Restoration Vocation
Private work of great public good
Television programmes such as the BBC’s
Restoration Nation have highlighted the plight
of several architecturally important buildings that are
in serious decay. They have also inspired and awakened
a fresh interest in some wonderful houses. In a year which
marks the 30th anniversary of SAVE Britain’s Heritage,
the remarkably influential conservation group established
to counter widespread indifference to the neglect of our
built heritage, such interest is heartening.
It takes courage, however, to enter into a restoration
project. Considerable research is necessary and many practical
and bureaucratic difficulties must be overcome, rarely
with the lure of a likely commercial reward. Hats off,
then, to the few individuals, trusts and campaigners,
who feel called to get their hands dirty, some of whom
Jackson-Stops & Staff have been privileged to be involved
with over the years. These include SAVE, many individual
enthusiasts and, of particular relevance at the moment,
the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust.
The Spitalfields Trust was founded in 1977 by a group
of enthusiasts concerned with the imminent demolition
of the fine streets of early 18th century terraced houses
in Spitalfields, just to the east of the City of London.
Now changing hands for seven figure sums, these neglected
properties could then be bought for under £2,000.
Even so, merely recouping the cost of restoration was
often an uphill struggle, as our sales records of those
early days demonstrate only too well. The Trust persevered,
however and, over the course of around 60 restorations,
breathed new life into the area to such an extent that,
a few years ago, its chairman Oliver Leigh-Wood announced
that their work there was done and that the Trust should
be looking further afield. This they have done with triumphant
results.
The Spitalfields Trust’s first project outside London
has been the restoration of Allt-y-Bela, a medieval tower
house near Usk, Monmouthshire. Believed to have been built
around 1450, extended dramatically in 1599 and then left
almost unaltered before being allowed to decay over much
of the last century, Allt-y-Bela is of tremendous historical
significance. Its impeccable and much admired restoration
by the Spitalfields Trust is an excellent example of the
work many individuals and organisations are carrying out
on behalf, in no small part, of us all.
The photographs show Allt-y-Bela
both before and after restoration. It is now being marketed
by the Country Houses & Estates Office in London at
a guide price of £1 million. |
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| In brief... |
HIPs central database
The latest ODPM statement on Home Information Packs
(HIPs) has highlighted the fact that the Condition
Reports that are a central part of the packs will
be accessible in, or via, a central database. Drafts
detailing “the way in which Home Condition
Report Registers are to be held and accessed”
are to be published by the ODPM. Our concern is
that, the register could, in theory, be accessed
not just by qualified Home Inspectors but also,
by the Government or even – as is now the case
with Land Registry records on selling prices –
anyone at all.
Home Information Pack legislation, under which it
will be compulsory for you to compile such a pack
about your property prior to marketing it as for
sale, is scheduled to come into force in 2007.
New land tax plans
Staying with the ODPM, it also now intends to firm
up plans first suggested in the Barker Report to
implement a new development land tax, Planning Supplement
Gain (PSG). Universally, our developer clients have
responded by pointing out that they already pay
a development tax, in the form of Planning Gain
charges and agreements levied by local authorities.
Though far from popular, these ‘Section 106’
charges do have a practical advantage in that they
are normally payable only as part of the physical
development of the site. Our belief is that a tax
on wholly undeveloped land will, as has been demonstrated
on four failed occasions since 1945, restrict the
supply of building land – especially where
it is most needed – whilst raising precious
little revenue.
Commonhold a rarity
Approximately a year on from the introduction of
a new form of tenure, Commonhold, in September 2004,
we spoke to the Land Registry to ask how many applications
for Commonhold registrations it had received. The
answer was… three. Two of these were for a
development of 1 to 9 units and one for 10 to 49
units. Designed primarily to benefit owner-occupiers,
Commonhold does offer some benefits to developers,
but most are reluctant to be pioneers without a
significant incentive. If Commonhold property is
ever to become a genuine option for buyers, the
creation of such an incentive might be necessary,
if only as a pump priming measure. |
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