1:10pm Sunday 29th January 2012
By Manisha Mistry
A HERITAGE group has condemned proposals by Hertfordshire County Council to demolish a historic building in the centre of St Albans.
As part of the plans for the new Alban City primary school, the authority has applied for permission to knock down the Victorian school building, known as the Pemberton block.
It wants to create space behind Hatfield Road to be used as school playing fields. The new city centre free school is due to open in September - inside the former University of Hertfordshire School of Law building.
The block is believed to be the only remaining structure of the city's historic St Albans School for Boys and was built as an extension to the first section built in 1883.
The red brick building is locally listed and falls within the conservation area.
It makes up part of a group of historic buildings including the Museum of St Albans, the Liberal Club and the Peacock public house.
Despite the school opening this year, the application states that more play area will not be needed until at least 2016.
James Hughes, conservation advisor for the Victorian Society, said: "Conservation areas are designed to protect such clusters of buildings and this area will not be enhanced by knocking down one of the group.
"The benefit to the community of a large concrete playground does not outweigh the loss of this attractive and robust Victorian building."
Mr Hughes described the potential demolition of the Pemberton block as an "appalling waste of a structurally sound historic building, and the site calls for a much less destructive solution."
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