An historic mausoleum and the gardens around it has been allowed to fall into wrack and ruin according to a concerned resident.
The Mausoleum of Sir David Yule in the grounds of Hanstead House in Drop Lane, Bricket Wood, built some time in the 1920s/1930s, is a Grade II listed building for various historic, architectural and design reasons.
But Hanstead Park, which once housed the HSBC management and training centre and the former Bricket Wood Sports Centre, now has planning permission for 138 new homes after winning a planning appeal in 2015.
Janis Dingwall, who lives close to Hanstead Park, is unhappy not just about the state of the mausoleum which was built to house the remains of successful businessman Sir David Yule but also the adjoining cemetery and pet cemetery.
She said: “It has all gone to wrack and ruin and we thought it was going to be looked after.”
Janis said that when planning permission was first sought for the housing scheme, residents of Drop Lane were worried about ‘the lovely gardens which go back a long time” as well as the mausoleum and graves.
Having walked along public footpaths adjoining Hanstead Park, she said the state of the mausoleum was an ‘absolute disgrace’ with the grass uncut and the gardens overgrown.
She raised the issue with St Congar Land which has planning permission for the housing scheme to say that if they could not look after the rest of the site, they should look after the mausoleum and graves but her concerns were ignored.
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He denied that the stone mausoleum had fallen into disrepair and went on: “It is a listed building and if English Heritage wants to inspect it, they are welcome.”
He went on: “When that site is developed, it will be taken care of but right now we are spending a considerable amount of money on the wider estate to keep it in check.”
Steve said: “I refute the idea that the stone structure is not in the same position as 2012. It is overgrown as is the Japanese Garden because the cost of maintaining the site is significant. There are 50 acres of gardens and HSBC had a full time team maintaining them. We are in the transitional stage into a housing site.”
He added: “Whether we develop it or not, it will go back to better than before. Right now we don’t want to spend significant amounts of money.”
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