PLANS to convert the former home of celebrity steeplejack and steam enthusiast Fred Dibnah into a heritage centre have hit the buffers.
Bolton council has deferred the proposals by new owners Leon and Jan Powsney, who bought the property after it failed to sell at auction.
The couple want to preserve the 155-year-old building and its sprawling gardens in Fred's memory by hosting guided tours. Fred's steam houses, oil-stained machines and his 70ft-deep working mineshaft would have been star attractions.
But planning committee councillors said the proposals failed to adequately address parking provisions.
Tory councillor Andy Morgan said: "We encourage the applicant to come back because we all want to see this proposal."
The council said the Grade II-listed house, on Radcliffe Road, Bolton, was 'an essential education resource for future generations'.
Supporters said its restoration would 'preserve Bolton's heritage', but neighbours have voiced concerns.
Fred rose to fame locally by demolishing chimneys but quickly became a national celebrity and was awarded an MBE for services to heritage and broadcasting after a series of successful television shows dedicated to his love of the golden age of steam. He died from cancer aged 66 in 2004.
The centre would open four days a week including Saturdays with two sessions of 30 visitors a day between 10am and 6pm.
Leon said after the meeting: "We will look again at the situation and come back to the committee. We are still committed to the plan."
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I really hope that it does become a museum - Fred was a legend. I really loved his programmes, you could tell that he really loved the things that he was talking about. He never seemed to let his fame go to his head, he was a proper down to earth bloke; just a shame there aren't more Fred's in this world.
I would love to go to his house.....to have a working mine shaft in you back garden is absolutely class.
Love ya Fred!!
Boltonians will hope this succeeds. As I understand it, this is an entirely private plan and will not cost us ratepayers a penny. That is probably why Bolton Council have chucked it out: it likes to have a monopoly on any spending in Bolton.
Lets celebrate a local man who changed the way we thought about victorian britain? this man helped people understand how important we were about mecanising the world from trains to cotton.Fred was more important than most ,He could get his message through to children as well as pensioners,Lets celebrate our past and be proud of the part we all play in the past.
I am a welsh man born & bred in North Wales,i would love to see this project go ahead as i think the
Fred Dibnah seies was one of the best things that happend on television. His personality & enthusiasm were second to none,anything that can be done to keep his memory alive can only be a good thing. Glyn E. Jones.