Tilty Mill - Essex

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Tillty Mill is an early 18th Century 3 storey watermill in the Essex village of Tilty.

It was extended in the 19th Century and most of the machinery dates from this time

1937 water colour of the mill by Walter E. Spradbery (1889-1969)

In 2007 planning permission was submitted to develop the Grade II* listed mill into residential dwelings.

The battle that followed went all the way to the Secretary of State

The old grade two listed building located near to Duton Hill had fallen into disrepair following many years of neglect but land owners Mr and Mrs Collison proposed to convert it into luxury housing.

The proposal was met with fierce opposition from local residents and trusts who want to turn the mill into a working museum or visitor centre, but a planning application was approved by Uttlesford District Council in March 2007.

Local campaigner Peter Rolph from Abbey View in Duton Hill was one of the leading campaigners who attended a two day consultation in October last year.
He said: "We managed to get a consultation by appealing against the Uttlesford Council decision. They just agreed to grant planning permission without even looking properly at the site."

The consultation resulted in the application being thrown out on appeal on the grounds that the grade two listed building was an important historical site and any major development work would be a threat to its future.

Mr Rolph spoke of his delight that the application had been rejected and has approached the owners with a sum of £10,000 to take control of the mill's future.

He said: "There appears to be nothing that the owners can do with the mill other than let it fall completely into disrepair.

"It is listed so they cannot knock it down or sell it for any massive amount of money. I want to restore the mill back to its former glory."

The old mill still has all its main components and although no water flows through the area at the moment, Mr Rolph said that a sluice gate further upstream can be removed to allow water to power the mill once more.

He said: "I used to play there when I was just a 10-year-old boy, I'm 65 now and firmly believe that something amazing can be done with that building.

Mr Rolph has offered that cash because he has a vested interest in the area after growing up around the mill.