A former school building will be sold off after St Clement’s Parish was left in a “dreadful” position of trying to recoup considerable sums of money from a school that has now closed, it has been confirmed.
St Clement Constable Marcus Troy told Express the parish was left in “a dreadful situation” after the previous tenant St Christopher’s School failed to pay tens of thousands of pounds in rent and were evicted in 2025.
Express revealed last week that the historic parish-owned school building was set to be sold on the open market.
Mr Troy explained: “We are owed money by the previous school company, which we are still chasing.
“It’s got to the stage where we have tried to get a letting with people who are involved in education, but the demographics aren’t quite right these days.
“Student numbers are dropping. Nursery numbers are dropping.”
Private prep school and nursery St Christopher’s School – previously a close-knit school with a “family feel” – moved from town to St Clement in 2006.
The school rented the eastern premises from the parish after St Clement’s School moved into a larger building across the road.
In 2025, the Petty Debts court ordered St Christopher’s School to pay the parish £77,634.
And the parish is facing mounting legal costs and has missed out on income while the building has been vacant, Mr Troy said.
He said he had shown about seven potential tenants around the building, all of whom were involved in education, but the parish had now decided to sell the building on the open market.
This decision was approved by parishioners at a Parish Assembly on Tuesday night.
Despite previously believing the building legally had to be occupied by a school or nursery, Mr Troy said the parish now believes this is not the case as no evidence of this requirement could be found.
Mr Troy did not state that the parish had a particular sum in mind.
“We’re open to all offers,” he added.
In an ideal situation, said Mr Troy, the parish would sell the building, pay off arrears and legal fees, and keep the money to invest locally – for example, by creating sheltered housing, dementia housing, or nursing homes.
