7.12.4 Heritage at Risk is an initiative to assess the state of England’s designated heritage assets, establish their condition and identify what places them at risk, as a first step to implementing solutions. English Heritage launched the first Heritage at Risk Register in July 2008. It brings together information on Grade I and II* listed buildings nationally, Grade II listed buildings in London, scheduled monuments, protected wreck sites, registered battlefields and registered historic parks and gardens known to English Heritage to be at risk through neglect and decay. In 2009, the Register was expanded to include new information on the condition of conservation areas and in 2010, initial research about places of worship was added.
7.12.5 The 2010 Heritage at Risk Register shows a significant slow-down in the number of Grade I and II* buildings being saved from neglect and decay. In some cases, this has been directly attributed to the impacts of the
economic recession. The reports and a searchable version of the Register is available at English Heritage.
7.12.6 There are 155 buildings at risk on the 2010 South West Register. Nine entries were removed during 2009 as their futures were secured, but seventeen new sites were added. A significant proportion of the regional Register is made up of ‘hard to solve’ cases: 80 of the current entries have been deteriorating without a solution for six years or more. Overall, since 1999, 102 buildings at risk in the South West have been been secured and removed from the Register, but the cost of cost of appropriate repairs for these outstanding historic buildings is in the order of £84 million.
7.12.7 The South West has 7,000, or one third, of England’s scheduled monuments. In 2006, a quarter of them (1,800 monuments) were assessed to be at high risk, threatened by arable farming practices, scrub growth and, to a lesser extent, human activity like visitor erosion, development and vandalism. The figure at risk in the South West is now just over 1400, and the proportion has dropped to 20.2 per cent in, but this is still higher than the national figure of 17.2 per cent.
7.12.8 There are only 293 registered parks and gardens in the South West, so each is very special. Many are important to the visitor economy and are well cared for; most of the South West’s parks and gardens are at low risk.
However, around 6% could benefit from better care, or are experiencing impacts from development, neglect and vandalism. All historic designed landscapes may be affected by new impacts of a changing climate in the future - new pests, diseases and impacts on planting schemes can result from wetter, warmer weather.
7.12.9 Conservation Areas are more than simply a collection of separate buildings. They are about the spaces, landscapes and archaeological remains that make up our settlement, towns and cities. They are the places we all share. They are designated by local authorities and there are over 1,500 in the South West. We have data on over 900 of our Conservation Areas. Although partial, it suggests that the proportion at risk in the South West is higher than for the rest of the country – 11.6 per cent as opposed to 7.5 per cent. We continue to work with local authorities to gain a full picture across the region.
7.12.10 New research on places of worship suggests than over 90 per cent are in good condition, but the remaining ten per cent could be at risk from major structural problems such as leaking roofs, faulty gutters and eroding masonry. The survey suggested that places of worship in rural areas – which applies to much of the South West – may be slightly more at risk; not only are there more grade I and II* places of worship in rural areas, but the communities they are in have fewer people to share the burden of care and finance.
