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27 April, 2008

Hopes of saving derelict castle rise

Daily Post May 3 2005

HOPES of saving a Victorian castle from falling into further disrepair were raised last night by the news a feasibility study will go ahead.

The Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust has secured funding for a £10,000 study of the building on the outskirts of Abergele.

The Architectural Heritage Fund agreed to give £7,195.

Further contributions from Cadw, Abergele Town Council and the trust itself means the study can now proceed.

Secretary Mark Baker, the Prestatyn student who as a teenager launched the campaign to save the Grade I listed building, said: "Subject to the successful outcome of this initial step we will be able to approach Conwy County Borough Council with a view to a compulsory purchase order.

"We are aiming to secure sufficient all-round support to be able to put back the floors, doors, roofs, ceilings and windows and provide this fine historic property with a worthwhile future, commensurate with its overwhelming prominence guarding the entry into Snowdonia and North Wales," said Mark.

The castle was once the home of the Dundonald family and the Earl of Dundonald is president of the preservation trust. It is owned by American businessman Nick Tavaglione.

Though he has said he is willing to consider selling the castle he has failed to respond to the trust's approaches.

The building is in poor condition, partly due to travellers who removed floors, roofs and windows several years ago.
 
 

BATTLE OVER?

By Robin Henry
Rhyl Journal May 4 2005

THE FIRST step has been made towards rescuing Gwrych castle from ruin.

The green light has been given for a £10,000 feasibility study into assessing what, if anything, can be done 186-year-old Grade 1 listed landmark.

The study has come after a two years campaigning by Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust who have secured the majority of funding from The Architectural Heritage Fund and Cadw.

Trust Secretary Mark Baker, a local historian who has been campaigning to save the derelict castle since his teens, said: "We don’t know how to progress until the survey is complete.”

"Ideally, the building could be fully restored but even if the extent of the damage is beyond repair Gwrych could still be open as a controlled ruin, along the lines of Conwy Castle."

The Trustees hope this study will convince Conwy County Borough Council to issue a Compulsory Purchase Procedure to seize the property from the current owner, Californian businessman Nick Tavaglione.

Mr Tavaglione bought Gwrych and the surrounding land in 1989 but his plans to build a hotel and Opera house on the land encountered legal problems and stalled.

In the mid-nineties travellers plundered the neglected castle, stripping the roof slates and leaving the interior to rot.

In its early days the ‘castellated mansion’ was the largest man-made structure in Europe and home to the historic Dundonald family, it became a popular tourist attraction in 1948 before closing its doors to the public in 1985.

The findings of the surveyors, structural engineers, estate agents and historians conducting the feasibility study are expected in the next two months.