Heritage enthusiasts are angry that a vandalised listed building has been removed by Leicester City Council – without planning permission.
Workmen took away the remains of the small, 19th century brick allotment building off Fosse Road North, Leicester, yesterday.
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The shed at Fosse Allotments, Leicester
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The rare, grade II-listed building, which is owned by the council, had been vandalised for more than a decade until a pile of bricks remained.
In its heyday, it would have been used by Victorian families to socialise in when they spent the day at their allotment.
Stuart Bailey, chairman of Leicester Civic Society, said the vandalism, and the council’s removal of the remains, were a “disgrace”.
“What a complete mess-up,” he said. “This was an important part of Victorian social history and now it’s gone. Members will be very upset when they find out.”
English Heritage said owners of listed buildings were obliged to keep them in a good condition. People are also required to apply for planning permission to make changes to listed buildings that might “affect their special interest”.
Mr Bailey added: “The council has been aware this building has been vandalised for years. It ought to have protected it before it got to the stage where it was a pile of bricks.
“It ought to check if these places are listed and follow the rules, before making changes.”
The removal came less than three weeks after city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby announced his Story of Leicester project – which promises to cherish the city’s history and heritage.
“It is no use the city mayor pontificating about how we are going to save our heritage while things like this are going on,” Mr Bailey added.
The city council said it had put up fences to ward off vandals, but the building’s secluded location meant it was a “difficult site to safeguard”.
Sir Peter said: “We have taken the remains somewhere safe, to review if we can recreate the shed in a different place.”
He would not give an answer when asked by the Mercury whether planning permission had been sought for the removal.
He said: “I wanted action from my officers, and I think the point is they acted quickly when they found out what state it was in.”
When asked why more was not done sooner to protect the building, he said: “I think that is exactly the kind of question I have been asking about many of our historic buildings, which is why we are going to learn from the mistakes of the last elected group.”
The Mercury was not able to find an application for planning permission on the city council’s planning applications database.
When we asked the authority’s press office, a spokesman said: “Listed building consent will be sought retrospectively for the removal of the shed remains.”
English Heritage said carrying out unauthorised works to a listed building was a criminal offence. It is up to the relevant local authority to decide whether to fine the owner. In this case both the owner and the local authority is Leicester City Council.
An English Heritage spokesman said the city council had spoken to it about moving the building in 2005, and it had advised that was “not ideal”.