Residents furious as 'historic stone wall' is demolished by builders
RESIDENTS of a "beautiful and ancient" uphill road called in city planners after builders demolished what householders believe to be a remnant of medieval Lincoln.
Work has been under way on a new house at the end of the narrow James Street, off Eastgate, since June last year – but recently, builders took down an old stone wall and replaced it with a new one that has a block-work core.
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Residents of James Street, Lincoln, are not happy that the old wall was knocked down and is now being replaced with a new one.
That led worried neighbours to fear a precedent was being set that could see more people take down aspects of the city's heritage.
Former commercial property developer Norman Woodings, 89, who lives only yards from the wall, in Cottesford Place, said: "I don't know how anyone can do this in a preservation area without protest.
"This doesn't look like conservation – it's devastation.
"It looks like they've been able to knock down a 400 to 500-year-old wall just to make it easier to unload their lorries.
"I know somewhere under my garden is part of the old Roman baths and when one of my neighbours wanted to build a new path we had to have full archaeological surveys.
"And when another wall fell down in James Street about three years ago, English Heritage gave a grant so craftsmen from the cathedral could come and rebuild it.
"But this looks like a precedent to clear all the old walls in Lincoln."
However, at a site visit yesterday, Simon Cousins, a development control team leader at the City of Lincoln Council, moved to allay fears, telling worried residents the work had planning permission and had been deemed the best solution for the area.
He said: "Before any works, the builders supplied plans with reports from a structural engineer, and we consulted with English Heritage.
"The wall was crumbling – there was a buttress, but the wall had moved three or four inches away from it, so it wasn't doing anything and the stone, which was like Victorian garden wall stone, was shattered into pieces.
"This solution has been particularly designed for the circumstances."
Yet the removal of the wall has not been the only concern for neighbours.
A swathe of hedge has been chopped down and a new green, wooden fence now rises more than 10 feet high in its place. The fence does not have planning permission.
Councillor David Gratrick, chairman of the council's planning committee, said he was considering calling in the retrospective application for the fence.
He said: "I've nothing against the property that's being built, but you've got to adhere to the planning conditions.
"But this is not just an ordinary building site, this is one of the most beautiful and ancient parts of Lincoln."
The owners of the site, Mr and Mrs Carr, and their principle contractors CBH Construction were not available for comment.
7 Comments
by bob, lincoln
Monday, November 22 2010, 8:14PM
“After reading this article, i walked down James street today and do not know what all the fuss is about.
Apparently the wall in the above article had become unsafe and such drastic measures had to be taken. as you can see from the picture above the stone has perished. i was told the back of the wall had moved out of plumb by more than 300mm. Should they have waited till some one is injured or killed before they can do something about it.
Most of the walls on James street have had work carried out on them over the years but may be not this one and that is why it was in such a bad way.
The cost of the work involved will be massive and i do not think they would go to all this trouble to unload their lorries. very funny though. The wall is going to be built out of stone again so maybe people should wait till its finished before commenting.
This house was built in place of a brick built derelict house that stood empty and uncared for. The new house is built from stone with a slate roof and is with in keeping with the "beautiful and ancient" street. Give it five years to tone down and it will look like its always been there.
As for conservation ¿ its devastation, someone needs to do something about the brick built houses that have been allowed to be built down there. They truly are a crime and stick out like a sore thumb.
Thanks to the workers for giving me five minuets of there time today, my mind is at rest and look foreword to seeing it finished”
by That, says it all
Sunday, November 21 2010, 10:36AM
“He's an English Democrat, Gnome.”
by Gnome Chomsky, James Street
Saturday, November 20 2010, 9:38PM
“Nice conspiracy theory, Colin. Not sure who 'they' are - presumably the people who no longer deliver the Target are the ones who contravene planning law?
As for the evil bureaucrats at ELDC - fancy putting all planning applications in one easy-to-find place! Surely they should hide them in various dark corners of the website, maybe under a false name?”
by Phil, Lincoln
Saturday, November 20 2010, 1:27PM
“It looks like another case of somebody having a nice big house with a nice big established garden and seeing nothing but pound signs. Flog half the garden with a nice new completely out of place house on it, make a mint, and then flog the house theyr'e in and buy another one with a nice big garden and lovely views. Then shove another new house in the garden, flog it for a mint then move on again. I don't know how the hell anyone would ever get planning permission to build a new house in this historical area of the city. I'll bet the only property to be getting ruined views is the owners old house therefore nobody would object on those grounds and they won't give a damn because they'll be on their way with a tidy sum in the bank. And I wouldn't dream of mentioning the "its not what you know, its who you know" saying.”
by Colin Mair, Coningsby
Saturday, November 20 2010, 9:23AM
“In case after case builders get planning permission, contravene the conditions and then apply for and get retrospective planning approval. Note that when somebody applies for retrospective planning approval there seems to be no obligation for the Planning Department to inform residents, as they do for the initial planning application.
Then add to this the fact that they have stopped delivering the previously free issue Target newspaper, which is where they publish all planning applications, and there is much less chance of us finding out about applications.
Then go on to the planning web page at ELDC and you will see all the applications bundled in a large pdf file, which it takes forever to search through.
Smells like a conspiracy to me!”
by Emma, Lincoln
Saturday, November 20 2010, 9:17AM
“"This is an appalling defiance of all that planning departments are supposed to prevent."
No it isn't.
"These people have been allowed to ride roughshod over the conservation needs of the City."
No they haven't.
"They should be made to restore the wall as near as humanly possible to its original condition, remove their vile fence and replant a suitable hedgerow."
No they shouldn't.
Try actually reading the entire article, instead of just taking in the headline and having a frothgasm.”
by David, Lincoln
Saturday, November 20 2010, 8:17AM
“This is an appalling defiance of all that planning departments are supposed to prevent. These people have been allowed to ride roughshod over the conservation needs of the City. They should be made to restore the wall as near as humanly possible to its original condition, remove their vile fence and replant a suitable hedgerow.”