Council says historic Hemel Hempstead building is 'not for sale' after brochure 'error'

According to the authority, a brochure stating that The Bury, a Grade II listed former wedding and birth certificate site, was made public in error.

Brasier Freeth listed the historic property as being available to purchase on a freehold basis. This could be done either in totality or buyers could bid to purchase individual plots within the 0.693 acre site.

Despite Dacorum Borough Council’s strong denial that the property is up for sale, residents have questioned how such a detailed sales document could have been ready if that was not the agreed plan.

In a statement yesterday the borough council said: “The Bury is not being sold. On the contrary, it is our firm intent that every possible avenue is explored to keep this much-loved building in community/public use.

“No decision has been taken to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of The Bury, and no such proposal is currently before members for consideration. The current exercise is solely intended to test the market, understand potential opportunities and gather evidence to inform future discussions.

“Our instruction to the appointed agent was to seek expressions of interest regarding the future use and sustainability of The Bury. The description of the property as "for sale" did not reflect those instructions and was published in error.

“As soon as we became aware of the issue late on Monday night (7 September 2026), we took immediate steps to remove all references to the incorrect information. We have taken the decision to discontinue the current commission with this third party agent and will update our future plans in the near future.

“In the interests of transparency, this was simply a human error. There was no intention to mislead, and the information relating to the sale of The Bury was incorrect.”

At the time of writing the housing agency has not responded to the council’s claims. Many residents have taken to social media to question the council’s version of events.

One told The Hemel Hempstead Gazette: “If the brochure did not reflect the Council’s instructions, residents deserve to know what instructions Brasier Freeth was actually given, who supplied the information used to create the brochure, and what Council review or sign-off process should have taken place before it was published.”

They said the publication of the article raised wider concerns around how such an important asset could be wrongly listed as for sale on the council’s behalf. And said the incident could not be dismissed as a simple “typo” given the level of detail within the document.

The Dacorum Heritage Trust revealed in July that it was hoping to takeover the site and use it as a home for the borough’s archives. When asked about the not-for-profit organisation’s proposals two months ago, the borough council said it was reviewing “a range of options”.

Other nostalgic residents said in response to the council this week, that they still hoped it could return to its previous role as a wedding and birth certificate site.

Some shared their happy memories using the venue for momentous family occasions.