THE sorry saga of the old Carclaze infant school building in St Austell has taken a new twist.
Having served the area since Victorian times, the building was left empty around 15 years ago when the new Carclaze Community Primary School opened nearby.
There were hopes locally that the “beautiful community building” could be saved, however, Cornwall Council saw an opportunity to redevelop the site for affordable housing.
Campaigners pushed for the building to be retained and criticised the council for letting it deteriorate.
Various efforts over the years by the council to try to get the site used for affordable housing have come to nothing and, in 2020, much of the disused property was wrecked by a major fire.
Now the site, which covers around 0.86 acres, is being offered for sale through Clive Emson auctioneers with a guide price of £50,000 to £70,000.
An auction is due to take place in early February after the council decided that it had no option other than to dispose of the site on the open market.
The move has disappointed and disheartened councillors and residents who still wanted the site to be sympathetically redeveloped with the community in mind.
The auctioneers said planning advice relating to the site has been provided by the council which stated that a proposal submitted earlier this year sought to keep the remaining facade of the building and create eight open market flats. Four affordable flats were also proposed on a former playground.
In a note to potential buyers, the auctioneers state: “The lot is subject to a covenant relating to the retention of the building facade.”
Campaigners who have long called for the retention of the facade of the building through the Save The Former Carclaze Infant School Facebook page said: “We’re still bitterly disappointed that our community asset has ended up as a burnt-out shell which will have to fight to retain its facade. What will the site look like once it’s sold and redeveloped?”