State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said the demolition by developer Warisan Pinang Sdn Bhd on Tuesday was allowed by the council since planning was approved on Nov 10, 1999.
Hence, he said the council’s approval for demolition was valid, according to Section 24 (1) and (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1976.
“The planning permission was still active as development in the area started in July 2000,” Chow, who is in charge of local government, traffic management and flood mitigation, told newsmen at Komtar today.
He stressed that the buildings moreover were not under the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site listing.
He also pointed out that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building, located next to the demolished heritage buildings, was part of The Runnymede planning permission.
The developer demolished seven ancillary buildings in the heritage enclave, sparing only the main three-storey building from the bulldozers.
Penang Island City Council secretary Ang Aing Thye said the developer had requested on Jan 13 to carry out the demolition and the council duly obliged.
But the city council had reminded the developer not to carry out the demolition on Sundays or public holidays.
Ang said the council had issued a show cause letter to the developer as the demolition had taken place on the second day of Chinese New Year – a public holiday.
“The developer must respond to our letter in two weeks.”
The Runnymede buildings were located in the city’s seafront heritage enclave.
Local historians and social activists claimed that Sir Stamford Raffles and his family had resided in Runnymede when he was in Penang in the early 1800s before leaving for Singapore.
Historians have claimed that one of the demolished Runnymede ancillary buildings was built and occupied by Raffles once.
But the city council claimed it found no records to prove this.
This was refuted by historian Marcus Langdon, who authored a book on Penang’s history entitled: “Penang: The Fourth Presidency of India 1803-1830”.
He slammed the council for allowing the demolition and not doing its homework to identify the historical background of the site.
The house was named Runnymede after the field on which King John of England signed the Magna Carta.
George Town Heritage Action Group (GTHA) activist Mark Lay said the Runnymede could have been saved if only the city council had its conservation management plan focusing on heritage sites.
He was surprised the council had still given the nod for the demolition although approval was given 17 years ago and with circumstances changing now.
Curiously, according to the update in the council’s One Stop Centre (OSC) website, the application for planning permission submitted by Warisan Pinang – MBPP/OSC/PM2798/15 – had been “batal” (cancelled or rejected) by the city council on Nov 24, 2015. It is not known which part of the planning had been “batal”.
The redevelopment project plan included construction of a 61-storey apartment block, a 31-storey hotel block, a 12-storey commercial and office block, but with the main Runnymede building conserved.