An historic Swaledale property at the centre of a planning row has been put up for sale with an asking price of £11m.
Planners rejected a proposal to turn Marske Hall into an exclusive wedding venue and aparthotel before the planning inspectorate then dismissed an appeal in March of that decision submitted by the property’s owner, Ian Morton.
The estate has now been put up for sale, with the estate agents advising that the venue would be ideal as a venue for weddings.
The appeal decision came after the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority refused the wedding venue proposal following an outcry among residents in the village over the potential disturbance the scores of guests would cause.
Mr Morton had argued the hall had a long history of hosting events, such as shooting parties, and highlighted the proposed venue could provide an important facility for local residents and visitors.
The estate is best known as being the one-time home of Marske, a stallion linked to 95 per cent of the world’s thoroughbreds.
The estate is listed with Christie and Co.
The sale brochures states: “The sale of Marske Hall and estate represents an excellent and unique opportunity for a hospitality, leisure or residential sector operator or property developer to acquire 24 acres of prime national park real estate offering a wealth of development potential, either from a rental income perspective or from substantial profits derived as an owner-operator.
“The hall itself is currently under conversion to bespoke luxury dwellings, while The Stables are already trading as superb letting accommodation.
“Sawmill Cottage is also approaching completion as stunning holiday lets or private homes, whilst the surrounding estate could be used for a variety of leisure development options including lodges, caravans or camping pods, or could also be used for weddings or outward bound activities, set a beautiful and natural picturesque setting.”
Reacting to the dismissal of his appeal earlier this year, Mr Morton said when he took on Marske Hall his main aim had been to involve residents and councillors in the process of finding a way to bring derelict buildings back to a sustainable future and to bring employment with a new found energy and purpose for the area.
He said despite Marske Hall, Sawmill and Stables having been derelict for anything from 20 to 70 years and a potential £5m investment to date no one had helped him in any way to find a solution.
He added that he had “only met hostility and negativity during the last 4 years”.
For more details on the sale, click here.
Comments are closed.
What an absolute shame and disgrace, locals whinge on that there are no job opportunities for local people and for local youngsters to remain in the area and yet they still object. This could have provided jobs to help keep people in the area and yet some folk can’t see past their noses.
What do they want, for it to rot and become totally condemned and demolished. The national parks are nothing but a total pain in the butt and probably decided by someone who has no links to the area.
Just what is the matter with people these days just total selfishness of people who can’t do with change, and how it’s going to affect Marske residents as it’s on the outskirts of the village I can’t understand one bit. The whole thing absolutely stinks and the people who objected should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.
Both the Yorkshire Daled National Park Planning officers and an independent government planning inspector have rejected Mr Morton’s proposals for a wedding venue at the Marske Hall site. This rejection can not be attributed to the residents of Marske village. It is simply not an appropriate use for the buildings or for the site. Mr Morton is a property developer with his own interests, it is entirely unsurprising that those interests should not be shared by local residents. However there is plenty of local support for bringing the hall back into use and for the provision of more accommodation for locals and visitors alike. Mr Morton would do well to take on board the planning inspectors expert and well considered comments and to seek a compromise solution if he intends to continue with the development of Marske Hall.
Just out of interest. Do not shoot me down for asking. Forgive me if I have not read enough information, but have the residents in the village been approached for ideas? After all, is it not in the best interests of the village, residents and their family’s futures to keep local people local? There is so much in the local news about local young people being chased away because of lack of activities and affordable housing. I have lived in the Richmond area most of my life, and see the need for young people to be able to live and work in the area. My own family included. I’m not sure that second homes in the countryside is an idea as it pushes out the local population.
NIMBYness in action! Doubtless the residents were happy enough with the shooting parties and didn’t mind the noise and needless killing.
There have been no shooting parties or similar events at Marske Hall in living memory.
The estate was sold off in the early 1960’s and the hall was subsequently used for 10 letting flats until the early 2000’s. Many local residents would like nothing better than to see the 10 flats being brought back into use.
Interested parties would do well to read the independent planning inspectors report before forming ill informed opinions.
All this talk of nimbyism is incredibly poorly informed.
Fair enough, I was just going by the contents of the article. However ‘bespoke luxury flats’ are not the answer.
(How long is ‘living memory’? Some of us remember the 40s.)