Endangered art school building has 'uncertain future'

A former school of art in Derby has been named in a list of endangered buildings, with calls to bring the vacant building back into active use.

The Victorian Society announced its top 10 endangered buildings list for 2026 on Tuesday, which includes the former School of Art in Green Lane.

The building is described by the society, which campaigns for Victorian and Edwardian built heritage, as "one of the city's most striking Victorian buildings".

In 2021, the site was sold to New Vision University in the US, with the intention of establishing a medical school.

The society said the building was "an ambitious and architecturally confident statement of the cultural importance placed on art and design at the time".

"Today, however, the building stands empty and uncertain, its future unresolved," a statement added.

Constructed in distinctive pink granite from Matlock, the school was a purpose-built centre for art education.

According to the society, the school formed part of a national movement that followed the establishment of Government Schools of Design in 1837 and their expansion under the Department of Science and Art after the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The Public Libraries Act of 1855 further supported the development of art schools.

The art school building then became part of the University of Derby, before it was used as the Metro Cinema between 1981 and 2006.

It then stood vacant for six years and reopened in 2012 as a rehearsal space for Derby Theatre, the society said, before the building was sold to its current owners in 2021.

"As a result, this important Grade II* listed building now stands empty once again, with no clear timetable for its reuse," the society said.

"Its continued vacancy places it at risk of deterioration and represents a significant missed opportunity for the city.

"The Victorian Society is calling for urgent clarity on the building's future.

"As a prominent and adaptable structure with a strong civic identity, it has clear potential to serve a new purpose.

"What is needed now is a realistic and deliverable plan to bring it back into use before further decline sets in."

Actor and comedian Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society president, said he was "devastated" to see the building in need of help.

"In the name of recycling, in the name of heritage and art and all that we see as the future, somebody must step in and conserve this vital part of Derby's civic story, before the inevitable neglect and decay starts to make it more and more difficult to save," he added.

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