Grade 2 Listed and Under Threat
Readers who have in the past visited the farm shop at Vineyard Farm, Poulton, will probably be familiar with this building. It sits to the left as you enter, a medieval, long barn type structure that catches the eye. One of Wirral’s oldest buildings, it has been Grade 2 listed as of special architectural interest since 1975. Built using an ancient timber cruck style frame with infill brick and stone sections it is close to unique on the Wirral.
The Society has been concerned for some time at what has appeared to be inadequate maintenance of the structure. The central roof section collapsed some years ago and was not repaired. As the photograph here shows this oversight has allowed the building to deteriorate even further of late.
Although on Greenbelt land, the building and adjacent land is owned by Perisimmon Homes, the national housebuilder. We have been pressing Perisimmon for some time with our concerns, and wrote to them again in December. We still await a reply. We have also recently contacted Wirral Borough Council concerning this matter. This has prompted the Council to arrange a meeting with Perisimmon to review the situation.
We await the outcome of this. The Society will be pressing, as a minimum, for the building to be adequately repaired and maintained.
Bernard Lidport