Burton Manor restoration secures consent

Architect Donald Insall Associates has secured planning approval to restore the grade two-listed Burton Manor, a building that has been vacant since 2011 and has been subject to several failed restoration attempts.

The grade-two listed manor has been empty for around seven years, while a number of attempts to bring the building into use as a hotel, wedding venue, and community building have all failed.

Located on green belt land near Parkgate and Neston, the manor was the home of former Prime Minister William Gladstone, and was formerly housed a number of small businesses.

Last year, it was sold by Liverpool City Council to Wirral-based developer Peter Betts, who has now won planning approval to convert the manor building itself into office space, while 16 houses will be built in the grounds to help enable restoration of the hall.

The planning process has been particularly complex with the site including a scheduled monument, and it being within a conservation area and within the green belt. It is also partially occupied by a community group and is home to three species of bat.

As part of the plans, the developer will re-open a café and shop on the site, while the existing walled gardens will remain fully intact. The glass houses on the site, home to the community group, will be donated to the group as part of the plans.

Works on the site will be carried out by the Burton Manor Restoration Company, a venture founded by Betts at Companies House to deliver the project. The plans have been approved by Cheshire West & Chester Council subject to a Section 106 agreement.

Tony Barton, project director and chairman of Donald Insall Associates, said: “We are very pleased that we are now able to give Burton Manor a fresh new life before it is too late – dry rot infestation in this instance is extensive and dangerous, requiring major repairs, reinstatement and environmental controls.

“We have followed English Heritage’s well-established principles and our own conservation philosophy to bring forth a community-oriented scheme we developed in close consultation with the people of Burton.”

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I am so pleased to read of this. Congratulations!

By Cynthia Dunn

It was not the home of William Gladstone whose residence was Harwarden Castle on the opposite side of the River Dee.

By Ian Crinyion

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