However, he has turned down the application to list the Gatehouse at St. Anne’s College, Oxford.
John Penrose said: “Post war buildings can, more than others, divide opinion. The ‘test of time’ cannot be rushed, so the minister – me on this occasion – has to weigh the advice of experts and, where there is no clear consensus, find a way through that helps protect what’s truly excellent. My decision to list Milton Keynes Shopping Centre and to reject calls to de-list important modern buildings in Coventry and Sheffield demonstrates this. These are interesting and eye-catching buildings that clearly merit the extra protection that comes with listed status.
They are not, of course, guaranteed immortality. The point of listing is to make sure that, if plans come forward in the future to demolish or redevelop them, the locally-elected decision makers are made fully aware of the buildings’ importance.”
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