A Hollywood filmmaker who spent more than a decade trying to save his family’s ancestral mansion dubbed ‘Downton Shabby’ has lost his High Court battle.
Hopwood DePree, 56, had been working to restore 600-year-old Hopwood Hall, located in Middleton, Greater Manchester, after the property fell into neglect.
Mr DePree, from Michigan in the United States, discovered the home in 2013 while researching his lineage and found it in a derelict state with broken windows, collapsing ceilings and with water running down the walls.
The film producer said he struck a deal with Rochdale Borough Council (RBC) in 2017 to take ownership of the Grade II-listed property for £1, and in 2022, he was granted permission to turn the home into an events venue and poured around £750,000 into its restoration.
But in 2024, Rochdale Council removed consent due to claims of health and safety breaches and the building was shut, leaving Mr DePree and his team locked out of the historic site.
Now, a High Court judge has ruled against Mr DePree, finding the conditions required for a transfer of ownership were not fulfilled – meaning he will not regain access to the property.
Hollywood filmmaker Hopwood DePree has lost his High Court battle against Rochdale Borough Council in a bid to regain access to his ancestral home
A judge has ruled planning permission issued in 2022 was not sufficient to trigger the transfer access over to Mr DePree (Pictured: Hopwood Hall in Middleton, five miles north of Manchester)
Mr DePree found the home in a derelict state with broken windows, collapsing ceilings and with water running down the walls. (Pictured: the interior of the house is seen here during renovations carried out by Mr DePree)
On Wednesday at Manchester Civil Justice Centre, His Honour Judge David Hodge KC refused to grant relief and ruled the 2022 planning permission was not sufficient to trigger the transfer over to Mr DePree.
Judge Hodge said the matter is ‘not about perceived grievances,’ but is ‘simply a matter of contractual interpretation’.
He said: ‘Having read and heard in court both parties want to restore Hopwood Hall and bring it back to life and to its former glory.
‘In my judgment the defendant’s submission better fit the option agreement. I therefore refuse to grant relief.’
Following the decision, Mr DePree described it as ‘incredibly disappointing’ and labelled it a ‘huge blow’ to his community, supporters and Britain’s charitable heritage rescue groups.
The row surrounding the estate centred on if planning permission secured by Mr DePree in 2022 was enough to trigger a 2017 agreement which he says allowed the hall to be transferred to him for just £1.
The council argued it only amounted to permission for a ‘change of use’ and did not authorise the physical refurbishment works it says were required before the transfer could be exercised.
Mr DePree’s side argued the agreement never demanded one all-encompassing planning permission covering every element of a restoration – expected to have cost tens of millions of pounds.
Mr DePree said he invested around £750,000 of his own money into the restoration project
(Pictured: an aerial view taken of Hopwood Hall)
The court heard even if Mr DePree was to put in planning permission for the refurbishment he would ‘still need change of use permission’, and it ‘doesn’t make sense’ for him to spend money on planning permission when ‘he didn’t need it’.
Mr Piers Riley Smith, co-counsel for the defendant, argued the claimants ‘use of planning in the case was used to complicate rather than clarify’.
He mentioned several ‘red herrings’ including surrounding the ‘scope of permissions’ of the agreed works and details on their ‘spatial extent’.
But Geraint Wheatley, barrister for Rochdale Borough Council, raised concerns around the claimant’s determination of the full planning permission definition which he says ‘they ignored’.
He also referenced that Mr DePree is not an ‘experienced developer’.
Following the judgment, a council spokesperson said they were ‘pleased’ with the judgement but added it was ‘a shame that we had to endure a costly court battle’.
They added the hall would be ‘used for the benefit of the wider community’ in future.
Dating from 1426, Hopwood Hall has a rich history – with Guy Fawkes staying there, as well as Lord Byron who finished his celebrated poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage at the home.
Dating from 1426, Hopwood Hall has a rich history: Guy Fawkes stayed there as did Lord Byron who finished his celebrated poem ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ there
It is also said to have had connections with Mr DePree’s ancestors that date back 400 years to his 17th century relative John Hopwood.
Mr DePree was not aware of the building’s existence until 2013, but relocated to Britain to restore the property with the help of volunteers and heritage experts.
He claims to have invested around £750,000 of his own money into the restoration project and documented the journey in a book, called Downton Shabby.
Mr DePree previously said the restoration would be a tribute not just to the community, but to his late grandfather, who read him bedtime stories as a child about an English castle.
‘It would be an incredible day to see Hopwood Hall restored,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘Not only for myself after everything we’ve gone through, but also for my grandfather who has passed away.’
It is thought Mr DePree plans to appeal the court’s decision.
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