North Kesteven District Council approves demolition of West Banks in Sleaford which forced closure of Westgate Car Park

A structurally unsafe building which forced the closure of a nearby car park will be demolished.

North Kesteven District Council planners have approved knocking down 12 West Banks, which is owned by the nearby Rose Cottage Dental Practice, next to the Westgate Car Park in Sleaford.

The car park was forced to close in March after the building was discovered to be unsafe, with the eastern flank now detached from the building and causing a crack that could see it collapse at any moment.

In the interest of public safety, a decision was made to fence off the car park until further notice, and due to it being situated inside a conservation area, planning permission was required for demolition works to get the go-ahead.

It appeared a fairly routine decision for the committee, with all members unanimously supporting demolition rather than watching the building fall apart on its own.

Coun Ian Carrington (Con) said the building was “in the process of demolishing itself” anyway, and Coun Lindsey Cawrey (Con) said “its time has come”.

This followed a presentation by structural engineer Martin Osbourne, an agent for the applicant of this demolition — Rose Cottage Dental Practice — in which he reiterated the importance of reopening the car park “as soon as possible”.

He cited the recent closure of Southgate car park and the pending closure of the Market Place for pedestrianisation works on July 19.

However, the ward councillor for Sleaford Westholme at NKDC, Ann Mear (Lincs Ind) took the stand to say the building “took my breath away” with how “stunning” it was when she first inspected the area.

Raising a point of order during the debate, council leader Richard Wright (Con), the council leader said: “It’s not safe, it’s not proper and can’t be retrieved, so it’s just sat there and will fall down at some stage. Let’s make sure it’s knocked down safely.”

Demolition of the building was approved by councillors, but a timescale on works, completion and when the car park may reopen are as yet unclear. As of Wednesday afternoon, the building is still in situ.