THE government's decision not to hold an inquiry and give the final say on the demolition of Beehive Mill to Bolton Council is very wrong indeed.

What is the point of listing a building and then being allowed to demolish it when developers are legally obliged to maintain them in a good state of repair? This will set a very bad legal precedent for all listed buildings threatened with demolition in the UK. If we lose this battle listing will mean nothing and the floodgates of proposed developments will be opened and protected listed buildings will be assigned to the history books and not visible to the naked eye of future generations.

Steven Parker