25/09/2018
Varley House gets a mention today in the Daily Telegraph
see article below
Damien Hirst accused of 'killing' Devon town's quayside by leaving seafront shops empty for years
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Damien Hirst owns three empty properties in Ilfracombe, Devon
Damien Hirst owns three empty properties in Ilfracombe, Devon
Gareth Davies
24 September 2018 • 12:43pm
Angry traders have condemned artist Damien Hirst for 'killing' the quayside of a Devon town where his statue Verity stands.
The world's richest living artist, thought to be worth more than £200million, owns three properties on the prime seaside location in Ilfracombe, but they are all empty.
A local business owner has described the covered-up shop windows as "eyesores" and claims the world-renowned artist is "abandoning" the town.
Hirst hast a long-established connection with Ilfracombe, running restaurant on the prime location of The Quay, and in 2012 he loaned the then tallest statue in Britain - Verity - to the town for 20 years.
On the coveted street, number 11 - the restaurant named The Quay - is Hirst's only business with its doors open. He also owns numbers eight, nine and 10.
Nick Waters, landlord of the Hip and Pistol pub and restaurant in Ilfracombe, accused the artist of killing the town by leaving them empty, and Rod Catfield, chairman of the Ilfracombe Tourism Association, wants the artist to open the businesses back up, or sell them on.
Numbers eight, nine and 10 The Quay in Ilfracombe, which are owned by artist Damien Hirst
Numbers eight, nine and 10 The Quay in Ilfracombe, which are owned by artist Damien Hirst Credit: Devon Live/SWNS
Mr Catfield, chairman of the Ilfracombe Tourism Association, said that although the artist has boosted tourism in the town, his vacant properties are potentially damaging.
In keeping with Hirst's legacy, the tourism chief wants the walls and windows of the businesses to act as billboards, selling walks and other attractions the town has to offer.
He told The Telegraph: "Commercial properties, not only in The Quay but in the High Street as well, they're sought after.
"If they are going to stay empty, what would be nice is if, instead of them looking horrible, would be to utilise them as a way of advertising - like advertisement murals for tourism.
"That's the sort of thing I'd like to see and I think that's the type of thing we need in the town."
Hirst, who has a home five miles from Ilfracombe in Combe Martin and also runs a workshop at Mullacott Cross, a five-minute drive inland.
Number 10 The Quay, formerly housed the Other Criteria art gallery and shop, which is owned by Hirst. But the gallery closed in September, leaving the prominent outlet vacant with whited-out windows.
The ground floor premises at numbers eight and nine have been empty for several years. The Verity statue, which depicts a pregnant woman, will remain at the town until 2032.
Damien Hirst's Verity statue
Damien Hirst's Verity statue Credit: PA
When it was erected, to a mixed reaction, it was the country's tallest statue at 20.25m tall, nudging the Angel of the North into second place. But The Kelpies in Scotland, featuring two horse heads, have since surpassed them both at 30m.
On the impact the artist has had on Ilfracombe, Mr Catfield said locals' opinion of the artist remains mixed.
"You get both sides. Some people love Verity, others don't. But what Damien Hirst has done to the town is that he's brought an influx of art galleries and that's been good for us."
Popularity soared enough for Wetherspoons to want to open a branch in the seaside town - something Mr Catfield believes drove up standards across the board in order for competitors to keep up the pace.
And in a message to Hirst, the tourism chairman who also runs the Varley House Guesthouse in the town, said: "I'd urge you to continue to support us, because we need you. Get them opened up or sell them on."
Mr Waters, landlord of the Hip and Pistol, is one of those competing against Wetherspoons, and said: "These shops are in the busiest part of the town, yet they've been shut for years. I don't understand how someone so rich and so famous can just leave them there doing nothing.
"There are so many businesses who would snap them up, properties on the quay are at a premium. Over the past few years loads of art galleries have opened in the town and are doing really well.
"I don't know why someone with a massive statue just down the road would close a shop that was selling all of his own stuff."
The landlord described the unoccupied shops as an "eyesore", and added: "People use that word about other parts of the town, and although these buildings are well-maintained, they make the place look bad.
"If it were four shops in the high street that were vacant, the council or someone else would be doing something about it - so why not these?
"The whole town is going through a real revival at the moment, it's doing really well.
"But something needs to be done - they either need to be re-opened, let out to someone who will put them to use or sold so someone else can do something with them."
Nick Waters, landlord of the Hip and Pistol pub and restaurant in Ilfracombe, points at the empty buildings
Nick Waters, landlord of the Hip and Pistol pub and restaurant in Ilfracombe, points at the empty buildings Credit: Devon Live/SWNS
A spokesman for Hirst's company Science Ltd, said: "The properties are currently under renovation with a view to being leased in the future."
A notice for a planning application has since been posted outside the properties owned by Mr Hirst.
The application requests the change of use of the ground floor of 9 The Quay, two doors down from Mr Hirst's restaurant, from residential to retail.
