US Actor’s Ancestral Home Deal Collapses

The aspiration of a US actor to restore his ancestral residence has been thwarted following the withdrawal of the owning council from an agreement. Hopwood DePree relocated from Los Angeles to Rochdale in 2017 upon learning that the Grade II-listed Hopwood Hall in Middleton, a 15th Century manor house, had been connected to his family for approximately 400 years. Nevertheless, the 54-year-old, who stated he had invested around £580,000 in renovating the neglected 60-room country estate, asserted that Rochdale Borough Council had “pulled the rug from under him” by terminating its sales agreement. The council, conversely, stated that Mr DePree lacked a “viable” proposal for the property’s future. Mr DePree, a Michigan native, recounted that his grandfather had shared tales of Hopwood Hall with him during his childhood. He had initially dismissed these accounts of the house – reportedly a former residence of Guy Fawkes and Lord Byron, and held by the Hopwood family until World War One – as mere fiction. However, upon discovering the familial link, he resolved to acquire the structure and transform it into an arts and events venue. Rochdale Council provided him with a “limited licence to occupy” and the opportunity to purchase the property. Since 2017, approximately £1.7 million in grants from the council and heritage organizations such as Historic England have been allocated to repairs and refurbishment. Planning approval for Mr DePree’s project was secured in 2022, the same year he authored Downton Shabby, a book detailing his endeavors to revitalize the manor. He stated his conviction that he possessed feasible plans for the building’s future, having engaged in discussions with hotel and restaurant companies regarding his concept of establishing hospitality skills training there. Nevertheless, he expressed surprise upon learning that the council had opted to withdraw from the agreement during a private meeting held last week. Mr DePree noted that the building had been derelict for years under the council’s stewardship. He commented: “The council took the hall over in the 1990s and in these last 20-plus years, it has fallen into complete dereliction, so for us to reverse that and restore the building to its former glory was an incredible challenge.” Mr DePree, known for directing and starring in the 1999 comedy The Last Big Attraction, indicated that the council had informed him of the necessity for an independent access road, given the hall’s complete encirclement by Hopwood Hall college’s grounds. He added that he was investigating construction methods for this road when the council chose to discontinue the agreement. Mr DePree, who considered the arrangement legally binding, expressed a desire for clarification regarding the council’s decision before determining his subsequent actions. However, his legal representatives have stated their belief that the council ought to uphold the sales agreement, asserting that the sole condition was the acquisition of planning permission. Rochdale Borough Council, conversely, stated it had consented to sell the property to Mr DePree for a “nominal fee” contingent on him presenting a viable business plan, and had repeatedly renewed and prolonged the agreement. This week, however, the cabinet resolved against further renewal after consultants engaged by the council concluded that Mr DePree’s proposals were “unlikely to be able to secure future public or private funding.” A council spokesperson affirmed that Mr DePree “had not been able to produce a viable proposal, despite having had seven years to do so, and having been given advice and support from the council and Rochdale Development Agency throughout that period.” The spokesperson further explained that this situation obligated the council to “explore alternative options” to “protect the public monies invested to date.”