the kids.

"I think a lot of people will be happy to hear that we're hoping to keep the building because I think a lot of people were worried that it would be knocked down. It's beautiful and it needs protection.

"We started process of leasing it around six weeks ago. It's just planning holding us up now."

Lord's Independent School is for children between the ages of seven and 18-years-old.

The school has classes of no more than 15 children, which Mrs Ainsworth thinks is incredibly important in ensuring pupils get as good an education as possible.

She added: "Smaller classrooms are more focused, you've not got disruption, children can get individual attention, they're not running around corridors. In other words, they're happy and they're safe.

"We could have bigger classes and make a lot of money but the ethos of the school is small classes and I won't go against that.

"I'm really passionate about the kids."

An application to change the use of the building from a pub to a school has been submitted to Bolton Council and has been delegated to planning officers.

If it is approved, Mrs Ainsworth will then need to get listed building consent to change the internal structure of the Grade-II listed building.

Although she does not anticipate that much work will have to be done and is hoping it can open this year if planning permission is granted.

"I'm hoping it will be done before December.," Mrs Ainsworth said. "Children need places.

"We've been quoted about £40,000 to do it up but I don't think the builder will be doing as much as he thought.

"We don't need to do much to it. Just take the bar out, couple of partitions in."