ELVASTON CASTLE

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A ghost tour at Elvaston Castle, organised by historian Richard Felix, founder of Derby Heritage Centre, in St Peter's Church Yard, resulted in a secret door being damaged. The incident has led to a review of whether or not such events can continue at the historic building. Mr Felix had hired the stately home by booking it with park manager Richard Bonner. Graham Mansey, secretary of the Friends of Elvaston action group, contacted Mr Bonner to complain about the incident and raise concerns about the way in which the castle was being used.

Mr Mansey said, "Apparently, people had been slamming doors, dragging tables and chairs about and attempting to frighten the people who attend these events. We think that it is entirely inappropriate for the castle to be invaded in this fashion and would like to see an end to these stupid antics." He has now been informed by Alan Beastall, the county property officer, that the matter is being looked into and that Mr Felix has been told to pay for the repairs to the door hinge.

Mr Felix said, "We were taking a group round when one of my scarers, the people who make the ghost walkers jump, came out from behind this secret oak panel. As he pushed it open, the hinge just fell off. I reported it straight away, apologised and will pay for any repairs. I've been taking ghost walks around Elvaston Castle for years and nothing like this has ever happened before. I would like to continue them in the future." So it's the 'scarers' that make people jump and not actual ghosts? See also: Derby Ghost Walks

A meeting held to discuss the future of Elvaston Castle produced confusion and disappointment. About 40 members of the public turned out for the annual meeting of the Elvaston Castle Estate Trust, a group set up to support the castle. There were hopes that there would be some news on the future of the site, which has been a subject of controversy ever since Derbyshire County Council put it on the market in 1999. At the moment, there are four bidders vying to take over the estate. They have to submit detailed plans by next month. The trust has been working with one of the shortlisted bidders, the London-based Highgate Sanctuary, to try to ensure that public access to parts of the castle is maintained.

It was revealed at the meeting that members of the trust had met with the bidder to discuss the project. But the audience was told that details of the Highgate Sanctuary bid were commercially sensitive and would not be revealed. Trust chairman William Barron told the meeting, "We fully recognise that you've come to hear what they intend to do but we are unable to go into any detail. We'll invite you all back for another meeting within, hopefully, the next 10 days. Then we hope that we'll be able to provide you with more details. What we can say is that the information we've been given has some interesting ideas and some ideas that we disagree with. There are still queries over access and finance."

The future of the castle and the estate still seems shrouded by uncertainty. Members of the public asked whether the castle and estate would be sold or leased, and trust members replied that the building, the gardens and the country park were all included in the bid. However, Councillor Bob Janes, who chairs the county council's Elvaston Castle working party said that only a "footprint" - the castle, some outbuildings and the land in between - was being offered for lease. He said that the council would continue to maintain public access to the gardens. It is understood that Hilton-based Don Amott Caravans wants to create a holiday park and serviced apartments and the Trevor Osbourne Property Group wants to turn the castle into a hotel.

Derbyshire County Council appears to have no idea what to do with Elvaston Castle. Two lost years have gone by since the ludicrous attempt to turn it in to a time-share paradise bit the dust and still the custodians of our heritage sit and wait, and wait. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it supposed to have been conveyed to the Borough of Derby on the sixteenth day of June 1969, and did it not become the nation's first country park with rights of access guaranteed by statute?

When, by default, it passed into the hands of Derbyshire County Council in the dark days of the 1970s, it tried to change its status, until a 345,000-name petition stopped it in its tracks. Now it publicly admits it cannot afford to run it properly, though it continues to hold on to the title. Well, there's a simple solution at hand, which won't cost a penny, just hand it over to the Elvaston Castle Estate Trust to run on behalf of the people to whom it was conveyed. The chairman, chief executive and treasurer of the trust have a business plan and potential finance in place to move in as soon as a decision is made.

Not only will this guarantee its status as a public asset, it will keep it open as a country park with full and free access to the public at large and sideline all these commercial speculators who want to develop time-share apartments, luxury hotels and caravan stratagems. Above and beyond all else, it belongs to the people of Derby. David Black

The public will be able to have their say on the future of Elvaston Castle's historic gardens as part of a bid for lottery money. But it could be July 2006 before Derbyshire County Council learns if it will be awarded the £10m grant to carry out the work and this has increased fears that the estate will fall into further disrepair. Members of the public will be able to give their views during the consultation, but the council's plans for the gardens, which were designed by William Barron and cover 185 acres of the 325-acre site, have not been revealed. The issue of consultation has been a particular bone of contention among people concerned about the proposed changes at Elvaston.

Campaign group the Friends of Elvaston, which is part of the Elvaston Castle Estate Trust, lodged a complaint with the Local Government Ombudsman, accusing the council of failing to properly consult ahead of its "disposal" to Highgate. That complaint is currently being investigated. But a spokeswoman for the Heritage Lottery Fund said that it would be "impossible for the county council to avoid consultation" because of the details the authority would have to provide in applying for a grant. The 32-page form asks 47 questions about the project, including the experience of the team behind it, its details and aims, how it will help people access and enjoy their heritage, financial viability, risk levels and whether consultation has been carried out with "targeted users".

Alex Devlin, chairman of the Friends of Elvaston, of Waterford Drive, Chaddesden, said the consultation should be carried out by an independent firm to ensure the results were not "ignored". He highlighted the fact that in the consultation carried out by the council in 2000, 78% of people did not agree "the estate should be leased or sold to release substantial income to be spent on key county council services". Secretary Graham Mansey said, "The longer the lottery application process goes on, the worse it's going to be for the whole estate, the Friends are gravely concerned." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)