Holywood Alliance
Councillor Larry Thompson has welcomed news that a letter of offer has been
issued by the NI Environment Agency for Grant Aid towards essential repairs and
redecoration of 1 Stewart’s Place, Holywood with work apparently to begin on
site shortly. 1 Stewart’s Place was built in 1840 and is a listed building in
the Town Centre on a street named after Holywood’s first Post Master.
Commenting on the
development, Cllr Thompson stated “Over the last few years 1 Stewart’s Place
has unfortunately fell into disrepair and is now extremely dilapidated.
Emergency repairs effected a few months ago were merely cosmetic leaving the
building in a serious state and structural damage now evident.
Whilst I am
disappointed that the building has been allowed to deteriorate so badly news
that funding has been awarded and work will soon commence to bring the building
up to a basic standard is to be welcomed. I would like to pay tribute to the
Holywood Conservation Group who have worked tirelessly to bring these matters
to the attention of all concerned and to achieve a successful result".
Concluding, Cllr
Thompson remarked “Whilst previous attempts by NIEA to force the site owner to
repair the building have failed Grant Aid and news that the building is on the
market for sale will hopefully incentivise the owner to carry out the necessary
work. Facing 1 Stewart’s Place is its sister building 3 Stewart’s Pace which
was restored in 1993 by Hearth Housing Association. This restored building
provides a clear example of how 1 Stewart’s Place could look if fully restored.
I will continue to lobby and support Holywood Conservation Group and UAHS as
they campaign for action to restore this historic building which acts as a
gateway into Holywood”.
Stewart's Place,
Holywood is thought to have been built about 1840 by William Lowry, nos. 1 and
3 Stewart's Place are named after the first post-master of Holywood, Hugh
Stewart. Forming a pair of three-storey stucco houses with rounded corners,
they were listed in the mid-1970s, and are located within the recently
designated Holywood Conservation Area. No.3 was restored by Hearth Revolving
Fund in 1993, but, its neighbour, no.1, is currently in a poor state of repair.
HB Ref No: HB23/20/020 A
More info at http://freespace.virgin.net/hearth.nireland/StewartsPl.html Offers are invited in the region of £175,000 by BTW Shiells http://www.btwshiells.co.uk/Site/Property.aspx?x=1141
