Guest and Chrimes must stay

IN reply to Terry Canadine’s letter of November 14, I think I made in clear in my letter of October 31 that I think the Guest and Chrimes building is of benefit to Rotherham, I even gave examples of towns that had found good use for similar buildings.

Many of us do not want just a plaque and a small display in Riverside to remind us how great this town used to be! A plaque to Doncaster Gate, a plaque to the Walkers, while the sites they occupied are swept away. Terry doubted if anybody under the age of 30 knows anything about the company, as though that is a reason to demolish. On that basis we could probably just get rid of everything.

Why do some people call Guest and Chrimes an eyesore? Is it because they view the part of the building that was exposed because they demolished the part of the building that was not listed? Have a walk round to the front, look through the neglect, look at the photos of the real fabric of the building and you will see why it is listed.

English Heritage was created to preserve our historic buildings for the future, not to let them be demolished in the name of so called ‘progress’ because someone with no vision wants to put up temporary buildings in its place.

I agree Tony Stewart should get together with English Heritage and discuss how a grade II listed building can work for future generations, as he and his architect seem to be struggling.

Nora Platt, Laudsdale Road, Rotherham