WARRINGTON Borough Council Leader Cllr. Hans Mundry has issued a statement saying there are no current plans to sell off the historic Grade I Listed Town Hall.
With the council currently looking at various options of selling assets to help plug the budget deficit and bring down the £1.4 billion of debt, there have been reports that the council was considering selling off the town hall.
But Leader of the Council, Hans Mundry, issued a statement today, Sunday, saying: “While it is only right and reasonable that all Warrington Borough Council property assets are assessed as to their positive contribution towards services, I cannot foresee circumstances where the Warrington Labour Group would agree to the commercial sale of the Town Hall.
“Its place as a significant heritage asset for past, present, and future residents is undeniable.”
One significant asset that is understood to be in the process of being sold is Birchwood Park, considered by many as one of the council’s better investments.
Originally known as Bank Hall, the building was built in 1750 for Thomas Patten. The architect was James Gibbs and it is likely that it was the last important building of his design to be completed in his lifetime. When it was built, it stood in open countryside to the north of the town of Warrington. The Patten family were important merchants in the town.
It consists of a house, flanked by two detached service wings at right angles to the house, one on each side. The house and the service wings are each recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade I listed buildings. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner declared it to be “the finest house of its date in south Lancashire”.
