The Old Forge

The Parish Council is aware that recently there has been some discussion/comments around the Old Forge (located on the Green) particularly via the North Waltham Village WhatsApp group. We thought therefore that it might be helpful for the Parish Council to clarify the current situation of the building. We are very conscious that the Forge which is situated in a prominent part of the village is not being maintained and is perhaps not currently living up to its full charm, however the building is in fact privately owned. As such, the Parish Council does not have any authority over what happens to the building. That being said, we have on a number of occasions tried to contact the owners in regard to its condition but unfortunately to no avail. As a consequence, we have also flagged up the building with Basingstoke and Deane Council under their empty homes scheme however since the location is not a domestic property, they are reasonably limited in what they can do. BDBC have however approached the owners to enquire into plans for the building so we hope that this may lead to some improvements in the Forge’s condition.