Archbishop Courtenay Primary School
The existing buildings are Grade II Listed. The current owners and applicants purchased the former All Saints Primary School building after the school had amalgamated with Archbishop Courtenay Primary School and the site became surplice to requirements. The buildings were out of date and no longer suitable for a modern school environment. In 2014, the owners refurbished the northern half of the building and opened Townsend Montessori Nursey, providing high quality nursery care and education for children from 3 months to 5 years old. The whole building was too large for the nursery school activities and so is surplus to requirements and so an alternative use was required for the southern half of the former school buildings.
The new use had to be sustainable, and any alterations should seek to preserve and enhance the building and surrounding context. The existing buildings were in poor condition due to a lack of maintenance over a long period, with very little upgrading of electrical and heating services. The cost of refurbishment of the existing buildings was considerable and so any new use for the building had to be financially viable and have a long-term future.
The design brief was therefore to provide a viable scheme for the conversion of the former school buildings into separate dwellings, each with parking and external amenity space. The scheme also needed to preserve and enhance the character of the listed building.
