18 The police were dismayed to discover that the beasts were stolen from a listed Grade II fountain, the ownership of which was in dispute. The fountain is located in the boundary wall of St Nicholas's Church and the Vicar, not wishing to repair the fountain, claims that the fountain is owned by the City Council. This is denied by the City Council which is too hard up to accept ownership either. The police also discovered that other than by obtaining a valuation from Sotheby's in Chester it was almost impossible to value the stolen beasts. The problem was solved when the City Conservation Officer gave the police a copy of the Statutory List, and the police were then able to prosecute under S.55 of the Town & Country Planning Act. Perhaps Enforcement Officers throughout the country will now take heart to prevent the spread of what appears to be a major epidemic of stripping out the interiors of listed buildings prior to "renovation". Micky King is with Liverpool City Council. B,oB HORTICULTURAL SALVAGE: THE DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL EXPERIENCE Keith Murray peers through the undergrowth. The first inkling I had came from one of my colleagues shortly after I joined the County Council. "By the way, one of your responsibilities will be running the County architectural salvage scheme". Sounds interesting, I thought, and also potentially very worthwhile. A few days later I was taken out to see the storage yard which is at Toronto - Co. Durham, not Canada. The yard is an area adjacent to a former 18th century walled garden, now occupied by the Council's Nursery Section, an area of approximately ¼ acre of land which at first sight appeared to contain nothing but a dense undergrowth of nettles, couch grass and willowherb. "The best time to see it is in the winter", said, my colleague, "when the weeds have died back". After some careful examination, certain objects could be discerned in the undergrowth; here some Dales stone roofing slabs, there a few granite CONTEXT24
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=