At a meeting of Rochdale Borough Council Planning and Licensing Committee last Thursday (20 October), a full planning application that Hopwood DePree had submitted to transition Hopwood Hall Estate back into use after three decades of being a vacant building, was unanimously approved.
DePree said:
“This is a monumental step forward. It brings us much closer to providing the long-awaited community access that we have been trying to establish for so many years and it will also allow revenue generating activities to happen on site which will help us tremendously in the rescue, renovation, and long term programming of activities at the Hall.”
Hopwood DePree’s ancestral home, a Grade II*-listed manor house which is on Historic England’s ‘Heritage At Risk Register’, was given planning full consent for: ‘Change of use of buildings and grounds to sui generis, to include events; hospitality; tours; education; café; and, shop, with associated ancillary facilities.‘ The application was determined by the Planning and Licensing Committee as the application relates to land and buildings owned by Rochdale Council.