Council still hope to sell old school after fire

Council bosses say they are still hopeful that a deal to sell a fire-ravaged former Sunderland school building can still go ahead.

The former Simpson Street School, at Deptford Sunderland, was damaged yesterday evening.

Fire crews spent five hours tackling the blaze.

Firefighters arrived at the scene at 6.19pm and used four jets, an aerial ladder platform and thermal imaging cameras, to bring the fire at the Grade II listed building under control.

Two engines from Farringdon, one engine from Sunderland Central, one engine from Marley Park and one engine from Gateshead, worked together to put out the fire.

It is understood that the roof of the building has been damaged. However, the council remains hopeful that plans to regenerate the site will still move forward, once assessments of the scale of damage have concluded this week.

Coun Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Simpson Street School is a stunning building, and the sentiment from residents when this fire broke out last night reflected the affection that exists for it. People want to see this building regenerated and that has been our aim for some time.

“The council has been in negotiations to sell the building for a number of weeks, and these had reached an advanced stage with an investor looking to move forward with stunning plans to bring the school back to life, which they were looking to move through planning processes imminently.

“We remain confident that we can still move forward and agree an exciting new future for this much-loved building.”