As many of you will be aware, a few weeks ago vandals broke in to Brampton Manor and set fire to the building, causing significant damage. I met with senior managers from HP General Partner Ltd, the company that owns Brampton Manor to raise concerns about the safety and security, particularly in relation to the residential properties very close by and the impact that antisocial behaviour and nuisance is causing.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s Environmental Health team also been in touch with the owners and provided instructions which have been followed, including securing more of the outer perimeter.

The owners tell me that prior to this they had already spent in excess of £25,000 securing protection for the listed buildings and installing monitored CCTV from Riber Security, together with more basic measures such as manufacturing and installing a new gate across the bottom of the main drive. They tell me that they are in contact with both the police and the fire brigade on a regular basis to try and address any issues. The owners have also shared the code for the main gate with the police and fire brigade so that they can respond quickly and without obstruction if further problems occur.

The ongoing problems, which have culminated in the recent arson attack, make it clear that more needed to be done. Brampton Manor is a beautiful old building of real historic value and importance for Chesterfield and should have been better protected. The most important thing now is to ensure the site is as secure as possible whilst redevelopment is completed.

Further security and CCTV has now been put in place and work will be taken to quickly remove building rubble from site to reduce the attraction for vandals. The CCTV is being watched permanently and anyone who illegally visits the site will now be urgently reported to the Police.

Work to the site is ongoing but the plan, planning approval dependent, is to demolish the former swimming pool and health club blocks within the next couple of months.

I have made it very clear that I expect the owners to keep residents informed of any planned work, particularly in relation to controlled burning of timber, to lessen any anxieties.

I will be keeping in contact with HP General Partner Ltd and will keep residents updated on any developments.