About John Nicholson Expertise I can provide advice and guidance on the conservation of historic or listed buildings, especially traditional stone buildings, including the making and use of traditional lime mortars, plasters and renders, limewash and distemper paints, problems with internal dampness, and planning issues.
Expert: John Nicholson Date: 10/27/2001 Subject: Derelict School
Question Hello John, I would be grateful if you could help me.
I have seen an old derelict small school situated in a rural part of the area near to where I live. There are no signs of it up for sale or of who might own the property.
I think it would be an ideal project for renovation and eventually to live in. I was wondering where I might make enquiries regarding who owns the land and where to enquire about planning permission.
I would really appreciate any advice.
Thanks
I look forward to your reply.
Regards
Chris Briggs
Answer Hello John, I would be grateful if you could help me.
I have seen an old derelict small school situated in a rural part of the
area near to where I live. There are no signs of it up for sale or of who
might own the property.
I think it would be an ideal project for renovation and eventually to live
in. I was wondering where I might make enquiries regarding who owns the
land and where to enquire about planning permission.
I would really appreciate any advice.
Thanks
I look forward to your reply.
Regards
Dear Chris,
This does sound a most interesting project. Is this school in UK? Is it in a rural area? Does it still have a roof on? There are many such buildings that seem to fall by the way side often simply because of changes in the distribution of population. There are also lots of little private schools built by well meaning local benefactors but without sufficient funds to maintain them.
To discover who owns the school, go to the council and get the names and addresses of the local councillors, and the address of the clerk to the local parish council. You could also go straight to the local authority and find out if the school was part of the local education authority, in which case it will most likely be owned by the council estates department. However, very often I have seen situations in which these buildings are sold without advertisement to someone with inside influence. So be careful! Find out by local inquiry if you can. If you get the name of your local council member then he or she should know the history of the building. If it is owned by the authority then you will need to contact the chief legal officer of the estates department or the county secretary. They may have handed the issue over to the local sheriff for disposal in which case it would be auctioned, but these buildings normally are sold through central auctions and no local signs will be posted.
If the school is not owned by the local authority then contact me again.
If it is owned by the local authority and they seem willing to dispose of the property then you should next deal with the problem of planning permission. If the school is outside the village settlement boundary then it will not be possible to get planning permission for conversion to a dwelling without some sort of struggle. You will need a lot of careful consideration because you run a risk if you buy it cheap without prior planning consent, and you will also run another risk that if you apply for planning permission before buying it (which can be done) then you will in effect put up the value of the building very considerably and the council will then probably put the property on the open market and a developer will get it.
If the building is within the village settlement boundary then you should have no problem in getting planning permission, but then why is it not already sold for development? The development value of the land will probably be greater then the value of the buildings as it is.
To find out the precise village settlement boundary go to the planning department or to the library and get a copy of the current local development plan. Each village will be marked with a line. Sufficient land within that line must be provided for development to meet anticipated local need. If you have any difficulty in reading or interpreting the maps or the plan then send me a copy.
If the school is well outside the settlement boundary then you will not be allowed to convert it into a dwelling unless there are specific policies to provide for conversion. These will be set out in the local plan. Such a policy may provide for the conversion of ex-agricultural and industrial buildings for use a dwelling if certain criteria can be met. You will need to get a copy of the relevant policies, and send them to me. It will then be a matter of submitting a planning application. Once a planning decision is made and a decision letter received you can start work at once. If permission is refused then you can appeal to the Secretary of State, and an inspector will review the decision made by the authority. However, you may also submit further applications in order to overcome any valid objections to your first application.
