Issue - meetings

Report ES18008

For urgent repairs and brickwork stabilisation at the Medieval Moated Manor House, Scadbury Park, Executive approval was sought to apply to Historic England (HE) for a Heritage at Risk (HAR) Grant of £95k. Match funding of £60k would be required (£53k from the earmarked reserve for Friends Groups and £7k from existing revenue budgets), resulting in a total cost of £155k.

The Manor site and fishponds was designated by HE as a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) in 2013 and in 2014 was added to the HAR Register, classified as having “Extensive significant problems with a declining trend and vulnerability for collapse”. The standing remains of the manor house have a variety of structural problems with the walls increasingly under stress and the fragile brickwork in need of attention.

L B Bromley previously secured a three year £20k Management Agreement from HE for periodic maintenance and capital works, including the control of vegetation, felling of trees threatening the moat, soft capping and propping of sensitive walls with HE and L B Bromley each providing up to £10k. The arrangement would end in January 2018.

In 2016, a £12.6k HAR Grant for a Condition Survey (with £3k match funding from L B Bromley) detailed key areas at risk from further deterioration and proposed a timescale of works estimated to cost in excess of £1.3m for capital works (taking the highest estimate in cases of different conservation options). However, it was now necessary to refine indicative costings for the most urgent work and obtain up-to-date prices.

There was now potential for an additional three-year £20k Management Agreement jointly funded by HE and L B Bromley and HE would welcome a further HAR Grant application (£95k) for the first stage of repair works to address the most urgent stabilisation works (Large Cellar, Narrow Passage and South Moat Wall). Conditions would include maintaining the property and having a condition survey of the property every five years. Should indicative costings in a maintenance plan exceed the current site maintenance budget (£3.3k), alternative funding options would be sought. Although HE would expect a commitment to the conditions, there would be no obligations to deliver remaining phases of works outlined in the condition survey. Although match funding for the grant could be lower than 50%, other potential funding sources would need to be explored including The Chislehurst Society, Orpington District Archaeological Society (ODAS), and Friends. L B Bromley was expected to be the main funder for the current application with others contributing to any subsequent phases. 

To enable the HAR grant application it was intended to recruit a Conservation Accredited Professional at £35k and have a further £25k of match-funding expenditure towards capital costs for the Phase 1 repair works. For this second HAR Grant application, the professional would need to secure tender prices of capital works for the three identified areas of the Moated Manor and be expected to project manage the Phase 1 repair works to deliver a successful second grant application. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46