Councillor calls derelict school fire 'predictable'

A councillor has called a fire which tore through a Grade II listed former school "predictable".

The blaze on Sunday evening at the three-storey former independent school Newall House in Cornhill, Sherborne, caused the roof to collapse and needed 35 firefighters from eight stations.

Dorset councillor for the area Robin Legg said the local authority allowed this to happen, adding that the derelict site, which closed in 2000, had been "on everybody's radar" as a fire risk for several years.

Dorset Council said it had been liaising closely with the owner of the building for several years regarding its state and need for repairs.

Dorset Police have said its investigation into the matter remains ongoing but it was treating the incident as suspicious.

Legg was stood at the side of road while the fire was blazing on the weekend and said it was "like standing next to a big bonfire".

"The place was a time capsule of material left over from when the school was operational more than 20 years ago," he said.

Parts of the site dated back to the 17th Century and Legg described it as an "extraordinary" place.

"All of that has now been destroyed," he said.

"You can see the walls of the building standing but there's just these black voids in the middle where everything inside is burned."

The local authority had been warned in September about the risk of antisocial behaviour and arson at the venue.

Although the site was privately owned, the council had powers to serve an urgent works notice or compulsorily purchase the property if repairs were not carried out.

Legg said Dorset Council claimed this was unaffordable, but he was concerned the owner was uninsured and unable to pay for repairs, leaving the council to pay to make the site safe.

In some cases partially damaged listed buildings must be reinstated.

Legg added: "The authorities have not covered themselves in glory by allowing this to happen because it was predictable that this would happen at some stage.

"I felt that was misguided, personally, and now the building is in its current state it's certainly going to cost us money because we can't allow it to remain as a derelict dangerous shell on the street."

Sir Christopher Coville, chair of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), said the fire was a "tragedy".

He said the CPRE in Sherborne began lobbying five years ago to improve the condition of Newall House.

He said they had repeatedly warned the council the "beautiful building" had "become unsafe" but had not received positive responses.

He acknowledged the council had installed CCTV and boarded some windows but said this was "not nearly enough".

"We've lost a precious asset in our town," Sir Coville said.

He has called for an independent investigation to identify what went wrong "to draw lessons for the future" and prevent similar incidents at other listed buildings in Dorset.

He stressed the importance of safeguarding historic buildings, adding: "If you ignore your history you will not be able to direct your future."

A Dorset Council spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened to see the substantial damage a fire has had on Newell House and our building control surveyors are on site with independent structural engineers and contractors to make the building safe. Road closures will remain in place while safety works are carried out.

"Dorset Council has been liaising closely with the owner of the Grade II listed Newell House for several years regarding the building's state and need for repairs.

"It is too early at this stage to say what the cost of any statutory emergency repairs will be. We will liaise with the fire and police services while investigations into the fire continue."