Repairing Swindon's Apsley House could cost over £1 million
It used to host Swindon's Museum and Art Gallery
Last updated 2nd Feb 2023
Apsley House, the grade II-listed Regency Villa in Old Town last used as Swindon Museum and Gallery, would cost more than £1 million to repair.
That’s on top of the £850,000 or so it would cost to buy, that price being the estimate of property experts at consultants Alder King.
The firm was hired by South Swindon Parish Council to assess the state of the building on the corner of Victoria Road and Bath Road which has been put up for sale by Swindon Borough Council.
The authority is offering the building and a 1960s-built parade of shops attached to it in Victoria Road for sale without a price being specified.
South Swindon parish Council was considering trying to ask for a moratorium on the sale in order to bid for the building to keep it in public hands and in use as a community venue – but the report on its poor state of repair has put the lower tier authority off.
'Urgent investigations and repairs are required'
The report by Alder King says: “The property, particularly the period building, has a number of items of disrepair with the internal areas in a poor condition and the property as a whole requires upgrade and repair works to bring it back into an operational condition.
“We have not been advised of the proposed use of the property and have therefore based our report on a like-for-like use.”
One of the main issues is that the roof leaks in several places: “Damp affected finishes were noted in several areas of Apsley House including a live water leak to the front right first-floor room and associated staining in the ground floor room below.
“The lath and plaster ceiling in the first-floor room has been cut away to reveal the underside of the timber valley gutter and water was dripping into buckets below.
“Urgent investigations and repairs are required in this position with subsequent examination of roof and floor joist timbers which are concealed, and which will have become wet during the long-term water ingress issue, making them susceptible to wet rot and potentially dry rot as the building dries out.”
There is a long list of repairs needed in the report, with the total, including a contingency fund of £85,000 but exclusive of VAT and professional fees of £1.07million.
Alder King tells the parish council that it believes the value of the property, including the shops which bring in a rental income of £43,000 per year, is about £850,000.