The Nottingham owner of a famous Oxford property with a 25ft shark sticking out of its roof has spoken of his fury over the council decision to add it to the city heritage register, The Nottingham Post reports.
image: SGBailey at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
‘…What the councillors do is irrelevant to the message and structure itself. So in a sense, it almost does not matter…’
The Nottingham Post writes:
The current owner, who inherited the quirky building from his dad, hoped until the last minute for a different outcome. Dr Magnus Hanson-Heine, a University of Nottingham chemistry researcher told Nottinghamshire Live: “It is really sad – it is just a very unfortunate decision, and unpleasant one. Ultimately, they [the city council] do not understand what it is. And I think they have gone ahead and done some harm…”
But Dr Hanson-Heine’s heartbreak is even more intense as “authority control is exactly what [his dad] was against”. It all started back in 1986, when his dad Bill Heine appointed architect John Buckley to install the statue on the top of the house as a protest against “planning restrictions and censorship”….
He went on and said: “Ultimately, the Headington Shark will survive, and it will stand what it stood for. What the councillors do is irrelevant to the message and structure itself. So in a sense, it almost does not matter. But it is just disappointing that the council is still somewhat blind to the point of the sculpture…”
A spokesperson for Oxford City Council said: “The Headington Shark was nominated for inclusion on the Oxford Heritage Asset Register by a member of the public and voted for by members of the public….
“Under the National Planning Policy Framework the conservation and contribution of locally listed heritage assets will be a material consideration in planning decisions that directly affect them or their setting”.
For more information about the house, please visit headingtonshark.com.
