Listed mansion faces 'catastrophic decline'

Bristol City Council has owned Ashton Court Mansion since 1959

A well-known Grade I listed building faces "catastrophic decline" if major repairs are not made, a trust hoping to take over its management says.

Ashton Court Mansion, which has been owned by Bristol City Council (BCC) since 1959, is located on the grounds of Ashton Court, a popular walking spot to the south-west of the city.

Bristol Historic Buildings Trust wants to lease the mansion, which is used for events and functions, for 125 years. It said it wanted to fix the building's roof, install a new heating, hot water and power system, resolve drainage issues and decorate the ground-floor rooms.

BCC would keep the freehold of the building under the proposals, which will be considered on Monday.

The trust said the current poor state of the property would be "dwarfed by the catastrophic decline that will occur if nothing is done very soon".

"We are now at a critical moment in time. 75% of the building is derelict, and there has already been one fire in the property in recent times," they added.

The council is already carrying out maintenance of the building and said it had commissioned a specialist surveyor to look at urgent issues such as the walls, roof and windows not keeping the elements out.

The property was damaged by a fire in 2013

Under the proposals, the first decade of the leasehold would be rent-free and the trust would share 10% of profits with the council.

In the longer term, the trust said there could be potential for residential accommodation within part of the mansion.

Bristol Historic Buildings has worked on several other historic sites across the city, such as the St Michael on the Mount Without church.

The proposals will be considered by councillors on the strategy and resources policy committee.