IT has been a treasured urban oasis since the reign of Queen Anne and was once home to one of the borough’s most prominent families.

But the owner of Old Hall, which has stood proudly in Chesham Crescent, Bury, for 296 years, now faces a desperate fight to save it.

Graham Harwood, who has lived at the Grade II listed hall for 30 years, has spent four years trying to get Bury Council’s permission to renovate it because it has fallen into disrepair.

On two occasions, he has asked for permission to build four homes of simliar design on adjacent land, with the intention of selling it and using the proceeds to renovate the hall.

But planning officers have raised concerns over the design of the proposed houses, saying they were not modern enough.

Mr Harwood, who is retired, said: “Renovating the hall will cost anything up to £180,000 and just getting permission is expensive.

“I have been trying to move things on for four years without success.”

The saga is a far cry from the hall’s heyday.

It was built in 1713 on a whim of the wife of Richard Kay of Baldingstone, who wanted a second home nearer to the market stalls in Bury, as their first home was in Walmersley Road.

The home was passed through generations of the family and, by 1920, the Kays had sold up and half of the hall was converted into St Paul’s Institute Church Hall.

That has since been replaced with Bankfield Premier Care Home for the elderly, which has a more contemporary appearance.

Mr Harwood, aged 60, said: “We have been left with a hotch-potch of old and new on the land.

“I have applied for permission to renovate the hall twice but it has been turned down.”

He said he had taken advice based on the previous two applications and that he hoped the fresh application would succeed.

Mr Harwood has applied to the council for permission to build three terrace houses in the grounds.

He said: “If it turns out that the council won’t let me build these houses, then I can only see the house deteriorating further and the grassed area becoming more overgrown, with a greater attraction to vandals.”

The council has written to nine neighbours with details of the proposal. Residents have until Monday, August 31, to air their views. A decision will be made by Friday, October 2