Cabinet puts £200k towards historic site repairs

A Surrey council's cabinet has agreed to put £200,000 towards repairing a historic building.

Mole Valley District Council's (MVDC) cabinet met on Tuesday evening to discuss allocating the money for Pippbrook House near Dorking, which was set to be used for ongoing repairs.

In November 2023, MVDC allocated £1.4m for the work on the Grade II-listed 19th Century building.

The council had said the repairs to the first floor and ground floor west wing window lintels, which had water damage, were "critical".

Councillor Nick Wright, cabinet member for leisure and community assets, said the council had a "moral obligation" to look after the building.

"It's very much a valued local asset," he said.

"We do need to find other creative ways of funding some of the work that needs to be done, but you can't do that if you've got holes in your roof.

"We're not denying that there are challenges there, there are significant challenges, but these works are necessary."

Pippbrook House was designed by prolific Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, a leader of the Gothic revival movement.

His other buildings include the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras station, the Albert Memorial in London and the University of Glasgow's main building.

The council initially hoped to spend £3.1m on the building, but had to scale back the budget when it was unable to find grant funding.

Work to weatherproof the roof of the building, which was built between 1856 and 1858, has been ongoing since 2024.

The additional £200,000 will allow the council to replace the decayed ground and first floor west wing windows.

Once complete it will also open up two further rooms within the listed building for community use.

A report said that is work was not carried out now, future restoration could be more expensive.

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