The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
‘Let’s have some old Peterborough left’
“For goodness’ sake, let’s have some old Peterborough left,” wrote one of 22 objectors to plans to tear down a centuryold building in Walton.
Plans to demolish the house at 1073 Lincoln Road were submitted on 25 April, but have attracted the attention of local residents more recently all objections were filed on 10th and 11th May.
Planning documents state that the applicant, WAM Properties Ltd, wishes for the site, including outbuildings, greenhousesandsheds,tobelevelled and topsoiled between June and August this year.
They add that the building has “structural damage” resulting in leaning and cracked walls and sloped floors.
“Services and fittings are old and inappropriate,” the application continues. “Plaster on walls and ceilings has deteriorated due to damp and leaks and falling from the walls, etc.”
But to tear it down would be an “act of vandalism”, according to one objector, while anothersaysitwould“destroy that beautiful secluded corner of the busy Lincoln Road”.
A common theme running through all of the objections is that the building is one of the few remaining old buildings in the area and should be protected.
Several objectors pointed out that 1073 Lincoln Road appears in Peterborough City Council’s (PCC) emerging list of heritage assets which are
considered "important to Peterborough and its surrounding villages”.
While PCC doesn’t have any additional powers to protect the assets in the list,
there “will be a presumption against the demolition of any locally listed buildings”, it states on its website.
“Please do not demolish this beautiful, historic building. It is one of the few remaining old buildings in Walton,” another objector wrote.
“To demolish it would be to erase even more of the identity of the area. The house is also listed in the Local List of Heritage Assets in Peterborough December 2020. Surely we should be doing everything we can to preserve our heritage, not eradicate it.”
“It is heartbreaking and would be a crying shame should it go ahead,” another added.
"I was born in Werrington and remember this house from a very small child which was 50 years ago now," wrote another. "It's outrageous that it is even being considered."