The sentencing of four young men who set fire to a historic manor house has been postponed after a judge said he was not satisfied with the information before the court.
The Grade II*-listed Rheola House in the Neath Valley was severely damaged in the arson attack on August 18, and its future remains unclear. Five teenagers have admitted starting the fire.
Prosecution unable to provide damage figure
Four of the arsonists – Kyle Renzoni, Ellis Harding, Yian Foster, and Evan Traynor – had been due to be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Monday, but the court heard the prosecution had been unable to obtain a figure for the value of the damage caused in the blaze.
Prosecutor Sian Cutter told the court that the prosecution had requested an "ultimate valuation" of the damage and had "repeatedly chased" the figure without success. The only figure available was from a senior operations manager with the company that owns the site, who said in a victim impact statement that the cost "runs into the millions".
Defence challenges valuation basis
Barristers for the defendants urged the court not to proceed to sentence based on the figure in the victim statement. David Singh, for Renzoni, said the figure had not been independently arrived at and that the company must have documents showing the value of the property and the costs of any repairs carried out.
Judge Geraint Walters said the value of the damage was one element he had to take into account when reaching the correct sentence and said that, as matters stood, he did not think it was safe to proceed to sentence.
New sentencing date set
The judge said he would give the prosecution two weeks to obtain a figure and share it with the defence teams, setting a sentencing date of November 6. Miss Cutter said the owners would be told "they have that time and that time only" to provide the necessary documents.
Renzoni, 18, of Bryn Catwg, Cadoxton, Neath; Harding, 19, of Rhos Road, Gendros, Swansea; Foster, 18, of John Street, Resolven, Neath Valley; and Traynor, 18, of Brithwen Road, Waunarlwydd, Swansea, have all previously pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. The defendants were further remanded into custody until November 6.
The court heard that a 17-year-old boy from Dowlais in Merthyr Tydfil, who cannot be named due to his age, is being dealt with at Youth Court.
Historic property's future unclear
Rheola House – built between 1812 and 1818 – was one of Wales' most treasured properties and was designed by the architect John Nash, whose work includes designs for London's Marble Arch, the redesign of Buckingham Palace, and the remodelling of Brighton's Royal Pavilion. The house was awarded the higher level star listing by Cadw as "an important early 19th-century country house in the picturesque tradition".
The property is currently owned by The Brook Group, which had plans to turn it into a hotel, spa, and leisure complex.
