Industrial Heritage at Risk Register Results

Submitted by Seren Langley on Wed, 2011-10-19 15:02
in

Sleaford Maltings The largest ever research project into the condition of England’s industrial heritage was published today (19 Oct) by English Heritage together with its annual Heritage at Risk Register. It reveals that:

  • listed industrial buildings are more at risk than almost any other kind of heritage. Almost 11% of grade I and II* industrial buildings are at risk, an extraordinarily high number compared to the 3% of grade I and II* buildings which are at risk in England
  • 40% of listed industrial buildings at risk, such as mills, warehouses and factories, could be put to sustainable and economic new uses. The remaining 60%, typically buildings that contain historic machinery, redundant engineering structures or mining remains, are of immense cultural value and often greatly loved. These have the power to unite local communities and although not easy, there are countless examples that have been saved by committed local groups as conserved sites in the landscape often with public access or as visitor attractions
  • lead, tin, copper and coal mines are the industrial sites most at risk on Register. Textile mills also make up a large proportion and these buildings are often concentrated in a single place – Lancashire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. The remains of 20th century industries are poorly understood, under-appreciated and very much at risk
  • most industrial heritage sites at risk in the North East are things which are not capable of being converted for new uses, indeed 54% are connected to various forms of mining. Most industrial heritage sites at risk in the East of England are wind and watermills and most in the South East are maritime structures.

A poll of public attitudes to industrial heritage which English Heritage also published today shows that:

  • almost half the population (43%) do not know when the industrial revolution took place
  • however, 86% agree that it is important we value and appreciate industrial heritage
  • 80% think it is just as important as our castles and country houses
  • 71% think industrial heritage sites should be reused for modern day purposes as long as their character is preserved
  • only 9% considered it depressing or an eyesore.

The English Heritage research found that the main risks to industrial heritage are:

  • developers do not consider industrial heritage part of the mainstream property market and can be put off by a site’s scale, possible contamination, conversion costs or, if the building is listed, an exaggerated notion of the restrictions this could impose
  • current low property values in some parts of the country make redundant industrial buildings unlikely to attract tenants and mean that there is little incentive to repair them
  • developers are finding it hard to raise finance and there is far less public subsidy available. This leads to more industrial buildings remaining derelict and for longer
  • owners, particularly in the current economic climate, find themselves struggling to maintain a large historic building on top of the challenges of running the business itself
  • it can be hard to find funding to maintain sites which can only be preserved as ruins
  • some of England’s 650 industrial visitor attractions need help with business planning, marketing and interpretation. They also need to ensure against loss of skills and a lack of volunteers in the future.

Vacant Historic Buildings cover It has also recognised the need for further support and so there is now additional help for developers and owners.

Help for developers
A new Developers portal on the English Heritage website will offer advice relevant to re-using industrial buildings and each English Heritage local office will, for the first time, publish a list of 10 “at risk” priority sites, many of which will be industrial. Developers interested in taking these on will get additional help from English Heritage to guide them through the process.
Help for owners
A new guide to keeping buildings safe from decay or in temporary use until better economic times, is published today. Vacant Historic Buildings: An Owner’s Guide to Temporary Uses, Maintenance and Mothballing is available from the English Heritage website. This advice will be backed-up by grants, already averaging £2 million a year for urgent repair.

For full details on the Industrial Heritage at Risk project, see the English Heritage webiste.