Actor’s restoration dream shattered as council plans to take back ancestral home - without him knowing

An actor's dream of restoring his ancestral home to its former glory has fallen to pieces after learning, via a press enquiry, that the council has decided not to renew their agreement with him to restore the hall.

Hopwood DePree had moved to Middleton from Hollywood and was working to restore what he claimed as his ancestral home. The building had previously lain vacant for 30 years and is on Historic England’s 'At Risk' register.

On Friday (1 November), Rochdale Onine News contacted Hopwood for a comment on the news that the building was to move back into council ownership - a decision made at a recent cabinet meeting. It turned out that he had no idea it was happening, and was shocked to hear the news from a journalist rather than the council.

Council executives have explained that no viable business cases for Hopwood Hall have been presented to them. This is the reason given for not extending the ‘exclusivity agreement’ with Mr DePree.

Although the cabinet credited Mr DePree with creating worthwhile community engagement projects, they feel the time is right to look into different options to bring the hall back to its former glory.

 

 

Mr DePree said: "I am extremely surprised to learn about this apparent cabinet decision through a request to comment on this article.

"The council has not informed me that any cabinet decision was being sought or had been made; representatives from the council's corporate services directorate and legal department were in contact with our lawyers on 30 and 31 October to say that they were seeking instructions.

"If the cabinet made this decision before these emails, it appears that they have misled us, which is extremely disappointing.

"I had the benefit of an option agreement to purchase Hopwood Hall, which expired on 31 October. Our legal team tried to engage with the council on 17 October and on several occasions since, but multiple emails and calls went unanswered. Therefore we served notice to exercise the option to purchase on the council on the afternoon of 29 October.

"At no point since has the council informed us that the option notice is disputed. Under the option agreement, completion of the purchase must take place 20 working days after the notice was served and is legally binding on both parties."
 

Read more: New video unveils revival of historic Hopwood Hall EstatePublished: 08 July 2024

Whilst the ‘exclusivity agreement’ was in place with Mr DePree, the council were unable to speak to or consult with other developers or potential partners regarding restoration projects associated with the hall.

The local authority claims to have spent around £1.7m, alongside other public bodies like Historic England, on the building’s maintenance and preservation.

The impending roof works, estimated to start in spring 2025, are expected to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

 

 

The next steps would see the council conduct feasibility studies to work out costs and a business plan to bring the hall back into public use.

MrDePree added: "I have given my all to this project to regenerate Hopwood Hall at significant personal cost, as well as involving the community in a project that has brought people together and sought to breathe life into this fantastic old building.

"I am incredibly disappointed that the council has not communicated with me about this decision and I have had to learn about it from a press release, this feels extremely unprofessional and insensitive.

"As far as I am concerned, we have a legally binding agreement for the purchase of Hopwood Hall and this cabinet decision puts the council in breach of contract. I cannot comment further as I have been given no details of the decision or the reasons for it, so I will await details of the council's position before considering any further steps."
 

Read more: 12th century Hopwood Hall to be restoredPublished: 10 June 2014

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Hopwood Hall is a Grade-II* listed manorial hall which is owned by the council and has been out of use for a number of years.

“In 2017, the council entered into an options agreement with Hopwood DePree which gave him the option to buy the building for a nominal fee if he could produce a commercially viable business model to secure the long term future of the hall, alongside a detailed planning permission.

“Although this agreement has been renewed a number of times since 2017, a viable business case and funding strategy has not been forthcoming, and so the council’s cabinet has made the decision to not renew the options agreement.

“The council sees Hopwood Hall as a very important part of Middleton’s heritage and wants it to play a key role in the area’s future.

“Over the last seven years, to support the restoration of the hall and protect its long term future, the council has funded and commissioned a series of repairs to the building and, alongside other public bodies like Historic England, has invested almost £1.7m into the building.

“As a council, we have a duty to protect public money and important, council-owned assets like Hopwood Hall, and ensure they have a viable future which will benefit the wider community.

“For that reason, we have commissioned independent financial consultants to assess the business model proposed by Hopwood Productions and they concluded that these proposals would be loss making and unlikely to be able to secure future public or private funding.

“As Hopwood Depree has not been able to produce a viable proposal, despite having had seven years to do so, and having been given advice and support from the council and RDA throughout that period, in order to protect the public monies invested to date, we now have a responsibility to explore alternative options.

“The council remains committed to the long term future of the hall and is keen to see it restored, so it can be brought into a viable future use.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter

Additional reporting: Kirsty Olczak