AN historic building near Wellington has been listed as one of the ten most endangered Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England and Wales by a national charity.

Tonedale Mill, a former woollen textile mill complex, was featured on the Vic-torian Society’s list following a national appeal for nominations.

The site has been earmarked for housing but no development has yet taken place. 

Investment firm Sheikh Holdings is behind a proposed scheme for more than 200 apartments and houses, and on its website proposes a ‘sensitive transformation’ of the mill. 

The County Gazette was unable to contact anyone from the firm at the time of going to press.

Wellington Deputy Mayor Janet Lloyd said: “If it’s done tastefully I think it would be a good idea to re-develop the mill.

“I’ve been here 24 years and they’ve been talking about plans to re-develop it for at least 20 years.

“It’s a lovely building but it’s crumbling and wasting away. I believe there’s something in the pipeline for making it into flats at some point.”

Victorian Society director Chris Costelloe said the number of nominations for the 2014 list shows that people do care about preserving Victorian and Edwardian buildings. 

He said: “Those we selected for the ‘top ten’ are those in the most urgent need of help now but they also illustrate the problems faced by many more buildings around the country. 

“As the economy recovers, it is vital that owners and local authorities redouble their efforts to find new uses for these buildings.

“Victorian and Edwardian architecture makes a huge contribution to the character of places people live in and love.”

Tonedale Mill was established in 1790 by the Fox family and at the time it was the largest integrated mill in the South-West.