ONE of Leigh’s most iconic buildings is set for a new lease of life after property developer and former reality TV star Mick Norcross acquired the freehold on The Grand.
Mr Norcross admits his previous £4.5million plans to turn the Victorian building into a boutique hotel are facing a “rethink”, but he is dedicated to returning the Grand to the people of Leigh and says that after a four-year battle to obtain the freehold, progress would now be much smoother.
Owner of famous Brentwood nightspot The Sugar Hut, and former TOWIE star, Mr Norcross, also told the Echo that the Japanese knotweed, that has blighted the development, is finally under control.
He said: “No-one would believe the hoops I have had to jump through to get this freehold – it has been a long four years but I am confident that building will be brought back to life.
“It is a very special property and now I have bought the freehold I am working on a project that will hopefully support the building for a long time to come.
“The new application will be a re-think of the whole scheme.
“I can’t say too much about exact plans as we are working busily with the council and it is at the pre-application stage.
“But the people of Leigh will be able to eat, drink, do whatever they used to do in there, be it a restaurant, pub, bar.”
Mr Norcross secured planning permission to develop the Victorian building into a boutique hotel in 2012, and obtained the lease the following year.
Issues with subsidence and the invasive, and potentially structure ruining, Japanese knotweed led to delays in the development, with some residents questioning Mr Norcross’ commitment to the project.
He rebuffed the criticisms though and said he is more determined than ever to return the Grand to the people.
He added: “Previously I had a lease that had conditions on it which meant every time I wanted to do anything, even the smallest thing, I had to check with the freeholder and it would take months, it was a joke.
“With the knotweed we have a treatment programme in place – with nature you don’t know what is going to come back until the growing season, but it has been prevented from spreading, so that is no longer an issue.
“I am not very well supported by local residents but every month I am clearing up mounds of dogs mess – I just want to get on with the project.”
GRAND PROGRESS WELCOMED
Tony Dudley, of A Touch Too Wild, in Leigh Broadway
A TRADER has welcomed the news of Mick Norcross’ freehold acquisition.
Tony Dudley, owner of women’s clothing store A Touch Too Wild, has seen the Grand slowly decay in recent years and was thrilled to hear that slide could soon be about to end.
He said: “I think it will be fantastic for the Broadway.
“The Grand is such a beautiful building that if it is put back to how it originally was then a hotel makes absolute sense.
“Leigh needs it for the events that it holds, the Regatta, the Folk Festival, they all bring people in.”
Leigh Town Council’s Caroline Parker, chair of the planning, highways and licensing committee, has been a long-time supporter of Mr Norcross’ plan, and the council welcomed the news.
Richard Herbert, council chairman, said: “We welcome that there is movement on The Grand and look forward to the planning application with interest.”
Not everyone was so positive though.
Pat Dodson, 73, of Bellhouse Crescent, Leigh, said: “My feeling is that after all these years it will just fall down and they will end up building something new.
“It has been there so long I don’t think anything will be done for a long time until it is beyond repair.
“That is my opinion and I have thought that for a long time.”
A GRAND HISTORY
1899: The Family and Commercial Hotel, as it was then known, is opened by Henry Choppin following its construction by Leigh building company Ramoss
1908: Leigh Cricket Club holds its first annual dinner at the Grand with 60 people attending
1910: The Family and Commercial becomes the Grand Hotel
1999: The Grand, which is by now a pub, celebrates its centenary by reopening its hotel facilities – 50 years after it put up its last paying guest
2006: Freeholder the Spirit Group sells the Grand to the Orchid Group
2008: The Grand is closed, with the loss of ten jobs, after the Orchid Group goes into administration
2011: The empty Grand becomes a magnet for cocaine addicts, who snort the Class A drug in the doorway
2012: Mr Norcross secures planning permission from Southend Council to turn the old building into a boutique hotel with 20 rooms, a piano lounge, bar, restaurant, tea rooms and luxury spa
December, 2013: Mr Norcross obtains the leasehold on the property
April, 2014: Work begins on renovating the old building
September, 2014: The discovery of Japanese knotweed halts work and treatment of the problem begins
August, 2015: Mr Norcross tells Echo that knotweed will be assessed in early 2016, at which point financiers may release funds to progress with work
February, 2016: Mr Norcross confirms acquisition of the freehold
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