Historic Rookery House, once the Birmingham home of anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce, is to be put up for sale by cash-strapped Birmingham City Council – with a pledge that community access will be guaranteed.
The 18th century home in Rookery Park Erdington has gradually fallen into disrepair over many years and this hastened after the city council stopped using it as an office five years ago.
Now council bosses have decided to sell up as the Grade II listed three-storey house requires major investment and currently drains £115,000 a year from council coffers just to keep secure and from falling further into dereliction.
The Labour cabinet has agreed to sell Rookery House as a package with the former Spring Lane depot and Western Road depot behind – which are likely to be snapped up for a housing development. No price has as yet been put on the site.
They have pledged that any sale will include a lease back deal on part of the building to ensure continued community use.
But local Conservative councillors say that does not go far enough and want proceeds from the depot sale ploughed into the full restoration of Rookery House and the entire building left for an agreed community use.
It was built in the late 1720s for industrialist and iron merchant Abraham Spooner. His grand-daughter Barbara married political activist and anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce in 1797.
The house, which was extended during the 19th century, was later handed to Erdington district council for use as a town hall and its grounds became a public park. This was taken over by Birmingham City Council which continued to use it until 2008.
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