A DERELICT school in Blaina has been bought in auction with the intention for it to be turned into housing.

The old Cwmcelyn Infants School in Blaina was sold for £50,000 to DJ & DM Williams Building and Roofing Contractors, who are based in Abertillery and Blaina.

The property compromises a single storey Victorian school which was most recently being used as a day nursery. It has a total area of 1,485 sqm.

Dave Williams, 47, who owns DJ & DM alongside Darrell Williams said he hopes planning permission from the council would allow his company to build “ a couple” of affordable houses on the plot, possibly ranging between £120,000 and £150,000.

He said: “We intend to knock it down and possibly utilise the land to put some houses up there, which are somewhat affordable.

“We have had our eye on the land for quite a while – it’s a lovely little spot. It has been closed down for some time now and all that’s going to happen is it will be damaged. If I was a resident up there I’d like to see some nice, affordable houses rather than seeing it being vandalised.”

Paul Fosh, of Paul Fosh Auctions in Newport, held the auction at The Park Inn Hotel in Llanedeyrn on Thursday.

He said: “The building itself was in quite a good condition but was made surplus to requirements many years ago so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone decided to knock it down for the plot of land.”

The ground floor of a derelict police station in Abercarn was also bought for £8,500 at the auction.

The building had been deemed surplus to requirements by the police, while parts of the building is already being used as flats.