An enterprising company boss is proposing to save an historic building in Eldwick from being razed to the ground by converting it into a new base for his business.

Stephen Brabbins wants to transform the former Eldwick First School into studio space so he can expand his pioneering internet and multimedia firm.

Mr Brabbins, 53, founded Digital Image ten years ago and employs four staff on a site in the village, but has put an offer in for the Otley Road School so the company can increase workforce to about 20.

The Memorial Hall Trust applied to have the Victorian building, which is redundant after the reorganisation of Bradford schools, listed to protect it from being torn down by a property developer.

But the application was turned down by the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on the advice of English Heritage which said it was a simple village school and not of sufficient architectural interest to merit listing.

Mr Brabbins, who lives in Eldwick, fears this leaves it open to large developers to clear the site and create houses and he would prefer to put money into it and keep the original structure.

"There aren't many suitable buildings around in the village for our business so the temptation is to find somewhere in the middle of a city but it's barmy to take everybody into the middle of Leeds," he said. "We are looking at retaining the original structure. It is a lovely building and it's just about the only place left in Eldwick that hasn't already been turned into a house."

The company writes educational and training software which explains how complex products work to customers including pharmaceutical companies.

Its customers are mostly based 200 miles away round the M25 in London so Mr Brabbins said a move would not create a surge in traffic and he aimed to recruit future employees from the local area.

Allan Mirfield, chairman of the Memorial Hall Committee, said it was an "excellent" idea which would preserve the building.

"It is all very well them saying it can't be listed because it is one of many in the area - it won't be if one by one each is demolished," he added.

Campaigning resident Graham Franz also backed the initiative which he said could create good employment opportunities for the younger generation of the village and was environmentally beneficial as people could walk to work.

A spokesman for Bradford Council asset management said a decision on the future of the site, which is split into two lots, will take place on May 30 at the School Site Disposal Panel.

He said: "We have had 25 offers, some for the old building built in the 1870s, some for the ancillary buildings and some for the whole site.''

The spokesman added: ''The offers are confidential for commercial reasons."