Herne Bay
The Burrs is a very unique and distinctive house in one of Kent’s Victorian seaside towns, Herne Bay. Built around 1884 the house stands within the Town Centre Conservation Area on Central Parade facing the sea, its neoclassical style and presence making a bold statement within the townscape. The photo taken in 1993 clearly portrays the attractiveness and beauty of the house making it worthy of being featured in Canterbury Council’s ‘Conservation Area Appraisal’ published in 2008 (page 55).
At the turn of the last century Herne Bay was a popular upmarket holiday resort. It was customary in those days for wealthier people to rent a house for a whole season. For instance, the Countess of Durham is recorded as being resident at The Burrs in 1903. Many years later, in 1984, it had the distinction of being used as a film location for the BBC series ‘Cockles’.
By the late 1980’s, being only 50 miles from London and with Canterbury and Whitstable on the doorstep, Herne Bay once again became a popular leisure destination. Coincidently by 1986 The Burrs was in need of a new lease of life and a local development company, Janus Developments, saw an opportunity to acquire the Freehold and convert the house into five self-contained apartments one to each floor. The standard of the interior conversion was exceptional for the time and the apartments were quickly sold on 99 year leases.
In 1990, Janus sold their freehold interest to a London based property company who owned the freehold until relatively recently.
The building showed great promise when originally converted in 1986, but as numerous new owners came and went with little regard for the maintenance of the building, the external fabric suffered historic neglect.
On 5 Nov 2014 the lessees formed The Burrs RTM Company and claimed the right to manage the building under provisions of the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act. When the RTM eventually took over management of the building there was no service charge in place, and consequently no funds to carry out essential refurbishment work to make the building watertight - evidenced by the badly leaking roof and spalling brickwork.
The first task of the RTM was to organise monthly contributions to a maintenance fund and prioritise refurbishment as funds accrued and became available.
In January 2024 a majority of lessees formed a company, 44 Central Parade Freehold Ltd, and successfully purchased the freehold under enfranchisement legislation.
This website is now the vehicle for the RTM and Freehold companies to manage the building, and is a useful resource for the residents and all those with a vested interest in the building or are involved with its maintenance and care.
The website also celebrates the history, uniqueness and period charm of the building, but at the same time highlights the inherent problems faced in refurbishing the ageing structure.
For security reasons some of the information is restricted to registered users. Those eligible will be issued with a ‘user name’ and ‘password’.
The Burrs 44 Central Parade, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 5HZ
the Burrs
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Latest Update 21 Oct 2024
Website Created 28 March 2011
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