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An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked ...
. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for action and funding decisions. This heritage-at-risk data is one of the UK government's
official statistics Official statistics are statistics published by government agencies or other public bodies such as international organizations as a public good. They provide quantitative or qualitative information on all major areas of citizens' lives, such as e ...
. ''Heritage at risk'' is term for
cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...
assets that are at risk as a result of neglect, decay, or inappropriate development; or are vulnerable to becoming so.


England's ''Heritage at Risk Register''

The ''Heritage at Risk Register'' covers: * Grade I and II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
s (the baseline register is 1999); Grade II listed buildings in London only (the baseline register is 1991) * Structural scheduled monuments (base year is 1999) and scheduled monuments (base year is 2009) * Registered parks and gardens (base year is 2009) * Registered historic battlefields (base year is 2008) * Protected wreck sites *
Conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s (base year is 2010). The national register is produced as an online database, and as a print publication with volumes for each of the nine
regions of England The regions, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England, established in 1994. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had officially devolved functions within government. While they no ...
. The site's condition and trends are published for each entry. The register is accompanied by a summary that provides key statistics and includes: * The number of each type of heritage asset that is assessed as at risk. * The percentage of each designated asset type at risk. * The number of additions and assets removed from the register each year. Each entry is given a priority for action, ranging from A: "immediate risk of further rapid deterioration/loss of fabric and no solution agreed", to F: "repair scheme in progress (and where applicable) end user found". It is possible to search the register online – by location, asset type and condition. Many English planning authorities publish their own registers of heritage at risk or buildings at risk, and several are published on local council websites, e.g. Bolsover District Council and Essex County Council.


Origins of the survey

The ''Heritage at Risk Register'' initially focused on buildings.
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked ...
developed a methodology for assessing building at risk in the mid-1980s and worked with a number of local planning authorities to carry out surveys of listed buildings to identify which were at risk. Ipswich Borough Council has continued to maintain its buildings at risk register since 1987. Save Britain's Heritage has compiled a register of buildings at risk since 1989. Historic England, previously named English Heritage, published its first ''Register of Buildings at Risk'' in London in 1991. It only included listed buildings in London. This was followed by publication of the national "Buildings at Risk" sample survey in 1992. The ''Buildings at Risk Register'' was extended nationally to all Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings and structural scheduled monuments in England in 1998. The 2007 register included 1,235 buildings and structures; of these the 16 in most serious danger had an estimated repair bill of £127.9 million. This was produced annually by Historic England until 2008, when the scope was extended to include all heritage assets that receive some measure of legal protection through the designation system. Between 2008 and 2010 scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, protected wreck sites and conservation areas (as well as listed buildings) were added to the register. Since 2009, each annual report has focused on a particular category of asset: * 2009: conservation areas; * 2010: places of worship; * 2011: industrial heritage.


Official status

The ''Heritage at Risk Register'' data produced by Historic England is an official statistic. As such, the methodology for collecting, analysing, and publishing the data follows the regulations set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (January 2009). Details of the methodology are published at the Historic England website.


Key statistics

Listed in the 2014 ''Heritage at Risk Register'' in England are the following: * 497 conservation areas (6.1% of the total) * 887 places of worship * 339 industrial sites * 4 protected wreck sites * 889 Grade I and II* listed buildings (4%) * 3,012 scheduled monuments (15.2%) * 93 registered parks and gardens (5.7%) * 6 registered battlefields (13%)


Other British registers

Save Britain's Heritage publishes a catalogue (not freely available) of buildings at risk, as well as other information on its website. The Save register includes information on Grade II listed buildings (outside London) throughout England and Wales. The ''
Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland The Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland records buildings of national architectural or historic interest which are considered to be under threat. The list is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland (HES). The register was established in 1 ...
'' is maintained by the
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executiv ...
(RCAHMS) on behalf of
Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...
, and provides information on properties of architectural or historic merit throughout the country that are considered to be at risk. Ulster Architectural Heritage Society has compiled an online ''Register of Buildings at Risk in Northern Ireland'', in conjunction with the
Northern Ireland Environment Agency The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It is responsible for conservation of Northern Ireland's environment and natural heritage. Ori ...
(NIEA). Every two years since 1996, the World Monuments Watch produces a list of international cultural heritage around the globe that is at risk from the forces of nature and the impact of social, political, and economic change. The
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...
(SPAB) publishes a list of historic buildings in need of repair, or a new use, that are for sale or lease. The list is sent out quarterly to those members who request it; to obtain the list one needs to be a member of SPAB.


Protecting at-risk sites

Different assets have different problems and many are owned privately. Historic Environment Local Management (HELM) in the UK has identified some common themes: * Historic assets benefit from sound management and planning policies * Public and private owners should be encouraged and given practical guidance, including information about grants for which they may be eligible * Some at-risk sites need significant public resources to allow major repairs, stabilise their condition, or change the way in which the land is being used * Some assets cannot be reused and the cost of repair cannot always be justified. The long-term solution for these is one of managed decline once the historic significance of the asset has been carefully recorded. After the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
,
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
was concerned that the progress made over the previous decade could soon stall or be reversed due to the economic climate. This was echoed by well-known historians in England and Europe. Dr Mark Adams from the National Museums Liverpool Field Archaeology Unit and
Mick Aston Michael Antony Aston (1 July 1946 – 24 June 2013) was an English archaeologist who specialised in Early Medieval landscape archaeology. Over the course of his career, he lectured at both the University of Bristol and University of Oxford and ...
, Professor of Archaeology at the
University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...
, wrote a joint letter to ''The Times'' calling on the government to save our heritage. They claim that despite contributing an estimated £20.6 billion annually to the economy, the heritage sector is facing disproportionate cuts both locally and nationally. In 2017
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked ...
(English Heritage's successor institution) began a programme of Heritage Action Zones.


See also

*
America's Most Endangered Places America's 11 Most Endangered Places or America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is a list of places in the United States that the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers the most endangered. It aims to inspire Americans to preserve ex ...
* List of ''Restoration'' candidates *
Amenity society In England and Wales, an amenity society is an organisation which monitors planning and development. National societies National amenity societies preserve historic art and architecture and operate at a national level. In England, the six princip ...
**The
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...
**The
Ancient Monuments Society The Ancient Monuments Society (AMS) is a learned society and registered charity in England and Wales, founded in 1924 "for the study and conservation of ancient monuments, historic buildings and fine old craftsmanship". Since October 2021, the org ...
**The
Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...
**The Georgian Group, concerned with buildings and planned landscapes dating from between 1700 and 1840 **The
Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a register ...
, concerned with buildings built from 1837 to 1914 (also covering
Edwardian architecture Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...
) **The Twentieth Century Society, concerned with buildings dating from 1914 onwards * SAVE Britain's Heritage, concerned with historic buildings at risk from demolition or decay *The
Garden History Society The Garden History Society was an organisation in the United Kingdom established to study the history of gardening and to protect historic gardens. In 2015 it became The Gardens Trust, having merged with the Association of Gardens Trusts. It was ...
* Friends of Friendless Churches


References

{{Reflist


External links


''Heritage at Risk Register''
and associated survey at Historic England
Heritage at risk
as a UNESCO theme Buildings and structures in England * * Heritage registers in England