10 Times Doctor Who Daleks Appeared Where You'd Least Expect Them
8. A Dalek Takes on a Local Council
Allendale, in Northumberland County is the home to Neil Cole's Museum of Classic Sci-Fi. A science fiction museum is exactly the type of place you would expect to find a Dalek, of course. What's surprising about Neil's Dalek is that it became involved in a dispute with Northumberland County Council!
Neil's museum is housed in Osborne House, which he painstakingly restored from a partially derelict building into a proper exhibition space over three years. Inspired by the original Doctor Who exhibition in Blackpool, Neil wanted to bring some of that magic to his local area. So how did he and his Dalek come into conflict the local council?
To advertise the museum, Neil positioned his Dalek outside the listed building. In order to protect it from the elements, a shed was constructed around it. This structure attracted the ire of the local council, who claimed that it "defiled" the property. Neil and the council went through the appeals process, but after a temporary reprieve, the shed was brought down in 2020.
During the proceedings, AllenDalek would release various messages to the council. There were also rumours that Tom Hardy would be producing a film about the saga, but this isn't verified. Perhaps it was a rumour circulated to drum up support for Neil and his museum.