Birthplace of British aviation pioneer demolished despite local pleas

Campaigners have criticised contractors, developers and Erewash Borough Council officials after the birthplace of aviation pioneer Hugh Oswald Short was demolished, despite opposition and urgent calls for the authority to intervene.

The demolition of numbers 3 and 4 Lows Lane in Stanton-by-Dale, comes less than two weeks after local residents first learned that permission had quietly been granted.

In response, campaigners launched a community effort, which, in just ten days, gathered more than 750 signatures, submitted an application to Historic England for listing, and say that they appealed to the borough council to pause demolition until heritage assessments could be completed.

Those campaigners claim that Erewash Borough Council officials ignored pleas to pause demolition and, last week bulldozers moved in, leveling the cottages before any decision could be made as to any historic status.
 
The buildings were one of the last surviving links to Stanton’s proud industrial past, standing just yards from the former Stanton Ironworks, where Horace Short, brother of Oswald, served his apprenticeship. 

Together, the Short Brothers went on to become pioneers of British aviation - founding the world’s first aircraft manufacturing company and shaping early flight from humble beginnings in Erewash. 

Campaigners had hoped that Verdant Regeneration Ltd - a joint venture between two long standing family businesses, Ward and Grier Group - would recognise that significance and work with the community to preserve a small part of the site. 

“People came together overnight - not to stop progress, but to save a story,” said one campaigner. “We genuinely believed the developer and the Council would listen once they understood the importance. Instead, the birthplace of British aviation has been reduced to rubble.” 

The Stanton Regeneration Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), adopted by Erewash Borough Council, pledges that “buildings of local interest should be retained where feasible.”

Campaigners say this promise has now been broken, and that the Council failed to act even when formally asked to pause demolition. 

In a statement, spokesperson Alexander Topping said that, adding to local anger, the demolition took place on the same day that the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) announced major new “growth funding” for the area - naming New Stanton Park, the very same site, as a priority project. 

He said: "For residents and heritage supporters, the loss of 3 & 4 Lows Lane is more than the demolition of two cottages — it’s the demolition of trust, heritage, and history itself."

Erewash Borough Council has been approached for comment.