Sir John may lose at-risk hall

Feb 16 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

CITY leaders have warned Sir John Hall they may have to take Woolsington Hall off him following his “criminal disregard” of the Grade II listed building.

The Woolsington Hall Estate has been on a national list of buildings at risk since 2002, and now Newcastle councillors are worried it has been overlooked by Sir John as mould and rot continue to spread.

English Heritage has also grown fed-up with the former Newcastle United owner, warning that the hall is now at “immediate risk of further rapid deterioration.”

One option open to councillors is a compulsory purchase of the property, which would see a lengthy legal battle for the hall.

But councillors think they may be able to fund the fight using a £2.7m windfall payment due to them following a farcical Government spending mix up.

The cash is to be paid after the Government accidently sent a grant destined for Tyneside to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

For now, councillors who met at Newcastle’s Development Control committee yesterday are still trying to decide what immediate action to take against Sir John.

Next month, officers will meet with staff from Sir John’s Cameron Hall Developments to offer them one last chance to carry out the repairs themselves or the council will step in and hand over a bill.

But councillors on the committee say they have grown tired of Sir John’s constant delaying, and are considering starting proceedings to use compulsory purchase powers to take over the 17th-Century building.

Chair of the committee Bob Renton said: “It is an absolute disgrace that it has come to this. For it to have been at risk since 2002 and nothing to have been done is unbelievable, especially from someone who has the means to pay for the repairs.”

Coun Veronica Dunn said the owners “should be ashamed of themselves for the appalling state of the hall. This is an urgent situation and the owner has shown a total disregard for this.”

And Coun Barry Phillipson said the “disregard of a valuable city resource is nothing short of criminal.”

The council cannot carry out any work yet because they first need to make a detailed list of repairs. It took officers nine months to get into the grounds to carry out the latest condition survey, a process which has cost £5,000 so far.

At next month’s meeting between the two sides, Cameron Hall Developments is expected to hand over its detailed list of repairs and a commitment to carry out the much-needed structural improvements.

If this does not happen, the council can either force through urgent repairs themselves and bill Sir John or order he does the work himself. If he still does not comply, this would count as the first step towards the compulsory purchase.

Sir John was unavailable for comment yesterday.