Civil society could be compelled in the near future to bring legal action – be it criminal or civil – against delinquent property owners who blatantly violate laws governing environmental and heritage issues.This was said by heritage expert Bryan Wintermeyer following a string of burglaries at a historical, Transnet-owned property.Speaking about the sad state of the Harbour Board Building in Fleming Street in Central, Wintermeyer said: “It will be very useful in future to use the law, criminal or civil – not in a vindictive manner – against owners of heritage buildings who violate the act.“A lot of cases involving the environment and heritage end up in courts in places such as Cape Town and Johannesburg.“Perhaps we should do the same in future.”A frustrated Wintermeyer was speaking following a series of break-ins at the property fondly known as the “White Building”, which was built in 1904.The exterior of the building used to have massive and impressive stonework and the interior consists of richly ornamented woodwork and stained glass windows.The building was regarded as one of the best examples of the Art Nouveau genre of architecture in South Africa.It was proclaimed a National Monument in 1968, and was restored in 1998 by Portnet and architect John Rushmere.But that piece of history is slowly being erased, with vandals stripping the building of its brass door knobs, backing strips and fireplaces.Other damage is also visible on the ornate pressed ceilings and most of the brass chandeliers.It would appear that the thieves felt they had all the time in the world to ransack the building – with chairs stacked on top of each as a makeshift ladder reaching all the way to the ceiling.The building has no alarm system and there is no security guard at the entrance.The gold-plated taps and Royal Dalton porcelain basins have also been vandalised.When asking questions about the damage, The Herald was sent in different directions by Transnet staff and public relations officials at a company contracted by the parastatal.Jozi Meth, of Logico, a company doing public relations work for Transnet, said: “I emailed you yesterday to say your query was passed on to the port division, that isn’t my client.“They did not respond.” Port manager Rajesh Dana said the matter did not fall under his jurisdiction.However, he promised to forward the e-mail to those responsible for the building.Questions were initially sent out on Wednesday, with no response yet forthcoming.Wintermeyer said he had been engaging, in vain, with Transnet for the past 10 years, hoping to get the parastatal to comply with laws that govern heritage buildings.“They know their responsibility but they delinquently break their own laws.“If you demolish heritage buildings, language, songs or the environment, the harsh reality is that you cannot bring them back,” he said.Wintermeyer suggested that all interested parties get together for a broader discussion on heritage, who is responsible for it and what exactly it is.Mandela Bay Heritage Trust chair Griezel Hart urged owners of heritage buildings to look after and maintain historical landmarks decaying in the city.“We are very disturbed,” Hart said.“By law, the owners are obliged to enforce security and maintain heritage buildings.“The Harbour Board Building is extremely interesting,” she said.Hart said she hoped the owners would restore the building.