Historic hall gets £460,000 of culture cash to aid refit
Two men are charged after police chase ends in crash
ADIL APIDATED Grade Ii-listed building in Middleton will now receive a grant of £460,000 to aid its repair.
The grant, from Historic England, will go to the restoration of Hopwood Hall, and will be 25 per cent match-funded by Rochdale Borough Council.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced that the rescue of Hopwood Hall Estate has been awarded a grant thanks to the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
The Hopwood Hall Estate project will receive a grant amount of £460,000 comprising of a ‘Heritage Stimulus Fund’ grant from Historic England of £368,294 and 25 per cent match funding of £92,073 from Rochdale Borough Council which will bring the total to approximately £460,000
This is the most significant grant to date and is a game-changer for the Hall’s future.
Hopwood Depree, Chair of the Hopwood Foundation charity, said “This is really fantastic news and will ensure that we can move forward getting ever closer to the dream of restoring this beautiful building as an accessible venue for the community and beyond.
“The repairs will include further critical work to the roof and structure including brick repairs, mortar works and a continuation of the leaded window repair programme that has been supported by helping hands from volunteers.
“It has been a massive effort from the entire community to rally around saving this historically important building.
“Of course we will continue to document the progress in our ‘Friends’ newsletter and Youtube channel so supporters can follow along.”
Hopwood Depree, from Michigan in the USA, believes that his ancestors are those that originally lived in the now-dilapidated Hopwood Hall.
Councillor John Blundell, Cabinet Member for Economy at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “It’s great to see more investment going into Hopwood Hall to support the continued restoration if this important part of our borough’s extensive heritage and bring it back into some form of public use.
“This vital cash injection will fund important repair works to the building, particularly around the roof, and help to provide additional training and resources for the many dedicated volunteers, who have been such a key part of this incredible project.”
TWO men have been charged with a string of offences after a police chase ended in a crash.
Officers followed a stolen Ford Fiesta from Newhey to Shaw in, before it crashed on Dunwood Park Court, at about 2pm last Monday.
Inside, officers found packages containing what is believed to be heroin and cocaine, along with a machete.
A key to another suspected stolen vehicle was also found.
Bradley Jones, 22, of Beaconsfield Road, Rochdale, has been charged with handling stolen property, possession of an offensive weapon, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, driving whilst disqualified, driving with no insurance, and failing to stop when requested.
Darien Kenworthy, 24, of no fixed abode, has been charged with two counts of handling stolen property, possession of an offensive weapon, and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
Both men have appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court.