Firm pulls out of The Grange over information wrangle with council - The Malvern Observer

Firm pulls out of The Grange over information wrangle with council

Malvern Editorial 23rd Jul, 2014 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

THE FUTURE of The Grange has been cast back into uncertainty after the company which had their £500,000 offer accepted has now pulled out.

Leviathan Consulting have confirmed they have withdrawn from the agreement with current owners Malvern Hills District Council after claiming they had been denied all of the necessary information.

A spokeswoman from the firm said they recently received a pack from the council’s conservation officer which had been prepared in November last year.

On top of the half a million pound on the table to purchase the property, she added Leviathan had put aside an extra £300,000 to renovate the Grade II listed property but claimed the actual costs were likely to be at least double that amount.




“Last week we formally withdrew our offer, it was a real shame,” said the spokeswoman.

“It has been five months since our original offer and it has involved a huge amount of time and money in the process.


“We feel we have been let down by the council’s planning department and don’t feel they have been completely transparent.”

The spokeswoman said the company’s offer was always subject to viewing all of the paperwork but documents such as risk assessments and drainage evaluations had not been forthcoming despite requests.

She said Leviathan would not have entered a bid if they had of seen the pack which she claimed was put together purposely for anyone expressing an interest in The Grange.

Finally she added the company had no qualms or issues with the conservation requirements but argued they should have been made aware of them from ‘day one’.

In response Coun Paul Cumming, responsible for finance, performance management and resources at the council, said: “Unfortunately the final discussions with regard to The Grange have not progressed and we are naturally disappointed that the sale has fallen through.

“We were assured by Leviathan Consulting during discussions and in their proposal, which we were asked to keep private, that they were a company with experience of restoring historic properties. Leviathan were aware throughout discussions that The Grange is a Grade II listed building and we provided them with all the information that they requested subsequent to their offer, where it was available.”

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