Heritage campaigners are opposing plans to develop a city centre building which is understood to be one of the last remaining examples of the damage caused during the Bath Blitz.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is in the early stages of working with a developer interested in putting in a planning application for the Genesis Trust premises in James Street West.
The local authority owns the Grade II listed building and has promised that any work will retain the important historical frontage, which still bears the scars of shrapnel and bomb damage.
But, Jim Warren, from the Bath Heritage Watchdog, has described any alterations as "vandalism" and believes the site should be protected from development.
He said: "The building as it stands is an important heritage asset, an irreplaceable snapshot of a significant period in history. Any plans to alter its character would be a dreadful act of vandalism.
"As far as the history of Bath is concerned, the survival of the Labour Exchange in its current state is as unlikely as the survival of the Roman Baths, and it should be as interesting to the world's tourists if properly promoted. Both can only be seen in Bath."
He added: "The ideal solution is to leave things as they are. The building is sound, and the Genesis Trust consider it ideal for their charitable functions. All it needs is for the council to accept that future."
B&NES Council is trying to find a new home for the Genesis Trust, which has its offices, Life Skills training and Wood Works project in the James Street West building, in preparation for a planning application from the as yet unnamed developer.
It is understood that the proposal may include residential accommodation on the top floor, possibly for students, and retail units on the ground floor.
A spokesman said: "Whatever happens to the building, the frontage will be kept. The intention is to build on top of the building and the current roof is post-Second World War and not listed."
He added: "It is important to find Genesis a new location and I am sure we will give them all the help we can. We have just got to find the best possible use for our corporate estate."
Genesis chair of trustees Sir Peter Haywood said the charity was perfectly happy with its relocation as it had known all along that its tenancy was not permanent.
He said B&NES was doing a "fantastic job" in keeping them up to date with the plans and finding a new premises.
However, Brian Vowles, from the Bath Blitz Memorial Project, is opposed to any redevelopment of the building.
He said: "This little building, the former Labour Exchange on James Street West, is perhaps the only one left that bears the scars of one of the most traumatic episodes in Bath's long history and is for that reason as important as the Roman Baths, the section of the medieval city wall and the Pump Room.
"This is why, with the prompting of the Bath Blitz Memorial Project, it is now a Grade II listed building and any development of the site would be constrained by that fact.
"Greater care should have been already taken to conserve this valuable piece of history and prevent its demise through neglect."
