Latest news with #neo-Elizabethan
The Independent
27-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Historic 25-bedroom hall sells for £305,000 at auction
A disused grade II listed stately home with 25 bedrooms and 16 acres of land has sold at auction for the bargain price of £305,000. Otterburn Hall, located in Northumberland National Park, was sold to an unnamed private buyer on Thursday in an online auction for around £25,000 more than the UK's average house price. The Victorian country house, which comes with woodland, a private lake and fishing rights, has been disused since 2012 and will require extensive renovation. Previously run as a hotel, the building has been disused since 2012 and vandals have been able to get inside, smashing a piano and graffitiing the walls. Despite the large refurbishment costs, the sale exceeded the £220,000 guide price. Andrew Parker, auctioneer and partner at SDL Property Auctions, said: 'It was a great result all round that Otterburn Hall sold at the auction today. 'Buying a historic property of this size and in this state of disrepair is certainly not for the faint hearted and we wish the buyer all the very best with their plans for the property and look forward to seeing how things progress.' Built in 1870 as a country retreat for Lord James Murray, the neo-Elizabethan brick and stone-built property, 30 miles north west of Newcastle, was requisitioned by the military in the Second World War and has also been used as a Christian education centre.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Historic 25-bedroom hall sells for £305,000 at auction
A disused grade II listed stately home with 25 bedrooms and 16 acres of land has sold at auction for the bargain price of £305,000. Otterburn Hall, located in Northumberland National Park, was sold to an unnamed private buyer on Thursday in an online auction for around £25,000 more than the UK's average house price. The Victorian country house, which comes with woodland, a private lake and fishing rights, has been disused since 2012 and will require extensive renovation. Previously run as a hotel, the building has been disused since 2012 and vandals have been able to get inside, smashing a piano and graffitiing the walls. Despite the large refurbishment costs, the sale exceeded the £220,000 guide price. Andrew Parker, auctioneer and partner at SDL Property Auctions, said: 'It was a great result all round that Otterburn Hall sold at the auction today. 'Buying a historic property of this size and in this state of disrepair is certainly not for the faint hearted and we wish the buyer all the very best with their plans for the property and look forward to seeing how things progress.' Built in 1870 as a country retreat for Lord James Murray, the neo-Elizabethan brick and stone-built property, 30 miles north west of Newcastle, was requisitioned by the military in the Second World War and has also been used as a Christian education centre.
Telegraph
09-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The planning trap that is condemning Britain's listed country houses
It's not something many estate agents admit when they're showing you a property, but Jim Demitriou realises no matter how many times he mentions the private lake with fishing rights, there's no finessing this one. 'You've got to have some pretty deep pockets,' he says chirpily, pinpointing the main attribute needed by anyone prepared to take on Otterburn Hall. And that's not to buy it – the still breathtaking former stately home, built in 1870, with 25 bedrooms set in 16 acres, went up for auction this week with a headline-grabbing guide price of just £220,000 – around £50,000 less than your average property in Britain. But the SDL Property Solutions valuer handling this Grade II-listed country pile in Northumberland, 30 miles north-west from Newcastle, is well aware the renovation is where the serious money will need to be spent. Above its neo-Elizabethan facade may be a picture-perfect view of the stars pinpricking the darkest skies in Europe, but inside is an eyesore. Half-boarded windows are shattered, its moulded ceilings are grey – from mould of the other kind – and rivalling the stunning stained glass is obscene graffiti scrawled by vandals. The collapsed grand piano in one room seems to be a symbol of this dismal finale to the stately home 's party days. 'It wouldn't be mortgageable at all,' continues Demitriou. 'It needs completely clearing and then putting back together again. It's quite a phenomenal exercise.' But, he adds: 'Our phone hasn't stopped ringing.' He explains the calls are from a mix of foreign buyers wanting a 'piece of British history', and Britons too, who fancy running it commercially – or even living in it. 'I'm not sure we could actually build houses like this today, it's got lots of acres of land, it's beautiful,' he adds. It truly is. But if someone took on its restoration, could it ever be financially viable? Given its listed status, complex planning processes and regulations would ensue, governing most elements of the work both to its interior and exterior. Experts estimate the cost could start at £3 million, and some suggest go beyond £10 million. Simon Rix, a director and strategy consultant at believes the complexity of the planning process and the demands levied at those attempting to restore our heritage buildings are responsible for many of them, like Otterburn, falling to rubble. 'Properties will deteriorate and become dilapidated, which goes against the purpose of the listing process – which is to protect buildings,' he says with the weary sigh of a man up to his ears in planning wrangles. 'We need a relaxation of planning rules because the complexity puts people off making changes that are going to benefit a property's physical state and financial viability. For every client I help, there must be 20 that just don't bother to start the process.' According to Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register, 4,891 historic buildings and sites are at risk of neglect, decay and inappropriate development. Otterburn is just one – and its recent history is a sorry tale. Initially built in the later Victorian era as a country retreat for Lord James Murray, son of the Duke of Atholl, it is said he was gifted the land as recompense for the death of his ancestor, Lord Douglas, who fought at the 1388 Battle of Otterburn. The hall was then bought in 1896 by a coal and lead mining magnate, Sir Charles Morrison Bell, who renovated and added sections to the original design. The house was later bought by a Newcastle syndicate that wished to convert it into a country club and 'hydropathic institution' but as the renovations took place, a fire broke out in 1929 gutting the building. Still, the club, complete with a golf course, was opened in 1931. The Second World War saw it change use again into a military hospital and by 1980 it was a 65-room YMCA hotel. In 2002, it was transformed into a 25-bedroom 4-star hotel and wedding venue, but in 2012 it closed suddenly. Three years later it was sold at auction again, the property broken into separate parts with a former wing, coach house and lodges sold off. In 2020, it went up again to no bids. The main building was finally sold in 2021, but Demitriou says little has been done. Rix says: 'Restoring Otterburn would be an expensive undertaking likely requiring at least £3 million to £5 million for a full renovation, possibly more depending on the extent of structural damage and planning requirements.' He speculates internal restoration could actually suck up the £3 to £5 million alone; structural and roof repairs £500,000 to £1 million; Listed Building Compliance and Planning including surveys and advisory services, £100,000-plus. And that planning and permissions could take one to two years; a full restoration could take up to five. 'It seems unlikely a private buyer could make a profit, unless they have deep pockets and a long-term vision,' he says. Those pockets again. He suggests a high-end hotel or retreat might work. 'Otherwise, it's a money pit.' George Musson is a director at Musson Brown, working with developers offering architectural services. He suggests Otterburn might cost up to £10 million to restore, but also highlights upkeep. 'The pot of money you need just to maintain these buildings is significant,' he says. 'We had a client who sold recently; it was a Grade II-listed country house a third of the size of Otterburn, but they were budgeting £150,000 a year in running costs. With Otterburn, I can imagine somebody buying it as a shooting estate, perhaps. But ultimately, I think you're going to find investments are going to significantly outweigh that value. It's got to be a labour of love.' He adds: 'To some extent it's a bit of a trophy, but I suppose that's what these properties originally were.' There are over 370,000 entries for listed buildings on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE), over 90 per cent Grade II listed. Although they are lower down in historical significance than Grade I and Grade II*, all listed buildings are subject to the same planning process. Under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, it's a criminal offence to make unauthorised changes. For almost all you need Listed Building Consent. You must get a heritage expert to do an assessment of the whole building's historic significance, and then review your physical proposals against that, judging whether there's any harm, or whether there are benefits that could outweigh harms. This, with detailed drawings, is submitted to your Local Authority as, usually, a combined planning application and Listed Building Application. Rix has spent 10 months doing this for a current client hoping to remove a 1980s shopfront from his Georgian seafront home. It's already cost £10,000. He hasn't even applied yet. Before this stage you can get 'pre-application advice for an additional cost to secure an initial steer from heritage officers, but 'they don't promise to stick to the advice when it comes to the actual application', says Rix, suggesting this should change. The key problem, he says, is the rules are 'nebulous'; often highly subjective and unpredictable. 'It's not really defined, and it's up to the judgement of officers.' He explains he's often bogged down in detail that isn't even visible. 'They don't differentiate between really important heritage improvements and totally irrelevant ones,' he says. He has a client in Fitzrovia, London, trying to convert a split property Georgian townhouse back into its original single residence. 'The hoops we've had to go through just because of the placement of radiator pipes under the floorboards,' he says in exasperation. 'Where exactly every single pipe is going to go. It's cost the client £10,000 for the application, and two or three extra months.' 'You face restrictions about impacting what's called 'original fabric',' he explains. 'So if you were to knock a door through a wall in a listed hotel, for example, if the wall was original you might not be allowed to do that because you'd be impacting original bricks. But once it's painted and plastered, who cares if it's original brick?' Sourcing and purchasing the materials planners ask for comes with a hefty price tag too. Rix recounts a homeowner in Bath paying an extra £40,000 to replace traditional lime mortar in their Grade II-listed home. Another client in the Cotswolds had to replace their stone tile roof for £200 per square metre compared to £50 to £80 for standard slate. The final roof bill was over £250,000. It's little wonder would-be renovators get put off. Simon Vernon-Harcourt, the design and planning director at housebuilders City & Country, worked on the Grade I and II-listed buildings on the St Osyth Estate in Essex, dating back to its 1120 priory. He recalls the level of detail. 'There were ceilings we had restored with gold leaf paint detailing and you need to have paint samples done, areas scraped off and analysed to find how old they are, what the pigments were made of, and then you find the right person who can repaint the ceiling. And when you're doing brickwork, you need to have the mortar analysed. So someone comes and scrapes away some of the mortar and then you have to use the same mortar to match it.' Overall, he says heritage materials 'are probably two or three times more expensive'. It's not only planning that makes heritage restoration difficult. Chris Thompson, the managing director of Beechcroft Developments, is quick to list other problems. Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), charged by some local authorities, may be payable on derelict buildings. 'We are currently appealing a local authority decision to try to charge us almost £1.8 million on a listed building conversion that has just been granted permission after over two years,' he says. There is now no specific concession for VAT on listed buildings either. 'Now all buildings, with the exception of churches, have to pay the full rate,' he explains. No one disputes the need for listed protection. 'Once you lose something that's been around for hundreds of years, you're never going to get it back again,' says Vernon-Harcourt. What you don't want is to lose British heritage because it's simply too hard to save it. Musson, who's seen beautiful Otterburn first hand, says local planners will need to be more relaxed. And for all our architectural buildings in peril, there's needs to be a balance between what's period appropriate and what's commercially viable. 'It's give and take,' he says.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grade II-listed mansion with 25 bedrooms – yours for £220,000
A 25-bedroom grade II-listed stately home has been put up for auction with a guide price of just £220,000. Otterburn Hall in Northumberland National Park could be snapped up for £50,000 below the average UK house price for a reason – it needs full-scale renovation. An hour from Newcastle and two hours from Edinburgh, Otterburn Hall is set in 16 acres of grounds and comes with woods, lawns, a lake and fishing rights on a river. Built in 1870 for Lord James Murray, the neo-Elizabethan brick and stone hall was requisitioned by the military in the Second World War, was used as a Christian education centre, and was a hotel until 2012. Since then it has been closed and has fallen into disrepair. Images from the sale details show broken and boarded-up windows and warning notices on the entrance. Inside, a smashed piano can be seen in the drawing room, with lewd graffiti on the walls, presumably written by vandals. Andrew Parker, of SDL Property Auctions, said: 'The ideal buyer would probably be an investor or developer who's able to commit to the extensive renovation, restoration and modernisation project that would be needed to transform the very faded grandeur of this amazing building and estate back to the stunning property it once was. 'There are a wide range of options, both commercial and residential, subject to planning consent, and it would be fantastic if this magnificent property could gain a new lease of life in the hands of an imaginative new owner. 'Needless to say, there is scope for a significant increase in the value of the house once the renovation was complete.' The auction takes place on March 27.
