Frustration over demolished high street bank

Residents living close to a building which was partially demolished without planning permission have spoken of their frustration over a perceived lack of action.

The demolition of a former Nat West bank in Earlsdon Street, in the Earlsdon conservation area of Coventry, was taking place until the city council served a temporary stop notice in January last year.

The matter is currently with the Planning Inspectorate after the building's owner took it to appeal.

Woodlands councillor Gary Ridley asked the city council if it could understand the frustration of seeing the site abandoned and asked if representations could be made to the Secretary of State to deal with it in a timely manner.

The building, at 34-36 Earlsdon Street, was in a conservation area and permission would have been required before it was demolished.

Traders, shoppers and residents also raised fears about the safety of scaffolding and the structural stability of the adjacent buildings.

On an order preventing further demolition, the city council said "unauthorised development and/or demolition" had been carried out.

Housing and communities cabinet member Naeem Akhtar said: "The appeal is currently with the Secretary of State held in abeyance awaiting the allocation of a planning inspector to determine the appeal.

"It is not appropriate to speculate on what further action may be taken until the outcome of the appeal is known."

Plans for a second storey over an extension at the back of the building was approved on appeal last year, but nothing in the documents for the scheme referred to demolition work at the front.

The stop notice said the building was a "prominent" part of the street and planning permission had not been given for the "substantial" work so far.

Scaffolding and hoardings currently cover the front of the site, concealing where the first floor used to be before the work started.

People on social media called the demolition "disgraceful" and "beyond appalling", with some calling for the property to be rebuilt brick by brick.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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