A dream come true for owners
8:21am Wednesday 16th June 2010 in Your Town
TEAM WORK: Owner Leon Powsney, back, and project manager Phil Humphreys
IT has taken almost 12 months for them to realise their dream, but yesterday the Powsneys finally opened Fred Dibnah’s house to the public for the first time.
Mortgage broker Leon Powsney and his wife, Jan, snapped up steeplejack Fred’s Radcliffe Road property for a cut-price £185,000 in March last year after the Grade II-listed building failed to sell at auction the previous September.
The couple had sold their house in Ramsbottom in preparation for a move to Spain but decided to stay in England after falling in love with Fred’s house and work yard.
Since then they have faced a major battle to convince planning chiefs — and neighbours — that a lasting reminder to Fred’s life and work was the best use of the property.
Mr Powsney said: “It has been a testing time. It seems to have been one thing after another but we are there and it feels like I was put on this earth to do this.”
A number of stalled attempts to get the green light from Bolton Council over issues such as parking, noise and the number of visitors permitted at any one time, never once seemed to dent the enthusiasm of Mr Powsney, who has consistently vowed to one day realise his dream — and Fred’s.
He said: “There has been an attempt by someone to discredit what we have been trying to do but every time the council has been round, or the fire officers, they can see that everything has been done right and to the letter.”
Mr Powsney and his team — including some of Fred’s old friends — have spent hours lovingly restoring and adding to the old work yard which forms the centrepiece of the tour.
The mineshaft which Fred was working on has been fenced off and secured and the whole yard has been re-wired, primarily to meet regulations but also to allow the various areas of the yard — including the shed where Fred spent many an hour working — to be lit.
While not wanting to go into detail about how much the project has cost, Mr Powsney admits it has “wiped him out”.
And he is continuing to look for help in funding the ongoing restoration of the yard, which will include a toilet block and a tea shop.
But Mr Powsney said: “I am still in love with this place and I have never regretted buying it.”
