Marquees proposed to raise cash for restoration of at-risk Wirral building

The owners of Thornton Manor have applied for permission to erect three tents totalling 40,000 sq ft at the 120-acre estate to generate cash for vital repair works to the historic building.

A wedding and events venue in Wirral, Thornton Manor was badly damaged by a fire in 2022, which means it cannot operate at full capacity. It is on Historic England’s at-risk register.

Significant work to restore the building is required. In the meantime the marquee plan would replace floorspace rendered unusable by the fire.

A business plan for the triple marquee proposal estimates they would produce £600,000 in profit annually. This would be used to service a proposed £2m loan to be taken out to pay for essential repairs.

Once the events business is stable and repairs have taken place, the owner plans to carry out a comprehensive overhaul of the manor costing between £15m and £20m, according to public documents.

The estate’s owners received an £11m insurance payout following the fire, however a planning statement submitted to Wirral Council states that “the funds were required to be allocated to liabilities and are insufficient to secure repair to fire damage, or support the scale of investment now required to secure the estate’s long-term future”.

Thornton Manor has used marquees to host events in the past but was ordered to remove them in 2019 following a judicial review into their lawfulness.

P4 is advising on planning. To learn more about the proposal, search for reference number APP/25/01112 on Wirral Council’s planning portal.