SPECIAL REPORT: Looking out on rolling fields, huge mansions on one of Greater Manchester’s priciest streets are worth as much as £10m. But there is one ‘secretive’ building owned by Iran that has remained an ‘eyesore’
Beside grand, multi-million pound houses protected behind towering gated driveways sits a crumbling building with a ‘secretive’ history that has fallen into disarray. An exclusive destination, it is the location of some of Greater Manchester’s most expensive homes.
Looking out onto scenic fields, the stunning houses are worth as much as £10m. But sandwiched between them is a now-derelict building once playing host to diplomatic meetings, lavish parties and banquets for Iran.
Decades later, behind high rusting barbed wire and broken fences, sits an abandoned crumbling building. It’s in desperate need of an overhaul and – but nobody can do anything about it.
Daubed in graffiti and hit repeatedly by trespassing and anti-social behaviour, it is a blot on the landscape, described by locals as an ‘eyesore’, and an unsightly contrast to the multi-million pound gated mansions that sit right beside it.
Brackendene, situated on Charcoal Road in Trafford, was bought by the Iranian Government in the 1970s. It was the home to the Consul-General, and was a key venue for diplomatic, trade, and social functions. Following the Islamic revolution in 1979, it then began to slowly fall into disuse. The property has been completely empty since 2010.
Three arson attacks in the space of just 11 months caused its former roof to collapse, while the garden and surrounding land around the red-bricked mansion is now hugely overgrown.
More than 15 years on, and despite repeated attempts, the local community is no closer to getting a resolution. The land and property is still owned by the Iranian Government, leaving Trafford Council with ‘very limited ability to intervene’.
It’s understood that some work has been done over the years to repair the roof ravaged by flames, and without appropriate permissions, but has stalled again following the pandemic.
The council’s remit has involved securing the site. Although, their efforts have been unsuccessful over the years, with trespassing incidents seeing the building repeatedly attacked, set alight and daubed in spray paint.
The council may have ambitious suggestions for it, but there is no way to get them off the ground. Standard powers, such as compulsory purchase orders, cannot be used here.
The authority is understood to have been in contact with the Iranian Government over the years to try to find a solution, but that none have, as yet, been suitably reached. The Manchester Evening News has learned this included numerous discussions with the Iranian Government to ‘stress concerns’ about the building’s safety and security, and to find a long-term use for the stately home, which sits in the Devisdale Conservation Area.
More than a decade ago, talks between Iran and Trafford Council over the future of the consulate building crumbled when the Middle-Eastern country’s officials were told to leave the UK after the British embassy in Tehran was stormed.
But for those living nearby, the building has always been cloaked in mystery. One woman, who regularly walks with her friends through the golf course said it has been ‘hidden away’ and has been in a state of disrepair ‘going back years’. She said there was some work ongoing at the property prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, which included repairing part of the roof, but that has since ceased.
She told the M.E.N “It was a beautiful building, but it’s been in a state of disrepair going back years now. Then suddenly there were people on the land and we thought it had been bought. They were repairing the roof and there was a caravan on the site but nobody really knew what was going on.
“Before that it had been a functional consulate, and everyone knew it was there, but it was hidden away and all a bit hush hush. Nobody ever really knew much about it. It’s an enigma. It’s been very under the radar and has just been getting worse and worse.”
Andy Birtles, who has lived in Bowdon for 32 years, said that although he doesn’t remember the building in its former glory, he and others living nearby would like to see something done with it.
“About five or six years ago it looked like they were fixing it up and doing the roof. The fire had completely ripped through it,” he said. “It was the first time anyone had been there in years. Then all of a sudden it all just stopped and it looked like they had done a load of work to it.
“I’ve been here for 32 years and I don’t remember it before it was abandoned. I remember knowing it was there, but never saw anybody coming or going and it was all a bit secretive. I had driven and walked past it on the way to Dunham and knew it was an Iranian Government building but that was it. After it was abandoned it just became a target for kids.
“I’d love to see it done up, as I am sure other people would. It has so much potential. It would look great with all the work that it needs, because it is an eyesore.”
Homes nearby are worth up to £10m. One four-bed property just a few hundred yards away is currently on the market at £1.5m. This is an exclusive street where only the most wealthy can afford to reside.
Analysis of data shows that the average sale price for houses on Charcoal Road over the last decade is £1.7m, based on six sales. Since 1995, the average price of a property sits at £873k, and a higher price point of £1.2 million for houses.
As it stands in its current state, with withered wood panels and a crumbling roof, the Brackendene property could still be worth an eye-watering amount, according to estimations made by local estate agents.
Josiah Carter, director of Carter Groves estate agents told the Manchester Evening News that the property and its surrounding land, as it stands and with no planning, would be valued in the region of £1.5m. However, it is surrounded by what was described as ‘super prime’ properties worth in the region of £10m. With the right planning and spec built, he predicted an overhaul could put it at a similar price point.
But any hopes of privately selling the property and seeing it be given a new lease of life are no sooner going to become a reality. Efforts to communicate with the building owners, including suggestions of renovation and cleaning up the site have for years fallen flat.
In previous years, the council deemed the building to be in a dangerous state, but demolishing it has proved impossible.
It was reported in 2011 that Iranian embassy representatives had travelled to Trafford to discuss the site’s future, but that communications then ceased when outcry over Iran’s nuclear programme led to hundreds of protesters attacking the British embassy in Tehran.
Some 15 years later, and any plan for its future is no closer to becoming a reality. Although, the council maintains that it still holds hope that it could at some point be given a new lease of life.
Dave Jolley, the Chair of Dunham Massey Parish Council told the M.E.N they too had previously addressed resident concerns regarding the repair and safety of the property directly to Trafford Council.
The local authority previously said that the site had ‘suffered heavily from vandalism’ and that leaders had ‘raised concerns about the condition of the building’, including advising on measures to secure the access points and the need for a long-term use for the building.
A spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News: “The former Consul-General’s House and the surrounding land is owned by the Iranian Government and is governed by diplomatic procedures limiting the ability of the Council to intervene.
“We are, however, concerned about the condition of the building, which has been empty since 2010, and are doing all we can to ensure that it is repaired and re-opened in the future. The Council has had various discussions with Iranian Government representatives since the building’s closure regarding the state of the site and the long-term use of the building.
“We met with the owners on a number of occasions and stressed our concerns, advising on additional measures to secure the site.
“In 2024, we wrote to a representative with regards to the repair of security fencing and on-site brick wall. We also discussed the need to urgently find a long term use for Brackendene which is an important building and site in the Devisdale Conservation Area.
“We noted that a number of rebuilding works appeared to have taken place on the site including re-roofing and new floors and we reminded the owners that building regulation approval was required from the Council.
“We have recommended to Iranian representatives that they should seek advice from a planning consultant and submit a pre-application enquiry to the Council so we can advise on any proposed developments they wish to make. We will continue to press the owners of the site to carry out works to make it safe and secure and to commit to a plan regarding the long-term use of the building.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login