Our Heritage is Facing a Crisis
by Tim Barnes-Clay, LincsMag Writer.
Date: 20 September 2011
A regional lettings agency is urging people on the look-out for a decent property to back Britain's heritage and seriously consider renting in the countryside.
Slice of Heritage
King West, based across the East Midlands and with a Lincolnshire office in Stamford, says it's vital that home-hunters don't discount properties in the countryside and the 'slice of heritage' that often comes with older, historic homes.
King West is backing the launch of the Country Land and Business Association's (CLA) new vision for reforming England's heritage system.
In a new CLA report, titled "Averting Crisis in Heritage" the rural watchdog slams the current system of heritage management - which it describes as "dysfunctional".
CLA members manage more than a quarter of all listed buildings in England and Wales and more than half of all monuments - plus huge amounts of other designated and undesignated heritage such as the "everyday" heritage of houses, gardens, barns, mills and ancient earthworks.
Sympathetic Restoration
Chris Templar from King West said: "Some ancient properties need sympathetic restoration and conservation, but too often, there is a raft of regulations that not only make the process onerous but expensive, and I feel that there ought to be a better an easier way to safeguard these buildings. More rules, as suggested by the government, make this more cumbersome and more difficult."
Confirming the problem, CLA East Midlands director Andrew Shirley, said: "It has been clear for many years that the system is not working as it should be. Many local authorities simply don't have the skilled conservation staff that the existing heritage demands, and the government and English Heritage don't seem to have grasped the extent of the problem."
Creating A System
The CLA's recommendations could, said Mr Shirley, create a system that would work in practice by allowing owners to focus limited resources on the areas, where they would have most effect.
"We don't necessarily want fewer restrictions - just better ones that will make desirable change easier and undesirable change more difficult."
King West's Chris Templar is keen to add that despite the current worries over heritage, there are still some wonderful, fully restored homes to let or purchase in the region's countryside. One property he highly recommends for rent is Higher House, in Main Street at Burton Overy in Leicestershire.
"It's an outstanding Grade II, 17th Century village house situated in a sought after rural village on the southern outskirts of Leicester. It's a perfect example of a recently well refurbished country house, with exposed beams throughout and beautiful landscaped gardens which are tended to in the summer months by a gardener.
"It's vital that home-hunters don't discount properties in the countryside and the 'slice of heritage' that often come with older, historic homes," says Chris.
Diverting Resources
Meanwhile, the CLA points out that English Heritage's new "National Heritage Protection Plan" will divert resources and attention from the real problems by focusing on research into designating new areas of heritage.
One of the recommendations in the CLA paper calls for changes to the punitive VAT regime which places 20 percent VAT on repair work to listed buildings.
For more information about this article please visit kingwest.co.uk or cla.org.uk
