New owner of Victorian school building in Derbyshire town shares his proposals

Salim Miah is expecting to complete his purchase of The Old School on The Fleet, Belper this week. He was abroad when he placed the winning bid of £153,000 for the property which had a guide price of £125,000. Salim said: “I paid a bit more than I expected to pay, but I’m happy. I only saw it on the auction page last month and went for a visit just before I went to Bangladesh.

“My first option is to rent it out. Once I get the key, I’ll put a ‘to let’ sign on it. I might rent it to a school, as a community centre or maybe as a gym. If I can’t rent it out, my last option is maybe a studio apartment.

"I normally buy churches and renovate them to high-level apartments or restaurants. I’ve recently bought an old Methodist church in Castle Donington, one side will be the restaurant in the main church hall and behind the church is a big hall where we’re trying to do some apartments. I have churches and chapels all over the UK including Hucknall, Newark and Leicester."

Salim has been in the property business for 32 years and owns most of the restaurants in Loughborough, where he is based, as well as residential accommodation. He said: "Belper needs a good Indian restaurant – but The Old School is not a good place for a restaurant, it’s a residential area and the road is quite hectic for parking.”

More than 40 people viewed The Old School prior to its second auction at a reduced guide price after the 19th century property failed to find a new owner on the first occasion.

The building served as a school from 1878 until 1986, after which Fleet Arts charity ran it as a centre for artists, musicians and theatre companies for 38 years. Maintenance costs forced the charity to relocate to Strutts North Mills in 2022.

Campaigners launched an appeal to buy The Old School, which was declared an Asset of Community Value by Amber Valley Borough Council, and were given a deadline of October 2024 to raise the money.