Rogue developers demolishing listed buildings in Northern Ireland

It seems that some developers are a little unscrupulous in Northern Ireland, and it's forcing the government to consider new laws to stop them destroying listed or historical buildings in the hope of having them demolished.

The thinking behind this destruction is simple. Due to the existing laws in Northern Ireland, it's possible to render a building unsafe usually by way of fire, have it demolished, and then replace it with profitable new builds. Some developers have decided this is a very good way of doing business and at least 11 listed or historic buildings have been lost in this way.

The government aims to stop such practices and is considering a new law that could turn out to be very expensive for these rogue developers. If brought into effect, the new law would see any historically important building being made unsafe having to be rebuilt to look exactly the same. For a developer, that would most likely bankrupt them due to the high costs involved.

For the moment countermeasures are being taken to at least record the crimes properly. The police and Environmental Agency will work together to record crimes against historical landmarks and take the appropriate action to protect any materials from such locations as well as prosecute those who destroyed said buildings.

Source: BBC News