Having this plan on Elvaston Castle I
have come to the conclusion that the consideration of
park-users are not important. To build a road from
London Road, through to Golden Gate, and up through
the gardens, will spoil the peace and tranquility of
a large portion of the castle grounds, not to mention
the wildlife which is in abundance in this area.
Greater-spotted and green woodpeckers, squirrels,
rabbits, the odd pheasant or two, sparrowhawks,
kestrels, two species of owls, flocks of goldcrests
and long-tailed tits are often seen. The nature
reserve is another mute point. It is to be taken over
so that the residents of the proposed hotel can play
golf. There are already sufficient golf courses in
the Derby area for anyone wishing to play. What about
the people who visit the castle on a daily basis?
Also what about the families bringing their children
for a day out in safety? Not everyone can afford
hotel restaurant prices. Neither do I see, in the
proposed plans, a replacement for the lovely cafe
which is so popular. The developers are going to take
away our freedom of use of a very public place which
belongs to the people of Derby. Previous councils
have allowed the castle to deteriorate. If they had
done their job in the first place the castle would
not be the issue it is today. Highgate Sactuary is
not the answer. Valerie Smith
Campaigners battling to keep Elvaston
Castle in public hands have demanded to know why the
attraction's future has not yet been resolved. More
than five years on from Highgate Sanctuary being
selected as the preferred company to take over
running of the castle, no planning application has
been submitted. In the meantime, Derbyshire County
Council has spent more than £3.6m on running the
castle and its grounds and spent nearly £80,000 on
trying to complete the deal. Campaigners are
astonished the council has admitted that it has not
set a date for the matter to be resolved and has no
plans to seek an alternative developer.
The council originally said it wanted someone else to
run the castle because it could not afford the
estimated £3m bill to repair the castle, or cover
its annual running costs. But a spokesman for the
Friends of Elvaston Castle, which is fighting to keep
the castle in public hands, said, "The £3.6m
could have restored the estate and returned it to the
fully-operational tourist attraction it ought to be,
not treating it as a white elephant to be disposed of
no matter what the cost." A Highgate Sanctuary
spokeswoman said "it was to be expected'' that
the process would take so long and it was hoping to
open the hotel by 2013. That is two years after the
original proposed date.
The spokeswoman said she expected a planning
application to be submitted this autumn, also two
years behind schedule. The move is intended to save
the taxpayer an estimated £3m in repairs and
£500,000 running costs a year. But as negotiations
over the leasing of Elvaston Castle to developer
Highgate Sanctuary drag on, the cost to the county
council mounts. From when Highgate was first backed
as preferred bidder for the castle in September 2004,
to March 2009, the authority has spent more than
£3.6m on its running costs.
And a Freedom of Information Request revealed nearly
£80,000 more spent on legal fees, marketing,
advertising and architects' work to complete the
deal. Now campaign group The Friends of Elvaston
Castle, which is battling to keep the castle in
public hands, has demanded to know why the future of
the historic site is still in doubt. A Friends
spokesman said, "We are disappointed the future
of the castle has not been sorted out. Public disgust
at the disposal is very strong and High-gate
Sanctuary has no known experience of country estate
restoration."
He added, "The Friends are opposed to any
privatisation of Elvaston Castle Country Park and
question the suitability of any scheme which
radically alters such a beautiful public asset and
runs contrary to the wishes of the community. The
£3.6m could have restored the estate and returned it
to the fully-operational tourist attraction it ought
to be, not treating it as a white elephant to be
disposed of no matter what the cost." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Apr/10)
Six years after a developer was
controversially selected as the preferred bidder to
develop Elvaston Castle the plans have been delayed
again. The plans were already two years behind
schedule when, in April, Highgate Sanctuary said a
planning application would be submitted this autumn.
Now the application has been delayed again until
"early next year". The Friends of Elvaston
Castle said the development should be called off and
the castle reinstated as a tourist attraction. Dr
Tanya Spilsbury, High-gate's managing director, said
the latest delay was down to negotiations between
English Heritage and the county council taking longer
than expected.
These involve a report into how much the castle and
grounds will cost to repair and the council revealed
the cost would be about £6 million. Dr Spilsbury
said this sum had not put her firm off. She said,
"It will be two years after we put in the
planning application before the hotel would be open.
Our plans haven't changed." A Friends of
Elvaston Castle spokesman said he was disappointed to
see that Highgate Sanctuary's bid was not being
called into question after six years. He said,
"In our opinion there is no legitimate reason to
turn Elvaston Castle Country Park into a hotel
golfing complex and we will continue to do everything
we can to prevent this from happening."
The Friends group have put three videos on their
website showing what they thought would happen if the
developers were allowed to move in. They said the
plans would lead to reduced public access to the
castle and gardens, the building of several new roads
and the destruction of countryside to make way for
the golf course. They also claimed that the golf
course would be built on land within the country
park. The spokesman said, "By highlighting those
places on film we can show people exactly what is
being proposed in their country park." A council
spokeswoman said public access to the park had
"never been under threat".
She said there were "no current plans on the
table in terms of where the golf course would
go" as a planning application had not yet been
submitted. She said the English Heritage report would
make it possible to see what size of development
would be needed for the site to be
"viable". In Highgate Sanctuary's case, Dr
Spilsbury said this could affect the number of rooms
the hotel would need to turn a profit. The council
wants to see the castle and gardens leased to
Highgate Sanctuary, which would then lease the
gardens back to the authority. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Sep/10)
Plans to turn Elvaston Castle into a
hotel and golf course have been criticised by English
Heritage who says the proposals from developer
Highgate Sanctuary would have been "damaging to
the setting of these designated heritage
assets". A spokeswoman said that this did not
mean a planning application could not be submitted
for it to become a hotel and golf course. But the
views of English Heritage, which have to be taken
into account when deciding planning applications for
historic properties, appear to throw yet more doubt
on the building's future.
An English Heritage spokeswoman said the Highgate
scheme to transform the castle was not acceptable on
two grounds, the scale of the plans and
"associated infrastructure". The second
point referred to two new roads that would have been
built in the castle grounds. Anthony Streeten,
English Heritage planning director for the East
Midlands, said, "We did not regard the scheme
presented by Highgate Sanctuary as suitable for the
sensitive historic location."
The spokeswoman said English Heritage was a consultee
and that its views could be ignored by planning
authority South Derbyshire District Council when a
final application is made. Dr Tanya Spilsbury,
High-gate's managing director, said, "We
wouldn't want to put a planning application in that
did not address issues raised by major
consultees." English Heritage's comments come at
the same time as a report showing that the castle and
its country park needs repairs costing more than
£6.4m.
This document will be used to inform a further report
about what the castle could be used for. County
council finance chief John Harrison said both reports
were asked for by English Heritage. The county
council has always maintained public access will
continue to the country park and Mr Harrison said the
way this would work is now also in question. The
council's original plan had been to lease the castle
and gardens to Highgate Sanctuary and for the
developer to lease the gardens back to the authority.
But Mr Harrison said there could now be two separate
leases, one for the castle, and one for another
organisation to run and maintain the country park as
a public attraction. He said whoever took over
running the castle would spend "millions"
on repairs but that exactly how much remained open
for debate. Mr Harrison said he would be
"surprised" if the council was not
successful in applying for Heritage Lottery funding
for the rest of the repairs.
But the report is clear that some work, for example
to the castle's leaking roof, are "urgently
needed". While the fate of the castle hinges on
the second report on potential uses, expected later
this year, Highgate says its enthusiasm for the plans
has not changed. Dr Spilsbury said Highgate had
offered a combined package of £2.75m, including a
premium lease for the estate, a match funding element
for the grant application to the Heritage Lottery,
and cash for works to drainage, gardens and
driveways. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jun/11)
