There have been many trips with the old maternity hospital in Älmhult, where Ingvar Kamprad, among others, was born.
Although antiquarian investigations show that the building carries cultural-historical value, the municipal politicians want to demolish it.
In October 2020, the council decided to demolish the house and sell the land.
Now they are just waiting for a demolition permit, which the environment and building committee will decide on 24 January.
But since seven politicians from the committee were also on the said municipal council, Ingegerd Andersson, director of environment and building, decided to hire a lawyer as a consultant.
- I was unsure if it was a conflict of interest situation.
From his answer, you can see that it is not crystal clear, says Ingegerd Andersson.
The municipality sits on two chairs
In a statement by Jonas Christensen, environmental lawyer, it appears that the decision from the autumn of 2020 should perhaps actually have been made by the technical committee, and that the conflict of interest problem now arises because the municipality is the property owner.
- The problem is that the people represent Älmhult municipality as property owners, ie that they apply for a demolition permit.
And then the next day they will sit as government officials and decide if they can tear it down, says Jonas Christensen.
"No shadow"
It is now recommended that all seven members abstain from the board meeting in two weeks to avoid a dispute.
Substitutes will be picked in their place.
- No shadow falls on the members so far.
This is about preventive measures, says Jonas Christensen.
If the members still choose to participate in the board meeting, and the decision is appealed, the matter could go on to the Ombudsman.