Memorandum submitted by Heritage Link
Heritage Link brings together 81 voluntary organisations
concerned with heritage in England representing interests from
specialist advisers, practitioners and managers, volunteers and
owners, to national funding bodies and local building preservation
trusts. Much of the historic environment is cared for—supported,
managed or owned—by these organisations and thus they and
their members—from local civic societies to the national
amenity societies with statutory consultee status—have firsthand
and longstanding experience of the heritage protection system
as well as advisory and educational roles.
We welcome the Committee's initiative in looking
at climate change in relation to the existing housing stock. We
have been alarmed by the focus on energy efficiency in new buildings
and by implication, vilifying older buildings as "leaky"
without evidence or understanding. We are concerned that decisions
may be made under pressure from the clamour around climate change
that lead to irreversible "solutions" for lack of more
measured advice.
Several members are already active in mitigating
and adapting to climate change including: the National Trust,
the Council for British Archaeology, the Church of England with
its Shrinking the Footprint campaign, and the Theatres Trust,
while others have expressed a wish for further information and
advice. We see climate change as the biggest challenge that the
historic environment has ever faced.
Some of our members are commenting from their
specialist viewpoints but Heritage Link makes four general points
relating to the Inquiry's last question on the specific challenges
which may arise in relation to housing of special architectural
or historical interest.
1. The Government's focus on new build development
is misplaced when nearly 40% of domestic stock was built before
1930s and, although outside the scope of this inquiry, it is worth
noting that 30% non domestic was built before 1940 and 77% of
non domestic stock was built before 1985 when Building Regulations
introduced conservation of fuel and power.
The government's focus on new build fails to
recognise the significant reduction in emissions that occur as
a result of refurbishing and re-using older buildings and areas
whether designated or not. Fiscal reform to encouraging refurbishment,
including an equal rate of VAT for repairs and maintenance alongside
new work, is a must.
A large proportion of our historic environment
is residential. Houses predominate the backdrop against which
we carry out our day to day business and far outweigh the visitor
attractions in this category While some of this housing stock
is listed a significant number of older houses lie in Conservation
Areas where incremental change can very quickly destroy that sense
of local identity that is a key aspect of the character and appearance
of the countryside, villages and towns. The challenge is to accommodate
adaptive and mitigating measures that will respect the integrity
of internationally nationally and locally designated historic
places and avoid effects that would compromise the objectives
of designation.
Beyond these, lies an enormous tranche of older
housing which contribute through materials, vernacular style,
and layout to a local community's identity and sense of place.
With local designations also being promoted
through the Heritage Protection Review, the challenges of climate
change are not restricted to listed residential properties. A
distinction between listed and unlisted buildings is even more
difficult to sustain when in several areas the Lists are out of
date. We welcome the broader approach that English Heritage is
taking in its forthcoming guidance on making historic buildings
more energy efficient.
2. Existing building stock makes up such
a large part of our environment that although English Heritage,
BRE, the Centre for Sustainable Heritage and others are active
in this field, there is still much to be done and further, swift
research on comparative environmental performance is needed. This
might take into account issues such as embodied energy, the energy
required for demolition and replacement materials, the impact
on landfill, the relative costs of refurbishment and new build
to name just some where a sound evidence base would promote a
more valid assessment and erroneous assumptions would be avoided.
Research and dissemination is needed just as much by individual
owners as those with large portfolios of listed properties such
as Local Authorities and Social Landlords including Housing Associations
and Almshouses.
3. With increasing community involvement
in the planning process, there is a need to communicate highly
technical issues without either blinding with science or dumbing
down. Communities as they play a stronger role in place making
for the future will need to understand change and participate
in adaptation and mitigation measures that affect the historic
environment. They may have to be prepared for visually intrusive
measures on much loved buildings. For Government, the specialist
heritage bodies and the media, this is going to be an enormous
challenge.
4. A holistic approach is also needed to
demonstrate the part that the historic environment plays in wider
environmental sustainability. Energy efficiency issues go far
beyond buildings and structures alone. Weighing up transport costs
for visitors to a historic site, such as a historic house in a
remote area, and the impact that site has on the local economy
in revenue, procurement, employment and quality of life is just
one example of the complex balance of social and economic factors.
Heritage Link is keen to develop the understanding
of the voluntary heritage sector on this subject and is currently
considering a webpage to signpost members and others to research
and other initiatives on climate change and the historic environment.
The 2008 issue of Heritage Counts, the annual sector-wide
audit of the historic environment, is expected to bring together
current research on the subject.
In this context, we welcome the Committee's
inquiry and the contribution it will make to our understanding
of the issues involved.
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