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Grade II* listed Spider-Man location to be sold

Martin HeathHertfordshire political reporter
News imageChristopher Hilton/Geograph County Hall in Hertford - a red-brick building with arched ground-floor windows and a central tower featuring a cupola, seen on a clear day with a hedge in front of the building and cars parked to the right.Christopher Hilton/Geograph
County Hall in Pegs Lane was opened in 1939

A municipal building used as a location in a recent Spider-Man film and the Grantchester TV series is set to be sold.

County Hall in Hertford was once the county council's largest office site, but most staff based there have relocated to Stevenage.

An Essex-based developer is expected to be chosen as the preferred bidder for the hall, as well as an adjacent manor house, gardens and cricket pitch.

The whole site is likely to become a residential development.

Construction of County Hall in Pegs Lane began in 1937 after the council outgrew the original Shire Hall in Fore Street.

Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of regret when the outbreak of World War Two stopped her fulfilling a promise to formally open the building.

The frontage features a portico with four full-height piers supporting a frieze.

The hall has been used as a location for several film and television productions, including Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the science-fiction drama Silo and the crime series Grantchester.

The council has earned thousands of pounds from filming at the site, but County Hall is costing more than £2m a year to maintain.

Leahoe House was built in the 1870s for a prominent local doctor, George Elin, and was later owned by a convent.

There is also a cricket pitch on the site.

Affordable Housing and Healthcare had expressed an interest in buying Leahoe House, but has since withdrawn.

News imageGoogle A cricket pitch bordered by large trees, with Leahoe House and parked vehicles partly visible in the background. A single-storey brick pavilion is visible to the left, alongside a sight screen. A large country house is visible behind trees.Google
The cricket pitch on the site has been registered as an Asset of Community Value

Hertford Town Council made a bid for the cricket pitch and adjacent woodland, which has been designated an Asset of Community Value.

However, a report to a cabinet meeting on 17 June said the bid should be rejected so the whole site can be sold to a single developer.

The report advises councillors to identify City and County, based in Stansted, as the preferred bidder.

City and County intend to turn the listed buildings on the site into apartments.

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