PRESS RELEASE: Buildings at Risk for sale - Buyers Wanted!

28th May 2020

This fascinating collection of buildings from our Buildings at Risk Register are all for sale.  If you ever wanted to find the perfect project, now's your chance! Many of these historic buildings already have some approved plans in place as to how they could be saved, What is needed now are discerning owners to turn those plans into reality.....

St Dominics, 21 Saville Street, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex

This utterly charming and extremely quirky weather-boarded cottage is currently empty and is looking for a new owner.  The house is formed of two parts: an unusual polygonal shaped "front" faces into a pleasant lawned garden, whilst a two storey brick extension faces on to the road. Known as St Dominics, this quaint structure has gothic detailing on the front door and windows.  It is believed to date from the early 19th century and to have been moved to its current position in the late 19th century.  It is grade II listed.

It is vacant (although apparently part furnished including by a baby grand piano) and stands within a residential area with both modern and Edwardian houses around it not far from the sea in the old seaside town of Walton-on-the-Naze. 

The property has been nominated for inclusion by its owner who is looking for a conservation-minded buyer.   SAVE can put anyone interested in buying this building in contact with the owner directly but SAVE is not otherwise involved in the sale.

Calder Mill, Burnley, Lancashire

Thought to be one of Burnley's earliest known mills surviving (just about) in its original form, this mill building was built in about 1833 as a small cotton spinning mill.  It was formerly known as Cuckoo Mill and probably replaced an earlier mill built in 1800. 

Built of coursed, squared sandstone, it has three storeys over a semi basement.  It has had various uses over the years but is currently empty and in a dangerous and derelict state with a number of structural issues.   It stands on the banks of the River Calder on a large site which includes an area currently being used as a scrap yard.

Restoration would involve a lot of work but its riverside location could make for a highly desireable setting for offices or possibly a residential development.  It could also provide space for light industrial use.   

It is for sale through Petty Estate Agents Ltd, price on application.

Photo: Eveleigh Photography

St Michael and All Angels, Dulas, Herefordshire

Picture-perfect St Michael and All Angels Church, Dulas, is situated in idyllic countryside in an area known as the Golden Valley about 13 miles south-west of Hereford.  The church was built in 1865 to the designs of Hereford architect G C Haddon. It has a gabled porch, a steep pitched stone-slated roof and trefoil-headed windows. Inside, the church has an ornate vaulted ceiling and there are fragments of 17th-century woodwork which depict the Annunciation.

St Michael and All Angels is on the market for £45,000 with planning permission for a very interesting holiday let conversion in place.  The innovative plans have been drawn up by award winning architectural practice FCB Studios in collaboration with Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The accommodation is designed as a free-standing pod within the church, which is reversible, so as to minimise damage to the structure. The new use can be secured without the need to extensively adapt the listed roofs, walls, windows or doors, or subdivide the large open spaces of the nave and chancel.

The church is being marketed by agents, Sunderlands.  Click here for a link to the agent's website.

Photo: www.telegraph.co.uk

Municipal Chambers in Torquay, Devon 

The Municipal Chambers building, which we added to the register in 2019, is for sale through agents, Bettesworth.  In our original entry we described how this distinctive building stands in a prominent corner position opposite grade II listed Torbay Town Hall. It sweeps along the curve of Union Street and then comes to a dramatic halt in a circular tower at the corner of Castle Road. Known as the Municipal Chambers, the building is a late 19th century four-storey block and is noted as an important building in the Upton Conservation Area.

Click here for a link to the estate agent's sales particulars which mention a previous planning permission to convert the building to 121 bed apartments.

Photo: Eveleigh Photography

St Paul's Church, Tregolls Road, Truro, Cornwall

This beautiful church has been up for sale at least twice in the last couple of years, the last time in the spring of 2019 through agents Lillicrap Chilcott.  As far as we are aware, it has not yet found a confirmed buyer but we understand that discussions are on-going with some potential purchasers.  

St Paul's (Grade II listed) dates from around 1848 and was extended in 1888 by John Dando Sedding, the noted Victorian church architect. His contribution to St Paul's was described by Pevsner as "Sedding at his best, ornate and dramatic". The composition was completed by the addition of the tower in 1910.

Today, St Paul's is suffering from some serious structural problems and is looking for an owner to make the necessary investment to save it.  Substantial work is needed to stabilise the tower and also to address movement in the eastern gable. In addition, the roof and rainwater goods are in need of repair/replacement and severe dry rot has been identified in the organ chamber.

A commanding presence in the local area, the church could make a distinctive and individual office or community centre.

Photo: Eveleigh Photography

Lodge to Northwood House, Cowes, Isle of Wight

This quirky early 19th century lodge, designed by architect John Nash is for sale.  It was built in around 1816 to serve nearby Northwood House on which Nash was also working at the time for his friend, George Ward. Once one of two lodges, both in the form of different minature temples, this lodge is the only one to survive. It is known as Church Lodge as it stands close to the Church of St Mary the Virgin where Nash also built a tower at about the same time which serves as the Ward family mausoleum. 

The charmingly chunky minature portico which forms the main feature of the front elevation is recessed with 4 columns of the Tuscan (or simple Doric) order.  There is a deep attic storey above this and a hipped slate roof. It stands in a good sized garden plot with a high stone wall.  At the rear there is a 20th century extension.  Inside, on the first floor, there is a beautiful curved panelled wall and a good amount of original woodwork.  

The lodge has not been in use for some time but has planning permission and listed building consent for modernisation and extension as a residential property.  This includes permission to demolish the 20th century extension and to rebuild it as well as create parking and access in the garden.  It is on the market for offers in excess of £350,000 through joint agents, Spence Willard and Hose Rhodes Dickson.  Click here for particulars.

Photo: Spence Willard

Gilkicker Fort, Gosport, Hampshire

This absolutely stunning site is looking for a developer to acquire it to take forward a consented scheme to turn it into luxury flats.

The artillery fort was built circa 1865-1871 on the site of an earlier battery. The structure is semi- circular, facing south across the Solent in order to protect the fleet anchorage during a threat of military action by France. 22 guns were once mounted behind an iron shield with five more on the roof. Within its thick walls are the expected ammunition stores however, Fort Gilkicker was also a food processing plant for the Royal Navy's victualling operation so the fort also contains a granary, a bakery with nine ovens, offices and housing for a steam engine.

Since 2001, numerous residential conversion schemes have been proposed and approved for the site and several developers have taken on and subsequently abandoned the project. Most recently, the fort was acquired by a developer in 2016 and planning consent granted for conversion of the buildings to create 22 townhouses and 4 apartments. Work commenced on site however the developer pulled out of the project in December 2018. The site is currently for sale through Jackson Stops, click here for details.

Photo: Jackson Stops