EIGHT years after it was devastated by a major fire, plans have been submitted to restore the historic Daresbury Hall, near Warrington.
The Grade 2* mansion is actually outside the borough boundary so the scheme will be dealt with by Halton Borough Council.
But Warrington, as a neighbouring authority, is being consulted.
It was in June 2016 that a disastrous fire broke out at the deserted building. It was the second blaze there in a week and was believed to be an act of vandalism.
At the time, 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.”
A total of eight fire engines, including two hydraulic platforms tackled the blaze which had taken hold of the large empty building. A rubbish fire had been tackled the previous week.
The previous year, police had uncovered a cannabis farm in the building, said to have an estimated street value of £750,000.
The site is in the Green Belt.
Built in 1759 as a stately home, Daresbury Hall was used as a military hospital during World War 2. It was taken over in the mid 1950s by The Spastics Society (later to change its name to Scope) as a centre for handicapped people. It had been on English Heritage’s at risk register for a number of years prior to the fire.
Last year it was placed on the market with an asking price of more than £5 million.
The new proposals are for restoration of the main building and a coach house to enable it to be used for residential purposes. Demolition of various extensions and buildings in the grounds are also proposed.
There are also proposals for new-build houses in the 16-acre grounds.
