Campaigners back Firbeck Hall work

WORK to clear the way for the development of a stately home’s gate house has received a warm reception from campaigners.

The area around Firbeck Hall’s West Lodge gatehouse got underway with the clearance of fencing, shrubbery and mounds of earth that had been created to stop intruders.

Members of the Friends of Firbeck Hall welcomed the move, which comes almost 14 months since the property’s owner, IT entrepreneur and property developer Jason Cooper, gained planning permission for the Lodge’s conversion into a residential property.

Many hope that progress at West Lodge will pre-empt progress at the 20-bedroom Hall which has stood in a derelict state for more than 20 years.

In January one member of the Friends of Firbeck Hall told the Advertiser that the need for action to save the property was “greater than ever.”