Highly Commended and
People’s Choice Award Winner
WELLS
THE OLD SCHOOL, POLKA ROAD
Conversion of Grade II Listed School
into Ten Dwellings
Entrant:
Homes for Wells (Owners)
The Old School, built as a primary school in1838, is a Grade II listed
building and also lies within the Wells Conservation Area. The
building was purchased by Homes for Wells in October 2012 from
Norfolk County Council. The project involved the conversion of the
school into ten affordable homes earmarked for keyworkers and
local families. This was the most ambitious project yet undertaken
by Homes for Wells.
The work itself involved the challenge of sensitively adapting a
listed building for an entirely new use whilst maintaining its
character, appearance and its setting. The plan from the outset
was to keep alterations to the external fabric of the building to an
absolute minimum and simply to repair and where necessary
replace on a ‘like for like’ basis. The work to reroof the entire
building using reclaimed tiles and re-point the external fabric in
lime mortar were key enhancements to the building.
The external works to the drive and courtyard were designed to
avoid an overtly domestic appearance and to try and retain the
sense of the original school character. The existing ornamental
steel entrance gates and railings located at the site entrance were
retained as they provide an attractive gateway to the
development. The new landscaping helped to soften the impact of
the 16 parking spaces on the approach to the development. A
conscious effort was made to keep the frontage of the site as
open as possible in order to preserve the setting of the Listed
Building
Overall, this scheme has provided important affordable housing to
meet the needs of the community, whilst positively repairing and
securing the long–term conservation of an important listed
building.