Cuerden Hall planning permissions approved
Three planning applications for the £15m restoration of Grade II-listed Cuerden Hall, near Preston, were passed unanimously by Chorley Councillors this week.
Three members of the committee praised the “amazing and exciting” project which will see the 300-year-old hall fully restored to its original purpose as a family home.
Built in 1717 and extended in 1818 by Lewis Wyatt, the architect of Tatton Hall and Lyme Hall, Cuerden comprises 179 rooms across 75,000 sq ft and is set in 16 acres of gardens and woodland overlooking Cuerden Valley.
Cuerden was the first house in the country to have a belvedere tower, an idea famously copied at Chatsworth and Osbourne and has an oak cantilevered staircase which was copied at Winsdor Castle.
The applications were supported by English Heritage, the Georgian Group and Lancashire County Council’s conservation team.
Colin Shenton and Gareth Harold, the hall’s owners, said: “Two years of consultation, heritage-led design, research and teamwork have paid off with a thoroughly well considered proposal and attention to detail from the restoration team.“
Led by architects, Purcell, which has recently finished work on Big Ben and is restoring Manchester Town Hall, and landscape architect, Tom Stuart-Smith, who designed RHS Bridgewater as well as gardens at Windsor Castle, Hampton Court and Chatsworth House, the team was complemented by engineers Curtins, M&E specialists, TGA, and heritage planning consultants Paul Butler Associates.
Work will start immediately and will take five years to complete.
