A GRADE II listed building is the centre of a row over plans to demolish its unique 18th-century timber screens.
Both the Ancient Monuments Society and English Heritage have objected to the plans to replace the timber at Sunnyfield House in Guisborough with metal fencing.
Planners agree that permission should be refused but applicants Guisborough Town Council, which maintains the building, argue the screens have become a magnet for vandals and should be torn down.
A report to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's planning committee, recommended the plan be refused. It said: "This is one of the better preserved historic buildings in Guisborough Conservation area. It is quite rare for decorative timber features such as these to have survived from the late 1700s and is unique in this part of the country."
The committee agreed to defer the decision.
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