New owner of Hackney’s second oldest house says her family have been left in ‘nasty limbo’ by council red tape

Carlton James and Elizabeth Prochaska say they have are stuck in limbo. Photograph: Julia Gregory

The team behind a multimillion-pound rescue of Hackney’s second oldest house say they have been left in limbo by council red tape.

The 324-year-old Elizabeth Fry Refuge on Mare Street fell into disrepair in 2013.

Squatters moved in after the working men’s New Lansdowne Club vacated the place, and a second set of squatters lived in the Grade II*-listed town house in 2017.

Since then, developer Carlton James has spent more than £3m renovating the house and building 21 flats behind it, as part of a Section 106 planning agreement with Hackney Council.

Elizabeth Prochaska and her husband bought the three-storey house last year but said they are at an impasse with the Town Hall.

They plan to live in it and use part of it for community arts.

They are currently donating the space to local artists for studios.

They have given the Vagina Museum a temporary home to store their exhibits after it had to move from its base in Bethnal Green.

Prochaska said: “We want to make it really cool in Hackney but we’re in a kind of nasty limbo.”

Delays mean they have to pay commercial rates for electricity and cannot complete other administration.

The council has even given them a grant for an open day.

Recently, 100 supporters of the Hackney Society visited, with 50 more on the waiting list.

Hackney Council is yet to sign off a change of use application, which the family was told should be completed by last October. They applied for planning permission in August.

Prochaska said the family are stuck until the council signs off the change of use.

A strip of 17th-century wallpaper inside the house. Photograph: Julia Gregory

James said he has people desperate to move in and the delays are costing him thousands of pounds a month in interest charges.

He said the house was in a parlous state before his team stepped in.

He said: “The roof had collapsed. We had to repair the first floor and go up in single file because of the state of the stairs.

“The first stage of work was described as emergency repair work.”

It is a far cry from the heyday of the William and Mary house, which was built for a Hackney merchant.

It was later used between 1860 and 1913 as the Elizabeth Fry Refuge for women after they left prison.

Last year, it featured on popular TV show The Repair Shop, hosted by Hackney-born Jay Blades.

James added: “We had to employ our own specialists on the house.”

A team of 20 people worked on the house. The Georgian fanlight window over the front door – like the one at 10 Downing Street – had to be sent to York for repairs as the work was so specialist.

“I remember when we got it out of its box when it came back, it’s a very special piece,” said James.

The work was supervised by Hackney Council’s heritage officer who paid frequent visits.

Treasures include the largest piece of 17th-century wood graining in England and a strip of wallpaper from the same period.

Hackney Council said in a statement: “As part of the original planning application, which included a change of use of the 195 Mare Street to business use and a new building providing 21 homes, the developer had to complete and protect historic parts of the building before selling all of the new flats.

“This was to ensure that one of the oldest buildings in Hackney could be protected for future generations. The council has previously allowed a variation to the original permission to enable the sale of more of the units to assist the developer in carrying out work to the listed building.”

The council said the historic house was sold before all the restoration work was finished and the new application is being determined.

“We expect a decision to be issued shortly.”

It said it “needs to be confident that either the work required to the listed building will be carried out, or that an alternative is suitably secured, before any further variations to the original permission can be considered”.

The spokesperson added: “We wrote to the applicants of the original planning application on 19 January 2023 to respond to concerns raised, and have been in touch with the applicant several times in September, October, November and December 2022.

“The applicants are aware that the matter is now with the respective legal teams in order to progress the legal agreement, which would form part of the planning permission. Planning permission can then be granted once the legal agreement has been resolved.”

Since the Citizen raised the issue with the council, Prochaska has been told legal documents are on their way.