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Yorkshire's endangered list: Call to save our heritage before it's too late
AT FIRST glance, it reads like a compilation of some of Yorkshire's quirkiest and most historic venues, showing just how much the region has to offer.
Whether it be the splendour of Castle Howard, the industrial heritage of the former Terry's chocolate factory in York or the cobbled streets of Holmfirth made famous by the BBC's Last of the Summer Wine series, Yorkshire's history has an undoubted global appeal.
But grave concerns have been expressed over just how long the region's heritage will remain standing as the passing of time and the advent of 21st century designs take their toll.
English Heritage has today unveiled the results of a survey which has revealed that one in 12 conservation areas in the region are at risk of neglect, decay or damaging change.
The findings have been published in this year's Heritage at Risk register, with Castle Howard, Holmfirth and the redundant Terry's factory all featuring as under-threat locations.
In Leeds, ancient Kirkgate, part of the City Centre Conservation Area, is described as the most threatened part of the city, suffering from long-term decay.
The register offers the most detailed ever insight into the state of the region's historic venues and includes the results of the first national survey of conservation areas, which have been designated by councils to protect their unique character.
English Heritage is launching a Conservation Areas at Risk campaign to get residents, community groups and councils working together to save the historic locations before it is too late.
English Heritage's regional director for planning and development, Trevor Mitchell, said: "These findings are a call for action. Some of our most iconic landscapes are conservation areas and they make a tremendous contribution to our quality of life, economy and sense of identity.
"Many of the problems they face are due to what owners and businesses do to their properties and how councils manage the streets, pavements, parks and public spaces.
"But we are not in the naming and shaming game. Residents, businesses and councils all have a role to play.
"This survey is a first step in understanding the threats they face. We now need to find solutions and we will target our conservation area grants on places identified as being at risk."
As part of the survey, English Heritage asked the region's 23 planning authorities to complete a questionnaire for each of their conservation areas. More than 65 per cent of the authorities responded, covering 511 of the region's 779 conservation areas.
However, a total of 44 conservation areas were found to be at risk, prompting mounting concerns over their future.
Nationally, English Heritage's survey revealed the biggest threats to conservation areas are the installation of plastic windows and doors, as well as poorly maintained roads and pavements and street cutter.
The loss of front garden walls, fences and hedges as well as the erection of unsightly satellite dishes have also had a major impact, as have the creation of traffic management schemes and alterations to the fronts, roofs and chimneys of buildings.
However, efforts already under way are starting to reap rewards after English Heritage named Richmondshire in North Yorkshire as the local authority which has done most in the region to improve its conservation areas.
The ancient market town of Richmond won one of eight English Heritage regional awards for a strategy to tackle long-term decline and the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 through the Swale Valley Community Initiative.
Nearly 50 key buildings have been repaired or restored.
From battles to burial grounds
A total of 120 Grade I and II* buildings are at risk of decay or neglect. New entries on the at-risk register include the 19th century Temple Mill in Leeds and a medieval dovecote in Sharlston, near Wakefield.
Bronze Age burial mounds and Second World War gun emplacements are among 744 – or 28 per cent – of the region's Scheduled Ancient Monuments which are at risk, the highest percentage in England.
A total of 11 of the region's 116 registered gardens and listed landscapes were found to be at risk – one more than last year.
Four historic battlefields are at risk – Towton (1461, Wars of the Roses) and Boroughbridge (1322, revolt against Edward II) in North Yorkshire, Adwalton Moor (1643, English Civil War), near Bradford, and Stamford Bridge (1066) in East Yorkshire.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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