PLANS for an historic house that has rarely been out of the news over the last few years have been unveiled by a well-known charity.

The Grade II listed Ashmeadow House in Arnside could be converted into a home for elderly people after the Abbeyfield charity gave details of its scheme to buy the building and restore it to its former glory.

Ashmeadow House was left by the late John Barnes to a trust for the benefit of the people of Arnside. It has had a chequered recent history, and in 2001 the charity that held a lease on the house, the Rural Heritage Trust, went into liquidation sparking controversy about Ashmeadow's future.

At a meeting held in the historic house, which has fallen into semi-dereliction and been targeted by vandals, chairman of the Abbeyfield Arnside Society Kay Perrott said she wanted to explain the plans because of rumours that had circulated in the village.

It was possible for the society to buy the house, she said, because of a £2 million legacy from Miriam Crossfield.

Mrs Perrott said she had not at first considered buying Ashmeadow but after the idea was suggested, she decided: "What a wonderful idea it would be to combine Crossfield money and Barnes land into something that was going to be good for the village."

She also disclosed that the charity would like to landscape the grounds, which could be opened to the public and called the Barnes Memorial Garden.

Mrs Perrott said the first hurdle had been overcome when South Lakeland District Council had given planning consent for the scheme. However, because the building was listed, the plans now had to be considered by English Heritage.

"If we get permission, I can promise you I will fight every inch of the way to restore this building and do it for the village," said Mrs Perrott.

Even though the society had yet to purchase the house, Mrs Perrott had already had 16 applications for accommodation.

SLDC's development control committee voted unanimously in favour of the Abbeyfield application. The plans involve replacing part of the southern portion of the building with a new structure and creating ten one-bedroom flats as well as communal facilities and accommodation for a housekeeper.

The house is currently owned by the executors of Mr Barnes's will. His widow, Dorothy Barnes, said she approved of the Abbeyfield plan.

Her husband had envisaged the house being used by children, but this had not been possible. He would not have wanted to see the house as it was, she said, adding: "It would break his heart if he was walking round here now."

John Caldwell was at the meeting to hear about the plans, nearly 70 years after he arrived at Arnside's Earnseat School as a young boarder. The pupils were taught at Ashmeadow, and Mr Caldwell has very happy memories of the school that was founded by his grandfather, James Barnes, in 1900.

The John Barnes Charitable Trust would hold the proceeds from the sale of the house as capital, and it would be used for the benefit of the village as the trustees decided.

The surrounding woodlands belong to the trust and would continue to be open to the public.

May 1, 2003 15:31