COUNCIL U-TURN

 Maggie forces Erewash Borough Council into U-Turn over Ferrestone House demolition 

Maggie Throup, Member of Parliament for Erewash has welcomed the news that, thanks to her intervention, the Labour-run Erewash Borough Council has made a dramatic u-turn and has now issued a Building Preservation Notice* delaying the potential demolition of Ferrestone House.  Ferrestone House, built in 1875, is a Victorian Gothic Revival Style building located in Draycott. It has extensive grounds and is valued at almost £1.3 million. As the building did not hold a listed status or lie within a conservation area, there were plans for it to be bulldozed on 1st November 2023.  Maggie was contacted by concerned Draycott residents and urged Erewash Borough Council to intervene. Despite the Labour-run Borough Council’s initial reluctance to prevent the demolition of this building, thanks to Maggie’s pressure, they have now issued a six-month Building Preservation Notice which has delayed the proposed bulldozing of Ferrestone House. 

It is hoped that the six-month period will allow a successful application to be made to Historic England making Ferrestone House into a permanently listed building and securing its long-term future. Maggie commented: “After originally making it clear to me that Erewash Borough Council were unwilling to intervene in the planned demolition of Ferrestone House, I am delighted to be able to let  residents know that after putting considerable pressure on the Borough Council they have now agreed to my request and have issued a six-month Build Preservation Notice on the property. I hope that this will provide sufficient time for an application to be made to Historic England, making Ferrestone House a listed building and securing its long-term future. Although we have successfully managed to delay the proposed demolition of Ferrestone House, I will continue to fight for the preservation of this building. I have already written to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport to lobby them for a favourable outcome in relation to the listed status application.”