It's been closed for over six years but finally Queen Street primary school in Abertillery has a new owner and surely a new future on the horizon.
The half-acre site used to welcome hundreds of local children at the Blaenau Gwent school located about a quarter of a mile from the town centre, but fell silent after it was closed in August 2016.
The school, which dates back to 1896, had been the victim of vandalism over the years, had suffered water damage and was not open for internal viewings for potential buyers at the time it went under the hammer with Paul Fosh Auctions in December 2022 with a guide price of just £50,000.
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The building didn't even come with planning consent from the local authority to convert it into dwellings, a business base or a mixed use property. But that didn't stop five feisty online bidders from fighting over the school with the hope of becoming the new owner.
Gemma Vaughan, of Paul Fosh Auctions, says: "There was phenomenal interest before the sale in the former school site which was reflected in the figure achieved from the online auction. The bidders must have done their sums prior to auction and taken a view on what this site was worth.
"Bidding started at £50,000 and just rocketed from there with five bidders vying for the property who between them made a total of 140 bids. The buyer, who is local, hopes to develop the site but hasn't revealed any details as yet."
The school, which was being sold on behalf of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, was eventually snapped up for £303,500 by a bidder who started at £55,000 at the beginning of the online auction and kept a feisty fight going right to the end - their final and winning bid registered just 33 seconds before the bidding time was up.
The new owner was obviously keen to secure the school site, paying over six times the auction houses' guide price. They now own a playground, and a network of classrooms and offices with large, characterful windows nestled within the stone walls, which will all surely be subject to a major redevelopment and renovation project, subject to securing planning permission.
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