Lavish house - for a cool £4m

IT is the quintessential English country house, built in the 1930s when lifestyles were lavish and land not a problem, and for the last 40 years it has been the home of Sir Neil Westbrook.

The former Lord Mayor of Manchester decided to sell following the death of his wife last year and has moved to the Isle of Man after marrying again this spring.

When he became a Conservative Mayor, Sir Neil, 88, famously said he wanted to see an end to slum living but recently found himself in conflict with the current town hall administration over a dilapidated building he owned on Princess Street.

After much wrangling and many threats, the building has been demolished and work has begun on a new office block.

As for his house, the magnificent White Gables, it would seem that little has been done to it since he moved there in 1963.

The house still has the original round pin electric wiring and original plumbing system, and the bathrooms and kitchen have not been updated.

Outside there are the remains of what was an outdoor swimming pool and a lawn tennis court.

The estate agents admit that White Gables does need substantial amounts of work to bring it up to modern standards.

Even so, it has a price tag of £4m which indicates not only a huge belief that the top end of the market is still strong in the north west, but also that properties in such a fantastic setting rarely come along.

The house is just outside Prestbury, down a private drive bordered by chestnut trees that leads to a gravelled courtyard.

It has six acres of grounds with formal lawns stretching behind the house to a rose garden, more lawns a pond, orchards and woodland walks.

So just who is going to be in the market for buying such an expensive pad with such massive potential?

The house is being marketed by Knight Frank's Country House department in London.

According to the agent's spokesman, Henry Heaton, the buyer could come from anywhere in the country or even abroad.

He said: "This sort of property is so rare it will attract interest from all sorts of people. It is in a prime location, close to Manchester airport and the motorways but also has six acres of the most wonderful grounds.

"It will be a wonderful package when it is refurbished. Maybe one of the Cheshire footballers would be interested in taking it on and creating a unique home. It would be an amazing project."

As well as the five-bedroomed main house, and the grounds there is a separate coach house.

This is currently used as an office that would make a perfect self-contained living space for a housekeeper or nanny.

More information from Knight Frank on 020 7629 8171.