The once grand mansion house is now empty and overgrown
John Wimperis Local Democracy Reporter
16:00, 24 May 2025
Despite the dilapidated state of the building, the sense of Uphill Grange’s grandeur remains(Image: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris)
Luxury flats are set to be built at a former mansion house that now sits empty and overgrown.
Uphill Grange on the edge of Weston-super-Mare used to be a grand family home known as the “Macready House.” It dates back to 1790 but in the 1950s it was turned into a children’s orphanage and later, in the 1980s, a care home.
But since this closed six years ago, the grade II listed building has been left in “a dilapidated state”. It is a haunting image with the grand facades of the building overgrown and one of the main doors boarded up, reports Somerset Live.
Inside, wallpaper peeling from the ceilings hangs down as far as the grand chandeliers which still adorn the empty halls. Police have warned it has attracted vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
But now North Somerset Council has granted planning permission for a scheme to bring the mansion back to life as 15 luxury apartments. Ten new homes will also be built a short way across the ground by the walled garden, and the coach house and its “bothy” outbuilding will also be turned into a new home.
“Uphill Grange has been vacant for several years and urgently requires a new use which will secure its repair and long-term maintenance,” said architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris in a statement submitted with the planning application by Ferrer Projects. It said the development would mean “re-instating a residential use in the mansion and its continued long-term maintenance.”
In a report which went before the planning committee as they met to discuss the plans on May 14, the council’s planning officers said the development would cause “less than substantial” harm to the listed property — but that this was outweighed by the benefits, including that the building was deteriorating and the development would restore it.
Uphill Grange(Image: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris)
The local ward councillor Helen Thornton (Weston-super-Mare Uphill, Labour) told the planning committee that she recognised the need for new homes but said it was a “shame” there would be no affordable housing, as young people in Uphill were struggling to afford to buy in the village. Concerns were also raised about whether the mansion’s narrow drive, which has a blind bend, would work as access for 26 homes.
Ms Thornton said that wealthy people who did move in to the development may struggle to access their homes as the narrow drive to the mansion is not wide enough for two Range Rovers to pass. She said: “I know not every house there is going to have a Range Rover, but it’s going to be quite a wealthy development.”
Fellow ward councillor Peter Bryant (Conservative) suggested installing a mini-traffic light just for the lane, but council officers said installing a mirror would be more appropriate. Councillors made installing the mirror a condition of the development.
Councillors voted 11-1 in favour of approving the plans, with only Chris Blades (Clevedon Yeo, Conservative) voting against. Mr Bryant abstained. View the full gallery of images on our sister site Somerset Live.