The White Lion

Project Overview

The White Lion project incorporated the refurbishment and conversion of an old public house. The existing building is a four-storey Grade II listed building with basements on Great Underbank in Stockport. The works included the remodelling of the existing building including demolition, new partitions, new electrical and plumbing / heating installation, new windows and doors, floor coverings, painting, and decorating to create 11 one- and two-bedroom apartments on the upper floors and restaurant space on the ground floor. Works also involved extensive external works including roof repairs, render repairs, timber repairs, rainwater goods repairs, metal work and masonry restoration.

This site has been occupied by a public house since the 1500’s. The existing building is Grade II listed and was constructed in 1910. It has been subject to several unsympathetic structural alterations throughout its life.

The current building has been unoccupied for nearly 10 years, resulting in varying degrees of deterioration of the building fabric and underlying structure, requiring a rigorous approach to understanding the building in order to demonstrate both structural and commercial viability for refurbishment and use as residential accommodation.

Based in a busy town centre, we successfully managed the logistical challenges associated with working in a pedestrianised city centre with practically no room for storage or welfare. Just in time deliveries and finely tuned traffic management plans were a critical part of this. For our site office we were able to negotiate a vacant shop which enabled us to have close liaison with members of the public.

The external fabric was retained as original and repairs carried out to timber, stonework and render panels where needed. Roof repairs were also carried out incorporating renewal and repairs to rainwater goods, chimney and flashings as required. Internal timbers were severely affected by dry rot due to the poor condition of the building and constant water ingress over the years. These timbers were replaced and treated as per the in-depth report and proposals carried out by timber specialist.

We worked closely with the Architect and Clients Agent to value engineer potential costly items, whilst still delivering high quality work, which meets the Conservation Officers expectations.

One of the key areas, was the pavement lights. There were 9no. in total, to which the conservation officer was originally looking to replace them all.  Four of the pavement lights were in relatively good condition, we arranged to only replace the broken glass blocks.   

Whilst resorting the building, wherever possible we re-utilised stone from the original building in order to maintain the Tudor aesthetics. Where this was not possible, we utilised locally sourced materials to maintain the original look as much as possible whilst also presenting a modern feel to the buildings and facilities.

“I have been working with Casey for approximately nine years on a mix of schemes. They are a very good company to work with and I have been continually impressed with the service provided and their team’s attention to detail.

Most recently Casey have been completing the remodelling of a four-storey grade 2 listed building to create apartments on the upper floors and a commercial retail space on the ground floor. I have been consistently impressed by the professionalism, workmanship, community liaison and attention to detail shown by their workforce.  I’ve had excellent feedback from all involved in the scheme.” Sean Dooley, Senior Development Officer, Trafford Housing Trust