Campaign to save historic Ancoats Dispensary suffers major blow

Ancoats Dispensary

The community-led group spearheading the restoration of the grade II-listed Ancoats Dispensary building in Manchester has had a bid for £4.3m of funding rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It is a major blow to the organisation behind the campaign to transform the building into a pioneering mixed-use community and commercial use for the last five years.

The Ancoats Dispensary Trust (ADT) has raised more than £1.1m in funds from the Heritage Lottery, the Architectural Heritage Fund, Power to Change and through donations from the public and private donors. £250,000 of this was subject to HLF approval for Stage 2.

The HLF rejected the bid as the Trust had been unsuccessful in raising the necessary £800,000 in match funding needed to unlock their £4.3m.

The Trust says it still has a number of applications with potential funders awaiting a decision and it has made approaches to high net worth individuals who could champion this project.

Ancoats Dispensary Limited, in which Ancoats Dispensary Trust is a major shareholder, is the development vehicle for the project and includes social regeneration development specialist igloo.

Purcell UK, a globally recognised architectural practice specialising in heritage projects, was appointed to design a scheme that retained the iconic historical features within a contemporary reworking of the building.

Trevor MacFarlane, chair of Ancoats Dispensary Trust and Ancoats Dispensary, said: “The decision is obviously a big blow for the Trust, igloo and everyone who has supported this wonderful project over the last five years.

“The Trust is not giving up however and we will regroup and look at as many alternate ways of saving the building as possible.”

Amy-Grace Whillans Welldrake, an ADT board member, said: “We are saddened and devastated by this decision as we have not only worked tirelessly in preventing the demolition of the Dispensary, with a vigil lasting four years, but have created what we believe is a rigorous business plan and a sustainable vision for a new re-purposed Dispensary.

“Having supported us with their generous Stage 1 grant it’s a shame that we have not qualified for their all-important Stage 2 bid which would have sealed the fate of The Dispensary for future generations.”

Established in 1828, the Ardwick and Ancoats Dispensary moved twice before permanently finding its home in 1874 at 94 Mill Street (Ancoats, Manchester).

It officially became the Ancoats Hospital and Ardwick and Ancoats Dispensary, but usually shortened to Ancoats Hospital.

Other buildings have come and gone, leaving the original building standing alone. Having stood proud at the centre of Ancoats for 140 years, the Victorian Society in 2011 listed The Ardwick and Ancoats Dispensary as one of the 10 most at risk buildings in England and Wales.

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