An appeal against the compulsory purchase order (CPO) of the former North Wales Hospital has been refused by the High Court; the CPO will now result in the site being sold to Denbighshire County Council, then passed on to the North Wales Building Preservation Trust for management and restoration work.
Denbighshire County Council writes:
An application by the owner of the former North Wales Hospital site to overturn a compulsory purchase order has been refused by the High Court – a decision which has been hailed by Denbighshire County Council as a ‘victory for common sense’. The owner also applied for a judicial review over a claim by Denbighshire to recover the cost of urgent works to protect the Grade II listed building. This application was also refused. Today, the High Court said both applications were ‘totally without merit’.
The Council’s Planning Committee voted in favour of the CPO for the site back in September 2013 after the owners Freemont (Denbigh) Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands, failed to comply with a Repairs Notice served by the Council, which required the owners to carry out significant repairs to the buildings on site.
A Public Inquiry was held following a decision by the owner of the site to challenge the CPO served by the Council. The CPO was granted in September 2015.
The CPO required Freemont (Denbigh) Ltd to sell the building to Denbighshire County Council, who will in turn pass the ownership of the site onto the North Wales Building Preservation Trust. The Trust will manage the restoration of the main buildings by progressing enabling development on the associated land, the profit from which will fund the restoration of the most important listed buildings and the demolition of a number of less important buildings. The newly formed Trust is a none profit making organisation, who will receive support from the Princes Regeneration Trust.
Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: ‘We were not surprised that the CPO and the Section 55 Order was challenged, as our dealings with the owners have been extremely protracted and very frustrating. The Minister’s decision last year to award the CPO totally vindicated the great efforts made by the Council and its partners to protect this important historic site for future generations. The Council’s main consideration has always been about the preservation of the main historic building on site and we warned the owners time and time again that we would go down the compulsory purchase route, should we have no other option. The High Court’s ruling means that we are one step closer to handing over the site to the Trust. However, there are many issues to be resolved before the Council can take ownership and for the Council to pass the ownership on to the Trust. As such, work will not commence on site for some time’.
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