From the Express & Star, 9th November 2007

Campaign to protect castle site

A campaign group has been reformed in a desperate bid to save Hartlebury Castle, near Kidderminster, from falling into the hands of developers. The campaigners have called for the building to be retained as a tourist attraction and for Church Commissioners to be prevented from selling off a famous library.

The Castle has been the home of the Bishops of Worcester since 1255 and the library was built by Bishop Hurd in 1782. Campaigners fear the building could be sold and the library dismantled after Church Commissioners decided to base the Bishop in Worcester.

Now The Friends of the Hurd Library and Hartlebury Castle, are campaigning for the building to be taken over by Worcestershire County Council, which currently holds a lease on part of the building which houses the County Museum. They are planning an inaugural meeting at the Castle on November 23rd.

Spokesman for the group George Ward said: “We believe that the public, who already visit the museum in large numbers, would welcome the opportunity to view and use this historic building with its beautiful rooms and library.”

Councillor Maurice Broomfield, who while the former chairman of Worcestershire County Council, pledged to do everything he could to save the building and library, said: “The council is still in talks with the Church Commissioners about the future of Hartlebury Castle and the Hurd Library.”

From The Worcester Standard, 7th May 2008

MP urges restraint over castle sale

Peter Luff has urged the owners of Hartlebury Castle to give Worcestershire County Council more time to secure the future of the historic building after it threatened to sell it to the public. The MP for mid-Worcestershire has responded to a letter from the Church Commissioners which said if the council failed to reach a decision for the site in the next few months it would have no other option but to put the 13th century fortified palace on the open market.

Until recently the grade one listed building was home to the Bishop of Worcester. However, the Bishop was relocated to the city centre last year by the Church Commisioners and since then two-thirds of the building has been left empty. The other third is taken up by the sitting tenants The County Museum and the Hurd Library - both currently run by the county council.

Mr. Luff said the County Museum and the Hurd Library were so important that they were of international significance and should be maintained at all costs, adding that any uncertainty over the future of the building was down to short-sighted planning.

“The Church Commissioners created this problem by removing the Bishop without having a clear plan as to what would happen when the property became vacant," he said.

He added that council should not be expected to write an open cheque for the upkeep or purchase of the castle but should instead be given time to produce a long-term plan for the use of the whole building.

"We can’t take any risks. We must all continue to work together to secure the future of this fine building for the people of Worcestershire," said Mr. Luff.

Philip Gretton, the council's spokesman said: "We are looking at various options including trying to set up a trust that would look into acquiring the castle free-hold. It won't be very quick to set up but obviously we can't rush a matter of spending public money and we are looking into it closely."

Mr. Gretton said that the castle - which could in the future be used for public events such as weddings - was due to be discussed by the cabinet on June 11.

A spokesman for the Church Commissioners said: "The Church Commissioners have a good relationship with Worcestershire County Council and we are still talking about the future of Hartlebury Castle with them."

From the Redditch Standard, 10th June 2008

Castle proposals to be discussed at cabinet

Proposals to undertake detailed work on the long-term future of Hartlebury Castle will be discussed by Worcestershire County Council's cabinet tomorrow (Wednesday). The castle, which has been the home to the Bishop of Worcester for more than 1,000 years, is owned by the Church Commissioners who plan on selling the site and its 40 acres of land after relocating the new Bishop.

Currently a tenant at the site, the county council is considering taking over the running of the castle, provided a viable business case is found for a partnership venture.

Councillor Philip Green, cabinet member for adult and community services, said: "We have been approached by the Commissioners to see if a partnership we could be involved with would be willing to buy the castle, given that the county council already has a presence on the site. However this is a complicated issue that cannot be processed overnight and can only be successfully delivered with a proper business case that stacks up.”

A figure of £3.5million is suspected to be the amount needed to buy the site and exploit its heritage and tourism potential, however this figure would be recouped over the coming years. If the plans go ahead the appeal may be widened to include private contractors who would run events such as weddings and training days in order to generate income.

From the Redditch Advertiser, 16th June 2008

Castles in the air...

The decision from the Conservative cabinet of Worcestershire County Council to consider purchasing Hartlebury Castle for £3.5 million, has to be one of the most ill considered strategies any council has ever come up with.

At a time when the youth budget has been cut by seven per cent, bus services such as to the hospital and in Plymouth Road are being drastically reduced, the county council banked £2 million of the most recent Government settlement.

At the time I wondered what they were planning to do with the money. Now we know that they want to buy a castle. You may be forgiven for wondering what county councils are supposed to do. I thought it was to repair roads, manage schools and libraries and provide care in old age.

I would be surprised if anyone of any political persuasion, or none, would have listed running a hotel, facilitating wedding receptions or running a farm shop, as being high on the list of priorities. Going into competition with Travel Lodge is not what our county council should be doing!

The cabinet papers on this issue contained statements that were more woolly then the jumpers my great aunt use to knit for me. They were full of the word "could" and "may", further emphasising the holes in the whole project. In short this is a foolish policy which will have no benefit for the people of Redditch at all.

The £3.5 million or whatever the total cost is, should be used on protecting key front line services which benefit us all. In the choice of Save our Services' v Let's buy a Castle' - I hope most of you agree that we should be doing the former and strongly rejecting the latter.

Robin C Lunn
County Councillor
Redditch North