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A shameful waste of assets
Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage8 Jul 2008
These days most people feel guilty if they throw away a beer bottle rather than recycle it. So it seems odd that, for many, the sight of an old building being crunched up for landfill does not elicit the slightest twinge.
But landfill is the destination for far too many of our historic buildings. This week English Heritage's report, Heritage At Risk, reveals that one in 12 nationally important heritage sites in England is at risk of loss through neglect and decay.
It's not all bad news: in the 18 years that English Heritage has been running the At Risk project, 93 per cent of the buildings we first identified have been rescued and now are playing a useful role in London's future. But as some come off the list, others, sadly, go on to it. This year there are 572 buildings at risk in the capital.
When everyone is decrying the lack of housing, it is shameful that 210 of these are residential buildings. Of these, 140 are vacant and 42 partly vacant. Worse still is the fact that 21 per cent of London's listed buildings at risk are publicly owned. Public bodies still seem to think it acceptable to walk away from older buildings in favour of new, purpose-built premises. Traditional town halls, schools, fire stations, swimming baths, court houses and police stations are symbols of public service, of authority, of status and civic pride. They help to unite communities, encourage a sense of belonging and give character and identity to the streets in which they stand.
Poll after poll, and the enormous ratings enjoyed by heritage on TV, prove how much we love this built history. Yet it is astonishing how often local protest is pushed aside in the name of modernisation and efficiency. Culturally, it has always been an act of barbarism to allow a historic building, park or monument to fall into ruin.
Now it's an environmental disgrace, too. Old buildings contain huge amounts of embodied energy - the energy used to mine raw materials 150 years ago, to make bricks and windows. The embodied energy in an average Victorian terrace house is enough to fuel a car five times around the world.
And don't forget the waste. Each year more than 100 million tonnes of construction and demolition materials and soil end up as landfill - roughly half of Britain's total waste. Corporate owners argue that historic buildings cannot be adapted to modern requirements. Not so. The Old Bailey, Swiss Cottage Library, Pentonville Prison, the Royal Chelsea Hospital and Harrow magistrates' court - these are all examples of listed buildings in public ownership which have been successfully updated for use in the 21st century.
I would also reject the charge that historic buildings cannot be made energy-efficient. English Heritage has recently started working with energy giant E.ON in order to bring these two concepts closer in people's minds.
So I challenge public bodies that own historic buildings to publish a plan for their old premises whenever they move to a new site. I am really pleased the Mayor has announced today that he intends to direct money from his Targeted Funding Stream towards listed buildings on our At Risk register, bringing as many of them as possible back into use for housing.
Other public bodies could take similar decisions. Let's not throw any more of historic London into the skip. Let's rehabilitate it, remake it and give it a new life - and by doing so enrich our streets and protect our environment.
