EAST CAMBS CONSERVATIVE GROUP
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 7th April 2026
Serious questions must now be answered following new evidence that a Grade II Listed building in the heart of Ely, previously the subject of unlawful works and two retrospective planning applications, is being marketed for full commercial rent, contrary to the basis on which planning permission was granted.
The Old Dispensary on St Mary’s Street was unlawfully converted by the Liberal Democrats from community use into office space without listed building consent or planning permission. Approval was only sought retrospectively in July 2025 after the works had been completed, in clear breach of planning law.
At the time of the application, the justification relied upon was explicit: the building would serve as a secure office for the newly elected Liberal Democrat MP, Charlotte Cane, with additional space for continued community use.
In the planning application itself, Cllr Gareth Wilson, who is a Liberal Democrat Councillor at East Cambs District Council which received the application, and a Director of the company that owns the building, stated: “We wish to provide an [sic] secure and safe office for our new MP, but it must be built according to Parliamentary security rules.”
Supporting documentation reinforced this position, stating: “Following the tradition of the building being used by the community we intend to use it as a secure and safe place for our MP to meet her constituents… There will be space… for meetings and other community use.”
At the Planning Committee meeting, Director David Wright, who is the partner of the Lib Dem Group Leader at the District Council, Cllr Lorna Dupre, and also Treasurer of the local Lib Dem Party, told Members of the Committee, including local Lib Dem colleagues: “Having an office for our local MP… provides a community benefit.”
The Council’s Conservation Officer explicitly accepted this justification, acknowledging that the internal alterations conflicted with the building’s historic character but concluding: “it is accepted that the proposed use presents unique security requirements which cannot be satisfied in any other way.”
However, it has now emerged that the MP never took occupation of the building.
Further, a valuation commissioned by Charlotte Cane MP, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, makes clear that if the MP had occupied only part of the building (353 sq ft) the likely rent would have been approximately £5,500 per annum, a fraction of the £19,000 per annum estimated for full commercial use.
The building is now being openly marketed at £18,000 per annum for a three-year lease, strongly indicating a shift away from the previously stated purpose toward maximising commercial return.
Cllr Anna Bailey, Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “It is clear the Lib Dems have abandoned the idea of using this much-loved Grade II Listed building as the MP’s office with continued opportunity for community use, in favour of going for a commercial rent on the open market. I am seriously concerned that planning officials and the Planning Committee, which included Liberal Democrat and Independent Group members, have been misled.
“They were told the building would be used as the MP’s office with specific security needs, that there would be an element of ongoing community use and that these factors justified otherwise harmful alterations to a listed building.
“Instead, it is clear that the MP isn’t going to occupy the premises, that the financial return under the stated use would have been significantly lower, and that the property is now being marketed for full commercial letting at more than three times the anticipated MP-related income.
“Planning permission may have been secured on a basis that no longer reflects, and may never have reflected, the true intended use of the building.”
The situation raises serious questions about the integrity of the planning decision, the use of retrospective applications to legitimise unlawful development, the reliance on claimed “community benefit” and “security” to justify harm to a listed building and potential conflicts between public roles and private financial interests.
Cllr Bailey concluded:
“Planning laws exist to protect heritage assets and ensure fairness. They depend on accurate, honest representations being made to decision makers.
“The public is entitled to know why the stated use has not materialised, whether the Council was given a full and accurate picture when determining the application, whether the decision of the Planning Committee to grant office use stands, and a full explanation from Liberal Democrat officials.”
-ENDS-
Contact
Cllr Anna Bailey
Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council
Leader of the Conservative Group at East Cambridgeshire District Council
