Outrage as demolition of Aldington, Craig and Collinge’s ‘Caterpillar’ MLO (Hemel Hempstead) starts without permission

The Society are outraged to hear that demolition of the ‘Caterpillar’ Mechanised Letter Office in Hemel Hempstead has started without permission from Dacorum Borough Council. The Council responded to an application for demolition stating that the demolition of the building could cause a significant impact on the surroundings of the site, the site is not considered to benefit from permitted development rights, and the proposed demolition does not benefit from exception from control.

A report on the building features in the current issue of the Society’s Magazine and the work of Aldington, Craig and Collinge is presented in one of the monographs co-published by the Society, English Heritage and RIBA Publishing, as part of our series Twentieth Century Architects.

The story is being followed by Building Design and the local press. It is worth noting, however, that contrary to certain reports in the local press, the Society has not objected to the creation of new homes. What we have called for is the retention and re-use of this very special building. (For a copy of the Society’s representation to the Council see here: 12.05.09 LETTER from C20 Society to Dacorum BC – objections to proposed demolition)