Council to sell historical house at auction

Nottingham Lodge sits in Shipley Country Park, which opened to the public on 26 May 1976

A historical lodge in a country park in Derbyshire is being sold by its council owners at auction for £200,000.

Nottingham Lodge, which sits in Shipley Country Park and is owned by Derbyshire County Council, is Grade II listed and was built in 1910 by architect Walter Tapper.

Residents say the building has since fallen into a state of disrepair, with calls for the two-storey sandstone property to be better protected due to its historical status.

Chris Henning, an executive director at the council, said the authority was disposing of many properties and still owned 127 pieces of land and buildings.

He said many of the properties and pieces of land were taken on by the council "because nobody else wanted them" and included brownfield and contaminated plots.

Residents said Nottingham Lodge was once owned by the National Coal Board, with the country park previously being a coal mine for some 250 years until 1974, leaving 30 abandoned mine shafts on the wider site, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

An auction listing from SDL Property Auctions details that the detached property "requires a scheme of modernisation", providing a "unique opportunity" to new owners.

Sale of the property includes a 999-year lease, the council says.

Derby Lodge, a similar property also in the country park, is now operated as Barefeet Lodge Tearooms on behalf of the county council.

Sir Walter Tapper was an English architect who focused on Gothic-style buildings and churches.

His work includes being appointed Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey and acted as consulting architect to York Minster and Manchester Cathedral.