Watford Council has no plans to buy Little Cassiobury House

The borough council had been working to secure the future of the Grade II* listed building, owned by Hertfordshire County Council, which recently put it up for sale.

It is thought to be a dower house from the late 17th Century but an assessment by Historic England had described the building as "in slow decay with no solution agreed".

Little Cassiobury interior (Image: Little Cassiobury CIC)

In 2017, the property was leased to Watford Borough Council as part of an effort to inspect and restore it, with an option to purchase the building, but that expired in April 2020.

Watford mayor Peter Taylor said: “We know Little Cassiobury is an important part of local history and, because of this, it is nationally Grade II* listed.

“This means that any future use will have to preserve the significance and historic value of the building and ensure that it is protected for future generations.

"We have no current plans to buy the building from Hertfordshire County Council."

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Grade II* listing gives a building legal protection from demolition and alterations which could destroy its "historic fabric" or affect its character and appearance.

Little Cassiobury Community Interest Company (CIC), formerly Friends of Little Cassiobury, was looking to restore the site for community use and had claimed in December that Hertfordshire County Council had U-turned on an agreement to transfer the property.

The group described the building as “very significant not only locally but nationally” and accused the county council of taking it “from a community matter to just a commercial matter”.

The county council allegedly claimed it would be a detriment to the public purse to transfer an asset worth well into six figures, adding it also needed to consider “Watford’s urgent and growing housing requirement”.

Little Cassiobury House (Image: Little Cassiobury CIC)

Referring to the CIC’s claims, a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: “We have discussed the possibility of the Friends of Little Cassiobury taking on the property and in 2013 provided a letter of possible intentions for them to seek funding to take on the property.

“No legal agreements have ever been put in place.”