THE controversy about the possible demolition of the house on Loop Street can surely be resolved by compromise.
Many residents of Paarl are, in my experience, unaware of the architectural gem they drive through daily.
As an example of Victorian architecture Paarl is unrivalled throughout the world in the quality and extent of its buildings and streetscapes left largely undamaged by the ravages of ‘modernisers ‘.
I have spent the last forty years driving around the United Kingdom with a keen interest in the built environment and I can absolutely promise you that nowhere in the UK (with the possible exception of Central London where planning regulations are strictly enforced) are there any provincial towns that have the range and originality of Victorian buildings that we take for granted in Paarl.
In the UK the DIY enthusiasts have done a marvellous job of ruining the fine terraces - ‘Georgian’ porches tacked onto Victorian houses, plastic strip ‘leaded lights’ defacing windows, satellite dishes slapped onto the house fronts, the horrors are endless.
Thank heavens we have an active and effective Heritage Society in this town to defend it from such vandalism.
I am surprised that Paarl has not been proposed as a World Heritage Site; lesser places enjoy this distinction.
However, people are more important than buildings and surely the ideal solution in the case of the Loop Street house would be for it to be restored and be used as a drop-in or daycare centre for the many homeless people we see in our streets or as an educational centre.
Don’t let’s bulldoze it and put up another office block or fast food joint - they are the last thing we need!
Ian Conn
