I have been asked whether the Putney Society is concerned about what has happened at 8 Lower Common South and whether it is involved in what is going on now.  The answer is 'yes' on both points. The Society's Buildings Panel meets this Thursday when we will be reviewing the whole issue and arriving at a view.  This will be reported to the Society's Executive Committee which meets next week.  I will be urging the EC to arrive at a clear line on what is a particularly serious matter. To paint the picture of how we got to where we are today, my mind goes back to the Civic Amenities Act of 1967 which gave planning authorities the power to designate conservation areas - and gave them the duty to 'preserve and enhance the character and appearance' of such areas.  With this came the power to control the demolition of buildings in conservation areas.  'Conservation Area Consent' is required before buildings in conservation areas are demolished. That's the problem at 8 Lower Common.  The owner here has failed to seek or obtain the consent for demolition, given that he has demolished the whole house.  Planning law describes this as a criminal act. The Putney Society responded to the 1967 legislation by producing a report, which I helped to compile, recommending the borough council to designate 7 conservation areas in Putney and Roehampton.  One of these was The Putney Lower Common area with its fine detached houses with their Arts and Crafts detailing and the Victorian gem, All Saints Church. As such, this conservation area is special. The Society's Buildings Panel keeps a close eye on planning applications in Putney and Roehampton.  We picked up the application, early last year, proposing alterations to No 8.  The details were not at all satisfactory - and the application was subsequently withdrawn.  We were very concerned that building operations were started on the house whilst this application was with the council. Shortly after, the owner appointed a local architect, the Sutters Partnership, to prepare fresh proposals to alter the house and convert it from four flats into a single family dwelling.  The scheme involved the demolition of modest elements which had been added to the house over the years. This was submitted to the council as a fresh planning application. The application was referred to the council's Conservation Areas Advisory Committee, in the normal way.  This committee was critical of the scheme saying that it's proposed alterations to the house would 'fail to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the conservation area'.  However, the Borough Planner did not agree with this view and he recommended to the council's Planning Applications Committee that planning permission be granted - which it was, earlier this year. The owner of No 8 was then entitled to proceed to implement the planning permission - which would have meant starting to carry out modest demolition work. For reasons which the owner has not spelt out, he decided to take his demolition work much further than anyone had expected.  He may have his reasons for doing this - which would be interesting to learn about! These are the issues we will be discussing at our Buildings Panel meeting this week. We will be watching, very closely, what the owner does next - and, more importantly, what our council, as the local planning authority charged with protecting our conservation areas, decides to do. It can be expected that the Borough Planner will be giving a full report on the matter at the next meeting of the council's Conservation Areas Advisory Committee on Tuesday 20 July.  I represent the Putney Society on that Committee.