THE HERITAGE AT RISK REGISTER
The Heritage at Risk register is released annually to catalog the most at-risk heritage sites in England. It includes the whole range of sites from vast cathedrals and stately homes to small cottages and rural churches. Some of the most prominent sites include Lincoln Cathedral, one of the finest and most famous cathedrals in England, and Wentworth Woodhouse, one of the grandest stately homes in England. The Heritage at Risk register illustrates the heritage of England in all its complexity and the challenges that England faces in terms of protecting its built heritage environment
THE RISK ASSESSMENT TYPE
These are carried out according to the type of site. For example, building or structure assessments include listed buildings, (but not places of worship). Buildings must be grade I, grade II*, or grade II if they are in London, or a scheduled monument with upstanding masonry remains. In terms of occupancy, a building will be listed as ‘vacant, ‘part-occupied, ‘occupied,’ ‘not applicable’, ‘unknown.’ Structures that are ‘not applicable’ tend to be ruins, follies, gate stones and boundary stones.
In terms of condition, the buildings are listed as ‘poor,’ ‘very poor,’ ‘fair’ or ‘good.’ Building listed as ‘good’ may be one that has been restored but has not found a use.
The criteria for places of worship differs significantly, as they are judged on condition only. If such a place is listed as ‘very bad’ or ‘poor,’ then it is included on the Register. Whilst on the Register, places of worship can move through the different categories, as repairs are undertaken and they are eventually removed from the register. To date, Historic England has assessed a significant percentage of the 14,800 listed places of worship and is working with the respective faith communities to continue assessing such buildings.
Parks and gardens are assessed according to their condition and vulnerability, and any measures being taken by the owners to address issues. The risks that parks and gardens face are usually development, neglect, or major change. Another problem can be divided ownership which results in the loss of a cohesive conservation plan. Once such plans are put into place then such sites are removed from the register.
PRIORITY CATEGORIES
- A - Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric; no solution agreed
- B - Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric; solution agreed but not yet implemented
- C - Slow decay; no solution agreed
- D - Slow decay; solution agreed but not yet implemented
- E - Under repair or in fair to good repair, but no user identified; or under threat of vacancy with no obvious new user (applicable only to buildings capable of beneficial use)
- F - Repair scheme in progress and (where applicable) end use or user identified; or functionally redundant buildings with new use agreed but not yet implemented
