First Hearing Held in Hopwood Hall Estate Ltd v Rochdale Council Case

The first court hearing between Hopwood Hall Estate Ltd and Rochdale Council took place today at Manchester Civil Justice Centre, marking the opening stage of a legal dispute that is now expected to proceed to a full two-day hearing.

The hearing began at approximately 3:15pm and lasted around one hour. The defendant, Rochdale Council, presented its case first, outlining what it described as valid reasons for ongoing delays in correspondence with Mr DePree and his legal representatives. The council sought to justify periods of limited communication and addressed concerns raised prior to the case being brought before the court.

Mr DePree’s legal team then presented the claimant’s arguments, also putting forward a number of substantive points. They explained why the matter had escalated to legal proceedings, citing what they described as a prolonged lack of communication from Rochdale Council. During submissions, reference was also made to alleged neglect and the deteriorating condition of Hopwood Hall Estate.

Separately, Hopwood Radio has received documentation stating that permission to use certain photographs relating to the estate neglect has been withdrawn by the copyright holder any unauthorised use of these images could result in a separate copyright infringement claim against Mr DePree.

After hearing submissions from both sides, the presiding judge commented that Mr DePree should have adopted a more neutral approach in his dealings with Rochdale Council, which the judge said he had failed to do. The judge also noted that Rochdale Council should have engaged in more consistent and meaningful communication with Mr DePree.

Due to the volume of evidence and documentation involved, the judge ordered that the case be allocated to a two-day hearing. The court stated that there are multiple issues requiring further examination, making the case more complex than initially anticipated.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the court’s position was that, at this stage, both parties could have acted more neutrally and communicated more effectively, and that shortcomings were apparent on both sides.

Following the hearing, volunteers associated with the case gave interviews to BBC North West. However, one volunteer later claimed they felt excluded and marginalised due to an internal disagreement within the volunteer group.

The volunteer said:

“I attended the hearing to support Mr DePree and fellow volunteers, as I have been working alongside him since the day he arrived in the UK, and even before a volunteer group was formally established. I now feel I have been pushed aside and ignored due to an internal dispute I am not in a position to disclose. While a couple of people spoke to me, others did not acknowledge my presence at all and gave me the cold shoulder.”

The case will now proceed to a full two-day hearing at a later date, where the court will consider the evidence in greater detail and examine the issues raised by both parties. No date has yet been confirmed for the next hearing.

Hopwood Radio understands that neither Hopwood Hall Estate Ltd nor Rochdale Council wished to make further comment following today’s proceedings.

Further updates will be published as more information becomes available, subject to any reporting restrictions imposed by the court.

— The case continues.