Residents upset at plan to demolish control tower (From Swindon Advertiser)

Residents upset at plan to demolish control tower

7:20pm Friday 22nd October 2010 in Local By Emma Dunn

A PIECE of Wroughton’s heritage is set to be knocked down despite protests from some local residents.

The Science Museum has been granted permission to demolish a second world war control tower, which they say is unsafe.

Wroughton Parish Council has said it is disappointed at the decision and is worried about the future of other buildings on the airfield.

Talis Fairbourn, chairwoman of the parish council, said: “It’s a piece of Wroughton’s history and heritage and the science museum have said in the past they would keep these things there.

“We feel it’s a crying shame, it goes against what the science museum should be about.”

She said most people they had spoken to were disappointed it was being demolished.

“It’s very important, it should be kept. It was before my time but we have lived with and grown up with people who have been through the war. It is important to hold on to our heritage, we have only got so much of it left,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the science museum said: “The Science Museum acknowledges that the airfield is a valuable part of local history and wishes to preserve and celebrate the site where possible. However, as the infrastructure has proven to be unsafe, the museum has come to this decision in order to protect the health and safety of staff working on the site.

“The demolition work is part of an ongoing programme of remediation works on a number of the second world war structures in the airfield on our Wroughton site. These works are designed to improve the storage facilities which house many of the Science Museum’s world-class collections of historical objects.

“The Science Museum applied for demolition consent through Swindon Borough Council Planning Department to undertake these works and the application was approved with no formal objections.”

A spokesman for Swindon Council said the museum was granted permission to demolish the tower on August 10.

He said: “English Heritage was informed because some people did believe it was worth saving.

#English Heritage didn’t come through within the 28 days and we have taken from that that they are happy to see it demolished. Unless it is listed there is nothing we can do.”