Editor:
I read with dismay in the Aug. 8 edition of the Optimist that another historic Ladner house faces demolition.
This house is on the Delta Heritage Register which seems to provide little if any protection for Delta’s heritage. Readers may know it as the old Delta Lodge or Melodie Court.
The mayor, who seems to have little interest in protecting any heritage, is quoted as saying it’s “rotting.”
Of course it is!
Successive owners, seeking development have done nothing to preserve this Tudor Revival house with evidence it may have been designed by B.C.’s famed architect Samuel McClure.
Letting buildings deteriorate is right out of some developers’ playbook; let it rot until it must come down so we can build.
The city has purchased land in the Village for a potential apartment/hotel to accommodate tourists and other visitors. The thing is, what are visitors going to come for when the character of the Village is gone, and any noteworthy heritage buildings are demolished?
Shame on the mayor and shame on any councillors who approve this application.
Sylvia Bishop