500-year-old landmark worth £1m could be all yours for just £5
Tudor manor? Just the ticket
A£1 MILLION Tudor mansion is being raffled off – and one lucky house hunter could bag the six-bed pile for just a fiver.
The luxurious Grade II-listed Orleton House is being sold off in a ticket draw to boost funds for charities, including Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Tim Page is offering his 16th century home, on the Herefordshire border with Shropshire, near Ludlow, as the top prize in the raffle which will also raise cash for Beacon Centre for the Blind.
It means the next owner could pick up the 500-year-old landmark for just one £5 ticket.
The businessman, originally from Willenhall, purchased Orleton House in 2018.
Built in the 1580s, Mr Page spent the past two years modernising the timber-framed home which also boasts of spectacular gardens set in one acre of land.
Mr Page, who lived in Nevada for 25 years, bought the house after deciding to move back to the UK with wife Julie.
“We moved back from the States and we actually bought that house on the internet when we were 5,500 miles away,” said Mr Page, who runs his own software company.
“There was a lovely old couple who had lived there for over 50 years but they had not done anything to it. “We had to start from scratch and even put heating in, everything had to be brought up to modern standards but it was a great project – it’s lovely now.
“Orleton is a beautiful place, we thought long and hard about where to live and had the whole country to look at when we decided we were going to move back.
“There aren’t many 500-year-old properties around. It sits right in the middle of a village two doors away from the pub which is owned by the villagers.
“When you’re in the property you could be miles away from anything but you’re in a village.
“You can also walk into the hills and walk for miles and miles, it’s just beautiful.
“I came off a council estate and have been successful, I kind of like the idea of a regular guy being able to own a house like that.”
Mr Page and his business partner Suresh Bawa hit upon the idea of selling the house in a raffle to make some money for charity.
He added: “It’s something they do quite a lot in America with casinos and resorts and that sort of stuff.
“We were considering moving after renovating Orleton House.
Before we tried it on somebody else’s house we thought we should try it on my own.
“We just thought let’s see if we could sell the house and raise some money at the same time. It is all a bit of an experiment if I’m honest.
“Some people may be like I can’t afford to live there, well sell it – it’s a million-pound house.
“The important part of it though is to raise a significant amount of money from this for the charities as they’re having a hard time at the minute.
“The Beacon Centre for the Blind have got about 4,000 people relying on them for their lives.
“These guys are losing £10,000 a week because donations aren’t there because of what is going on in the world with Covid.
“They have all got to find ways of making money so helping them is a big part of it.
“Birmingham Children’s Hospital need equipment for the wards. We shouldn’t be having to do this but we are.”
CALLS have been made to begin work on the next leg of the HS2 high speed rail line after the route connecting Birmingham and Crewe was given royal assent.
Known as Phase 2a, the £3.48 billion, 36-mile scheme will run between the new Curzon Street station in Birmingham city centre to Crewe station in Cheshire, with six services per hour planned.
HS2 estimated that at least 5,000 jobs would be supported during construction of this phase, with many more in the supply chain as business and contract opportunities become available.
In addition, the railway will support 140 permanent jobs at its maintenance base near Stone, in Staffordshire.
Construction of Phase 2a is due to begin in 2024 and open by 2033.
Maria Machancoses, director of transport body Midlands Connect, added: “This historic milestone will be music to the ears of businesses, investors and travellers alike.
“It’s heartening to see progress being made, government must now work to ensure this momentum is maintained and that construction is started on the Birmingham to Crewe leg as soon as possible.
“While Phases one and 2a are moving ahead at pace and have created thousands of highly skilled jobs, apprenticeships and unprecedented regeneration, it is essential that an decision is made on the scope of Phase 2b of the project, especially the eastern leg of the route between Birmingham, the East Midlands, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds.
“Any further delay will cause uncertainty at a time where business confidence and job security have
Maria Machancoses been shaken by Covid-19.
“We in the Midlands and North are clear, we need the whole of the HS2 network to be delivered, in full.” Phase one of the project is currently under construction between London Euston, Solihull and Birmingham city centre while phase 2b is set to run between Crewe, Manchester Airport and Manchester city centre.
The other aspect of Phase 2b is between Birmingham, the East Midlands and Yorkshire although doubt hangs over that after the National Infrastructure Commission recommended last year it should not go ahead.
HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston said: “Parliament’s approval for extending HS2 beyond the West Midlands to the North is a clear sign that MPs recognise the enormous potential of this scheme and continue to give their strong support. As the first major railway built in the North for over 100 years, HS2 will spur massive economic growth for our towns and cities, help to level up the country, and provide cleaner, greener public transport for millions.”
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “HS2 was always going to be a game-changer for the West Midlands but the jobs and economy aspect of the scheme has taken on even more significance in light of the pandemic.
“HS2 will be a key anchor of the region’s recovery plans, with our latest research suggesting the knock-on effect of HS2 could eventually generate 175,000 jobs and more than £20 billion of investment.
“These are extraordinary numbers which show just how critical it was to win the argument for HS2.
“With thousands in the West Midlands already employed and working on the project, HS2 is making a critical difference to people’s livelihoods right now.”