By Julian Whittle Political editor

Last updated at 21:10, Monday, 31 March 2008

CULTURE Minister Margaret Hodge has decided against listing demolition-threatened buildings in Carlisle’s Rickergate.

What next? A Government inspector said the plans to bulldoze public buildings and homes in Warwick Street would have ‘serious consequences’ for residents

And she has turned down a request from MP Eric Martlew to list the head post office in Warwick Road.

Listed status protects buildings from the bulldozers.

Liberal Democrat city councillor Olwyn Luckley applied to have buildings in Rickergate listed in 2006, in response to Carlisle Renaissance plans to redevelop the area.

Her submission covered Adriano’s Restaurant, the former police station, the magistrates’ court, fire station and homes in Warwick Street.

English Heritage assessed these 1940s structures and also considered listing the Civic Centre as a classic example of a 1960s office block.

But the Department for Culture Media and Sport has confirmed that none had made the grade so far.

Mrs Hodge is, however, still considering a file on the possible future of the fire station. A decision has also not yet been taken on houses in Warwick Street.

The ruling is a setback for Save Our Streets campaigners opposed to the demolition of homes in Warwick Street.

And it is a boost for the city council’s Renaissance scheme to bulldoze the area to make way for a square with shops, offices and a hotel.

Those plans could still be jeopardised if the fire station is listed or if the findings of the local plan inquiry, due to be published by April 14, go against the council.

English Heritage’s report on the Civic Centre describes the layout as “unbalanced”.

It says: “Unlike the recently-listed Plymouth Civic Centre of a similar date, it did not form the centrepiece of a newly-designed landscape but sits almost awkwardly on the periphery of the city amid a varied townscape.”

It adds that an original decorative ceiling and water sculpture on the ground floor have been lost.

The report on the police station and magistrates’ court is equally dismissive. It says the filling in of two open courtyards and the addition of modern extensions has changed the building’s form.

Flood damage in 2005 led to the abandonment of the police station and the “removal of virtually all its associated fixtures and fittings”.

The Edwardian post office in Warwick Road is “architecturally indistinguished” and “too altered internally to recommend listing”.

Inspectors conceded, however, that it has “an imposing classical façade”.

The building’s future is now in doubt. It will close when counters transfer to WH Smith in English Street in May.

Royal Mail has said it will sell the premises but because they are in the city-centre conservation area, any buyer will need planning permission to knock them down.

Mr Martlew said he would study English Heritage’s findings before deciding if he should appeal against the decision not to list it. He added: “The important thing is to preserve the façade.”

First published at 13:16, Monday, 31 March 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk