Work to clear fire damage from the site of the former Carclaze School in St Austell has started today (Mon 17).

The historic Silvanus Trevail school building was struck by fire last summer, causing significant damage and resulting in multiple safety hazards.

Local residents have expressed their wish to see more homes provided for local people and Cornwall Council has committed to a sustainable, affordable, housing proposal to regenerate the site using the existing structure.

The Council has now appointed Gilpin to carry out work to make the site safe for a full structural survey.

Following the result of the survey, Cornwall Rural Housing Association will be able to plan to deliver the community’s priority of retaining the historic building for affordable housing for local people.

This initial debris clearance and enabling works represent a complex engineering challenge, which requires the creation of access for machinery and the highest levels of safety measures in place to protect the workforce and the public.

The work is being undertaken in consultation with the Council’s insurers and their loss adjuster.

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Gilpin has said it will strive to keep all disturbances to a minimum.

The works will mostly take place between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, and the site has a secure boundary which will be maintained throughout.

A compound will be set up on the top part of the site, with the entrance from Treverbyn Road.

The first phase of the work will be to construct a ramp from the top part of the site.

Inevitably there will be some noise and dust created by the works.

This will be controlled in line with industry best practice and in accordance with current legislation.

No road closures are planned as part of the work and the contractors will not be accessing the site from Carclaze Road in order to minimise impact on the adjacent pre-school.

Before the coronavirus pandemic and fire last year the proposed scheme was due to go forward for planning consent, with public consultation about to take place, and the Council continues to work with Cornwall Rural Housing Association to bring the proposals to fruition.