Restoration Man

We stood, on that late winter afternoon, just in the shadows behind the old terraced houses on Lambert Street, Hull.

I have known Mr Addy for, well, it is just over 30 years now but I cannot persuade myself to call him by his first name out of respect. He is the only person in the world who calls me Pete.

For a short time in the 1980's we worked in the same building in Hull city centre.

I arrived there as a fresh faced graduate in 1985, coinciding with the Centenary Year of the well known firm of Estate Agents, Surveyors and Property Managers. The company fractured some two years later, not down to anything I did (I think) but down to a combination of a takeover and irreconcilable differences amongst the managing partners.

Mr Addy took his part of the business elsewhere in the city. I stayed on with the new owners and ended up being relocated to another county before returning, within a few years, to become self employed in the property sector.

It was inevitable that I would cross paths with Mr Addy in the course of my Professional work and not a small part down to the fact that I married Allison, whom I had met whilst she worked for him in his side of the original company.

I can say that in the last three decades he has not changed at all in his character and demeanour.

That is quite something to be admired and applauded in what can be quite a mercenary and selfish industry.

On that chilly afternoon meeting I gestured that we should move towards a small patch of sun warmed concrete to make the most of the limited natural warmth. That surge of vitamin D gave a sort of energy boost after what had already been a bit of a long-ish day for both of us and we in turn recalled our experiences in property.

We got onto the subject of old buildings.

Mr Addy has always known a lot of people. He has managed their lettings, given sound advice on what to do and as a consequence has made them better off than they could otherwise have hoped for.

A spin-off is that, naturally, he is offered first refusal on any property interests and that head-start is crucial in what can be a very competitive market.

He cited a case from some years ago.

A longstanding client was thinking of disposing of an old and character double fronted house as part of a winding down to retirement. It stood grandly amongst similar double fronted villas which were built in the 1860's. With a forecourt frontage to a busy tree lined city street it will, in its halcyon days have been the residence of well-to-do merchant family, industrialist or lawyer.

Unfortunately, as a consequence of wartime bombing and subsidence, it was now less than grandly at a precarious angle to its neighbours. It was, in fact, a wreck. A lopsided one at that

Half thinking of the purchase, in a conversation with the City Planners about potential uses for the blighted house mention was made of the availability of funding in the form of Grant aimed at increasing housing units at a time of shortage of accommodation in the inner city.

This initiative could be the saving grace for the old place or rather made it viable to demolish a single dwelling and rebuild on the site a good quality block of flats.

The Council and Planners were thrilled with the idea but not so the Civic Society.

Hull suffered badly from Luftwaffe bombing in the second world war in fact only just behind London and large tracts of housing and infrastructure were damaged.

Mr Addy, in his proposals for redevelopment of the property, was villified in the principal media of the Hull Daily Mail for achieving with this front line property what Hitler had failed to do. That was certainly very harsh.

Although given the Statutory green light it would be a case of vigilant scrutiny of the scheme by the self professed guardians of Hull's civic heritage. They were relentless.

A concession for the new build was that the facade would be an exact replica of the original involving technical and material difficulties.

The Civic Society considered this to be a travesty, an insult to the memory of the old house.

At roofed in stage the Architect for the project was recalled early from his holidays to respond to complaints from the Civic Society that the building was too high. This was defused by the explanation that the original house had actually sunk by a foot into the soft Hull clay subsoils and its reincarnation was authentic to the original elevation and stature.

The guerilla action resumed with added vigour given that the heritage people had been thoroughly belittled and were desperate to regain the moral high ground.

After some months following full completion and grateful occupation by previously homeless tenants a phone call along the lines of "Hello, this is the Hull Civic Society" reached Mr Addy.

Frustration and annoyance turned to a feeling of utter satisfaction as the voice continued " we would like to award your property with this months prestigious Civic Award, it is a splendid conversion and fully justifies acknowledgement".