Concern Parish in the dark about renovation of artist Hirst’s manor
APARISH council chairman says a lack of information about the renovation of Damien Hirst’s Toddington Manor is causing concern.
The millionaire modern artist bought the building in 2005, intending to make it his family’s permanent home, and started on a major project to renovate it.
But almost two decades later, the Victorian Gothic mansion is still covered in scaffolding and white plastic sheeting intended to weatherproof it.
Members of Toddington Parish Council met last week to discuss the property.
Its chairman, Nigel Parker, said the members were not unsympathetic to Mr Hirst, who was a good neighbour, but they, and residents, would like to know if there were any plans.
He said: “The worst thing, really, is that we don’t know anything. It’s the not knowing that is causing most concern.
“The place has been in plastic and with scaffolding for 17 years now.
“At the meeting, we asked Tewkesbury Borough Council for an update. The conservation officer said the council will make its safety inspection visit soon, which is the first for a while because of Covid.
“We asked whether someone from the parish council can come so we can get a first-hand idea of what the state of it is.”
Mr Parker added: “We know the size of the job there is to do a restoration. And the estate always lets us use land for parking if there’s an event at the church or something like that.
“We’d just like to hear if anything is planned.”
The parish council has asked the borough council – which is the planning authority – to keep it informed of developments.
Mr Parker said: “We don’t have much power over this; we’re just a little parish council. We’re just giving a voice to residents’ concerns.
“We’d like Tewkesbury Borough Council to keep us informed. And it would be nice to hear from Mr Hirst himself, to let us know if anything is planned.”
Sandra Ford, the borough council’s head of development services, said: “Toddington Manor is a grade I-listed building which, due to its condition, is on the Buildings at Risk register. This means that both the borough council and Historic England are in contact with the owner’s agent and are monitoring the condition of the building.
“Our conservation officer and an inspector from Historic England carry out inspections of the manor and are satisfied that there are intentions to repair it.
“We, along with Historic England, will continue monitoring the situation.”
It has not yet been possible to make contact with Mr Hirst or his company.
We know the size of the job… we’d just like to know if anything is planned
Nigel Parker