A much-loved former primary school gutted by fire five years ago is likely to be turned into homes.

Cornwall Council has received a planning application to convert the former Carclaze Infants School in St Austell despite previous attempts to retain it for community use.

The imposing building was built in the late 1870s by celebrated Cornish architect Silvanus Trevail, who was born in the village of Trethurgy, which is a stone’s throw from Carclaze school.

The school closed in 2010 when a new school opened nearby and the building has remained derelict, attracting anti-social behaviour and vandalism. Two fires, suspected to be arson attacks, risked razing it to the ground in August 2015 and July 2020.

The building is much loved by local residents, who even formed a pressure group to ensure its survival. ALA Architects Ltd has now been appointed by applicant Ross Morcom to apply for permission to convert and extend the school to provide eight homes after it was sold for £262,000 at auction earlier this year.

A supporting statement said: “Following an extensive search for a community use, Cornwall Council failed to secure an interested party, largely due to the costs involved in the renovation works to the existing building. Rather than face the demolition of the former school, a use that may be supported by grant funding was considered, leading to a decision to investigate the potential to provide affordable housing.

“A local housing association was approached with ALA Architects Ltd being appointed to prepare proposals on their behalf and that application was close to being submitted to Cornwall Council when a fire destroyed a large section of the roof and internal linings of some of the building. Most of the stone structure survived, although it was necessary for a few areas to be demolished due to instability.

“As a result, the project stalled, Covid had a significant effect on material costs across the construction industry and the proposal became unviable. While costs have settled since then, interest rates have risen, and the property market has slowed.

“Having previously struggled to find an interested developer, the property was sold at auction earlier this year. Fortunately, the purchaser wishes to retain the existing building and convert it to a residential use with a view to providing eight units, each with their own private amenity space and allocated parking.”

The planning statement added: “Following the above-mentioned fire, much of the roof was destroyed, with the only remaining intact section being that over the southernmost area.

“A survey was undertaken, resulting in the demolition of unsafe structures and a subsequent site clearance was carried out prior to my client purchasing the site. During the clearance, many of the materials were damaged or destroyed, such as the Delabole slate used on the roof. This also included the asbestos. Much of what remained was a stone shell.”

The intention now is to create eight residential units with a mix of two and three bed houses. It is planned to retain as much of the original school as practical and replace the roof and add an extension.

The upper part of the site would be used as parking with a pedestrian route to the homes below. To provide security for residents, all footpaths within the site would be lockable and only for their use.

The architects’ report said: “While it is appreciated that the residents of Carclaze would like to see this building used for community purposes, the amount of work required to repair and renovate this building is beyond what is viable. Previously, the main driver was to save the building from demolition and this proposal succeeds in this.

“The development seeks to provide homes in a manner sympathetic to the existing building and its surroundings, contributing positively to the character of the area.”

For further details see application PA25/04648 on Cornwall Council’s planning portal. https://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=SY3YZIFGJJH00&activeTab=summary