PROTESTORS fighting to save a historic building in Darlington have had a cheeky dig at their opponents.

Architects John Ellis and Neil Anderson were among the first to object to plans by Darlington Building Society to demolish the Chesterfield building and replace it with flats.

The plans were eventually withdrawn, but a revised scheme was submitted last week, by a subsidiary of the society, involving demolition of the corner house, in Stanhope Road, which was built in 1914.

In a letter to The Northern Echo, Mr Ellis and Mr Anderson claim the applicants view planning chiefs as "deaf, dumb and blind and all suffering from amnesia".

The architects, who run a design and planning consultancy in Duke Street, illustrate in a cartoon how building society chiefs are taking a sledgehammer to the Chesterfield.

They believe the building can be converted into a domestic use without demolition, and have produced sketches to alter it into ten flats.

However, Darlington Building Society says it would cost too much to renovate it.

Its subsidiary, Darlington Homes, wants to knock down the Chesterfield and replace it with 18 three-storey flats, instead of the original 15 included in the first scheme.

Those against the demolition of the Chesterfield argue that the building enhances the character of the local area and is in a good enough condition to be maintained.

To demolish the building would set a precedent for future developments in conservation areas, they claim.

The Chesterfield has been used by Darlington College of Technology in recent years as classrooms.

The plans are to be considered by councillors on December 5