Plan to turn school into three-bed house approved

A Grade II listed school is set to get a new lease of life after fears it would be lost forever.

Councillors have approved a plan to turn The Old Day School in Bluntisham, Cambridgeshire, which has been empty for about five years, into a three-bedroom house.

Huntingdonshire District Council's planning officers had recommended refusing the planning application, saying it would cause "substantial" harm to the building because the school hall would need to be divided to create the third bedroom.

Seventeen letters supporting the proposal had been submitted by residents. The authority's development management committee voted 10 to one in favour of the scheme.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Philippa Hope, of Bluntisham Parish Council, told committee members the building needed "to be preserved".

Hope added: "To convert any building into a home internal changes are inevitable – the school building is the same and any changes are justifiable in securing the long-term future of this vacant listed building."

A previous proposal had been refused in 2025, despite concerns the building had not been maintained since the school closed in 1968.

Councillors had been worried about a proposed rear extension, but that had been reduced in size in the resubmitted plans.

Simon Claridge, the applicant, told the committee he cared "deeply about the building" which had continued to "deteriorate through vandalism, broken windows, water ingress, roof damage and even attempted arson".

He added: "We've listened, compromised and repeatedly amended our proposals. Given the resources already invested though, this really is our last attempt to save this building."

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