MEETINGS are taking place today to discuss the future of the historic Daresbury Hall, near Warrington, which was badly damaged during an arson attack at the weekend.
It was the second fire within a space of a week at the Grade II* Listed building.
A spokesperson for Halton Borough Council said: “We are very saddened to hear about the fire which has destroyed much of the Grade II*Daresbury Hall in Cheshire.
“We have worked hard with the owner, his agents and Historic England to prepare a development scheme to restore the Hall and secure the long term protection of this heritage asset. Steps were also taken to prevent access to the estate and the building itself. However, realistically there is little that can be done to prevent determined and reckless acts of vandalism, as appears to have been the case here.
“The building has been on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register for a number of years, due to the neglect by the owner. During this time we have been working with the owner and Historic England to help secure conversion of the historic building and have granted planning permission for a scheme to save the Hall that was not implemented by the owner.
“The Council contacted the agent over the weekend to let them know of this incident. We have also been in touch with Historic England, are visiting the site today, and will be meeting with all concerned to see what can be done. The Council will continue to work closely with all parties to save as much as
is practically possible.”
A total of eight fire engines, including two hydraulic platforms tackled the blaze which had taken hold of the large empty building last Saturday around 4.45pm.
A rubbish fire had been tackled the previous Sunday within the empty building.
Police have previously uncovered a cannabis farm in the building last year worth an estimated £750,000. More recently it was being used by a company for “zombie experience” events.
There have also been plans to demolish it to make way for 31 houses and an “art house.”
The site is classed as Green Belt and a home for barn owls.
The former Stately home has been on English Heritage’s at risk register for a number of years.
Police are appealing for information from the public.
Anyone with any information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 691 of 25/6/2016. Information can also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Firefighters tackle the blaze – Picture Cheshire Fire Brigade
Video footage and aerial images courtesy of Chris Digata
5 Comments
Three deliberate fires within the space of 3 months and obviously no reliable security measures. Questions need to be asked.
Halton Council quote; “…….. realistically there is little that can be done to prevent determined and reckless acts of vandalism, as appears to have been the case here.”
I can think of some security measures that could have been taken which would have been both realistic and reliable.
Quote; “Police have previously uncovered a cannabis farm in the building last year worth an estimated £750,000”
Another important reason why the security measures should have been reliable.
Quote; “More recently it was being used by a company for “zombie experience” events.”
Does allowing the hall to be used for (and damaged by) “zombie experience” events sound like the actions of an owner who has any real interest in renovating the hall?
Quote; “There have also been plans to demolish it to make way for 31 houses and an “art house.”
Art House? in that setting? – but no doubt should this project not thrive it should be easy enough at a later date to obtain ‘change of use’ and convert to dwellings.
Was the only thing standing in the way of these plans then the Grade 11* hall?
Quote; “The building has been on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register for a number of years, due to the neglect by the owner.”
For VERY MANY YEARS in fact!
Long enough for it fall into a very terrible state of disrepair through neglect and be badly damaged by “zombies”, criminals and subsequent fires.
Halton Council should have used their powers of compulsory purchase to save this building from destruction VERY MANY YEARS AGO!
Quote; “We are very saddened to hear about the fire which has destroyed much of the Grade II* Daresbury Hall in Cheshire”.
The general public are not only very saddened but also very ANGRY about what has been allowed to happen. And note Halton Council, the building has been very badly damaged, it has not been destroyed!
WHETHER IT IS DESTROYED BY DEMOLITION OR IS SAVED AND RENOVATED IS A DECISION YOU WILL MAKE – AND BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR.
I couldn’t agree more. Whoever was trying to set fire to the building had had at least three attempts over the previous few weeks. It is a disgrace that the building was not protected, that the council didn’t put into effect a compulsory purchase order and that this horrendous act of vandalism has been allowed to happen. Halton Council, this building was part of our local and national heritage. You have made poor decisions that have lead to us losing it. Like many people I am very angry at what was a very predictable outcome, and also incredibly sad.
I totally agree, this is a disgrace to let this happen and i wonder if it was done Deliberately in order to obtain the site to “make way for 31 houses and an art house”. if the homes are built on the site then is that really saving/conserving the site, I think not. the house needs to be restored to its original beauty and protected.
How long has it been on the ‘At Risk’ register, does anyone know?
I’m sat here looking at a photo of it from 2007 and it looks stunning and in very good condition. It was taken approx 6 months after Mr R bought the Hall and all the other buildings and land for just over £2.1 million. In fact it looks lived in too…..so what went wrong and how/why did it become a vacant building simply left to rot and be used by zombies and cannabis farmers?
I can’t upload the photo in this comments section so I’ll put it on the forum topic.
Owners of listed buildings are legally obliged to maintain them and certainly not allow them to deteriorate from lack of maintenance. Local Authorities are similarly obliged to make sure owners and/or their agents comply with those obligations. When owners fail to meet their obligations the LA has the power to have restoration or maintenance carried out at the owners’ expense.