Beatties owner says restoration of famous Wolverhampton landmark will start soon
The owner of Wolverhampton's Beatties building says he will transform the famous landmark, despite concerns about delays to the work.
Hiten Raghwani, director of Eden (Beatties) Ltd, said work would begin soon on the multi-million pound scheme to turn the former department store into 306 flats.
Wolverhampton Council had threatened Eden with prosecution amid concerns about the neglected state of the building and delays to submitting a timeline for the work.
Mr Raghwani said these plans had now been submitted to the council's satisfaction, although he warned that there had to be some realism about the appearance of the site while the work was being carried out.
Eden bought the 100-year-old Art Deco building a year ago for £6 million following the collapse of previous owner SSYS Beatties.
He said the site had been repeatedly targeted by vandals and squatters, but he was doing his best to keep it secure.
In September last year Wolverhampton Council gave permission for its plans to redevelop the building, which will also include 70,000 sq ft of commercial floorspace being retained at ground-floor level.
Earlier this month, the council said it was planning to prosecute the company over its failure to comply with an enforcement notice and a condition outlining a timetable for the work. The timeline was submitted this week, and the condition has now been discharged.
Mr Raghwani said: "I understand that it is a very popular building, and there are a lot of concerns, but we are doing all we can to make it a success.
"Several times I have been to the building and found notes from homeless people who have been living inside. Part of the problem is that it is in a quiet location, the traffic does not run through there, and there is not much passing surveillance.
"The council has asked me to replace the broken glass in windows, but I have been given permission to replace all the windows, so there is no point replacing the glass if the windows are going to be taken out.
"We do need to manage expectations about what is a construction site."
A spokesman for Wolverhampton Council said: “Every possible action is being taken to ensure progress is being made on this important development, as well as other critical sites for regeneration in our city.
"Officers from our planning and city development teams remain in regular contact with the owner to offer support and encourage action to move things forward."
The spokesman said the council had launched its vacant properties taskforce to offer planning, investment and business support advice to the owners of empty buildings, with a view to bringing them back into use.
“Where this is not fruitful then the council will serve section 215 notices to force owners to tidy their land and buildings and will prosecute owners if they are unresponsive," he added.
"We will continue to use the full extent of our albeit limited powers to bring the iconic Beatties building back into meaningful use."
Beatties closed four years ago following the takeover of parent company House of Fraser by Mike Ashley's Sports Direct group.
The store moved into smaller premises in the Mander Centre across the road, renaming the business Frasers. The company sold the building for £3 million to SSYS Beatties, run by London-based solicitor Pragnesh Modhwadia.
But SSYS was placed in receivership following the collapse of Mr Modhwadia's law firm Axiom Ince, and was sold to Eden in February last year for £6 million.
Mr Modhwadia is awaiting trial on fraud charges relating to more than £60 million of clients' funds alleged to have gone missing from the law firm.
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