A spat between a Hollywood actor and Rochdale council over control of historic Hopwood Hall could go to the High Court.
Hopwood DePree was leading the redevelopment of the Grade II*-listed site until the town hall cut ties with him last year.
Now the man who swapped California for Middleton has said he has ‘no choice’ but to file legal proceedings against the local authority, which owns the site.
The long-running saga began over a decade ago when the American crossed the pond in a bid to restore the ancestral home.
Excitement was building in 2017 as the council entered into an ‘exclusivity agreement’ with Mr DePree, who vowed to restore the 1420s hall. That exclusivity agreement came to an end on October 31 last year.