ALCONBURY S iconic flying saucer-shaped former restaurant is being demolished – in spite of a request that English Heritage should list it as being of architectural or historical importance. The coincidence of the start of work at the 1.5-acre site, nea

ALCONBURY'S iconic flying saucer-shaped former restaurant is being demolished - in spite of a request that English Heritage should "list" it as being of architectural or historical importance.

The coincidence of the start of work at the 1.5-acre site, near the A14 spur road to the A1(M), was not lost on Huntingdonshire District Council conservationists, who contacted English Heritage to warn that urgent action might need to be taken.

EH could put an immediate stop to the demolition of what was successively The Megatron and then a McDonald's restaurant by issuing a building preservation notice. But, if the building were not subsequently listed, the new owners could be entitled to compensation for having to abandon the demolition work.

The small development site is on the market with Huntingdon-based property specialists Barker Storey Matthews, having been sold by the fast-food giant several months ago. Director Alan Matthews confirmed that he and the owners, believed to be a small but unidentified company that paid £362,500 last summer, were aware of an application to have the structure listed.

"The building is in a bad state really - always was," he told The Hunts Post. "But obviously someone thinks it worth listing.