Victorian school building to become apartments

A former Nottinghamshire primary school is set to be converted into new homes.

The former Church Hill School in Kimberley was originally built in 1876 by the Midland Railways Company as an elementary school to serve the “growing Victorian population”, according to plans.

It started out as a mixed school but later became the all-boys Kimberley County Junior Boys School before it closed in 1982. After the school closed, the building was used as an extension of Broxtowe College for a period.

Broxtowe Borough Council has given the go-ahead to Gray House Developments’ plans for the old school to be converted into three homes: one four-bedroom home and two three-bedroom homes.

The building is beginning to “show signs of neglect” after being left vacant for a “prolonged period of time”, according to plans.

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Documents say that while the building is not considered at risk, it remaining empty has left it “vulnerable” to deterioration, anti-social behaviour, vandalism and trespassing.

Developers plan to “minimise” changes to the building’s external appearance in an effort to “retain its historic form, scale and key architectural features”.

Inside the building, its historic features, such as the original roof trusses and structural elements, will be kept and even exposed where possible to “allow appreciation” of the building.

Chairman of the Kimberley (Chinemarelian) Historical Society, Roy Plumb, 85, attended the school when he was seven years old in 1948 and said he welcomed his old school being used for new homes, saying “it’s a shame to see the building not properly used”.

He said: “To convert it into three houses, if it’s not going to alter the external appearance, is a good use of it – it’s better than pulling it down.”

Documents say: “The building generally is sadly showing signs of degradation as a result of many years of neglect since the main school use ceased.

“The proposal will bring some much-needed care, attention and investment to the building, repairing the numerous signs of degradation and significantly enhancing its appearance.”