{"id":10298,"date":"2024-06-11T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T16:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espacestudio.ca\/council-set-to-sell-off-iconic-woolley-hall-despite-plan-to-create-spa-and-wedding-venue\/"},"modified":"2024-06-11T12:20:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T16:20:00","slug":"council-set-to-sell-off-iconic-woolley-hall-despite-plan-to-create-spa-and-wedding-venue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espacestudio.ca\/en\/council-set-to-sell-off-iconic-woolley-hall-despite-plan-to-create-spa-and-wedding-venue\/","title":{"rendered":"Council set to sell off \u2018iconic\u2019 Woolley Hall despite plan to create spa and wedding venue"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Wakefield\"Wakefield<\/picture><\/span><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Wakefield Council looks set to sell off a seventeenth century country house which had been earmarked to be turned into wedding venue and spa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Wakefield Council looks set to sell off a seventeenth century country house which had been earmarked to be turned into wedding venue and spa.<\/p>\n

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Senior councillors have been asked to agree to the sale of Woolley Hall as part of cost saving measures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Grade II-listed hall, on the outskirts of the village of Woolley, near to the Wakefield-Barnsley<\/a> border, dates back to 1635.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Owned for centuries by the wealthy Wentworth family, the council took over the building in 1947.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Labour-run authority outlined its vision to restore the derelict hall to its former glory in 2022 when it took the building off the market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Council leader Denise Jeffery<\/a> said at the time that she wanted the venue to become a modern wedding, spa and afternoon tea venue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But the council\u2019s cabinet is expected to agree to the building being put up for sale when it meets on June 18.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A report says the council is carrying out a review of its assets and describes the hall as \u201cunder-utilised.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The document adds: \u201cWoolley Hall is still deemed as a suitable disposal to contribute to the council\u2019s revenue savings target and potentially realise a capital receipt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe preferred option is to proceed now to disposal using an external agent to market and dispose for the best consideration possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cUnconditional offers will be requested on the open market.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samantha Harvey, Conservative councillor for Wakefield Rural ward, criticised the proposals, saying: \u201cThe stunning Woolley Hall, with almost 400 years of history, is one of Wakefield\u2019s most iconic buildings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cDespite the council\u2019s long-standing promises to restore the hall to its former glory, nothing has been done.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cSadly, this remarkable Grade II historical site is deteriorating with every passing day that they fail to act.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Coun Harvey said Woolley residents were \u201cfrustrated\u201d over the lack of progress with the building in recent years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She added: \u201cIt\u2019s high time that the council\u2019s leadership work with local groups, the parish council and the district\u2019s councillors before presenting a feasible, fully-costed plan of action and finally getting to work on the long-overdue restoration project.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe council has continuously been stalling these plans, giving vague answers when questioned on why so much time has elapsed yet so little progress has occurred.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cNow we know why there was no transparency on the issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThroughout this entire decision period they have never done a public consultation, and their justification for abandoning the restoration plans is paper thin.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Andrew Jones. chair of Woolley Residents Association, said: \u201cRealistically, any investor in the project will need to come up with creative ways of covering the cost of the huge amount of work that needs to take place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI still think it will make a wonderful wedding venue with its beautiful grounds for an investor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In February 2022, it was announced that a third party was likely to be brought in to run a restaurant at the hall, which would be open to the public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The plans were unveiled after campaigners warned that the much-loved building was falling to \u201crack and ruin\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Commenting on the plans at the time, Coun Jeffery said: \u201cI love Woolley Hall, it\u2019s a fabulous place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIn the past we put it up for sale. I never wanted to do it, but times were tough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a Grade II listed building, and it belongs to the people of the district and it matters to people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Private developers who previously showed an interest in the building had wanted to convert it into apartments, with a caveat that extra houses would be built in the grounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Coun Jeffery said she believed the proposal \u201cwould ruin the place\u201d, adding: \u201cWe\u2019ve been beavering away and we\u2019ve pulled away from the people who wanted to buy it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re hoping to do it ourselves, but if we can\u2019t we\u2019re looking for a sympathetic partner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe don\u2019t want to do anything to destroy the ambience of the place.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wakefield Council looks set to sell off a seventeenth century country house which had been earmarked to be turned into wedding venue and spa. Wakefield Council looks set to sell off a seventeenth century country house which had been earmarked to be turned into wedding venue and spa. Senior councillors have been asked to agree […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191570323,"featured_media":10299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1407],"tags":[4869,3881,3156,4867,4868,4115,4865,3018,2020,1921,4871,3148,4873,1943,4870,4866,1907,4872],"class_list":["post-10298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weddings","tag-barnsley","tag-council","tag-create","tag-denise-jeffery","tag-grade-ii","tag-hall","tag-human-interest","tag-iconic","tag-news","tag-plan","tag-sell","tag-set","tag-spa","tag-venue","tag-wakefield","tag-wakefield-council","tag-wedding","tag-woolley"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/espacestudio.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Council-set-to-sell-off-%E2%80%98iconic-Woolley-Hall-despite-plan.jpg?fit=871%2C580&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pciheA-2G6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10348,"url":"https:\/\/espacestudio.ca\/en\/sneak-peek-at-proposed-new-addition-at-popular-lancashire-wedding-venue\/","url_meta":{"origin":10298,"position":0},"title":"Sneak peek at proposed new addition at popular Lancashire wedding venue","author":"ESPACE STUDIO","date":"June 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Watch more of our videos on Shots!\u00a0and live on Freeview channel 276Visit Shots! nowThis article contains affiliate links. 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