Northern Ireland developers may have to rebuild properties wrongly demolished.
Developers in Northern Ireland may have to replace any protected building they knock down, brick for brick.
The proposed punishment was one of the actions listed at a heritage crime summit called by Environment Minister Alex Attwood.
This is the second such summit in two months. The first was called after 11 listed or historic buildings were damaged by fire. Often the fire turned out to be a case of arson.
There have also been a series of demolitions in Northern Ireland where would-be developers destroyed listed or protected buildings in the hope of replacing them with profitable housing.
As fines seem to have had little effect in deterring rogue developers, it has been proposed to change current legislation to give planners extra powers.
Where a listed building is demolished illegally, the planners would be able to make the developer or owner rebuild it exactly as it was.
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