Taking a practical approach to the conversion of redundant farm buildings in order to conserve them for the future
Rural landowners own between a quarter and a third of all historic buildings and they manage a much higher proportion – perhaps two thirds – of rural historic buildings, listed or not.
Heritage is important and must not be ‘Frozen’. Instead, it must be allowed to evolve to meet new needs and uses as times and needs change. So many traditional buildings have changed their uses over the centuries and inevitably their structures, size and shape have changed accordingly. Therefore, it is wrong to deny essential change in order to find viable new uses for them. Viable uses justify not only the heavy cost of high quality restoration and conversion, but also in future justify their ongoing maintenance.
English Heritage itself – certainly at its centre, now seems to accept this, but sadly some staff and all too many local authority planning officers don’t seem willing to follow this guidance. Bluntly, they have to become more realistic and follow more of the emerging government guidance on the subject! Also, with major new changes in planning to make buildings fit for a more sustainable future and the need to adapt to an emerging fossil-fuel-free world, planners also have to look on such adaptations to buildings as being not only permissible, but also desirable.
Sustainability also means economically sustainable and if we are to retain our precious heritage buildings they have to be viable to heat and energise! It is important to note that so many of the new eco-technologies (for instance solar panels and photo-voltaic energy panels), are entirely demountable without damaging a building’s structure or integrity.
Furthermore, as the owner of one such heritage, listed building myself, I know that I have to adapt my own home to retain its financial viability. However, since it is in itself a very valuable capital asset, in so adapting it, the last thing I intend doing is anything that would diminish its value; perhaps that is also something that planners should remember before they start pontificating about anyone daring to change the slightest thing in terms of external appearance! If such strict rules had been adhered to down the centuries, surely few of our current ancient buildings would still be standing!
Planning authorities really need to adopt more flexible policies that allow sound and practical conversions to be approved. There are a number of highly successful examples of this, both in the East of England and elsewhere.
Paper to English Heritage | 29 October 2009