Written evidence submitted by David Richard Barton
INTRODUCTION:
I am David R Barton, a voluntary Community Campaigner with over 10 years’ of grassroots civic heritage experience and success. In that time, I have served 4 years in Local Government on Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council as a Councillor, whereupon I worked with both Local & Central Government and the wider Private Sector to embark upon a wide series of restorative campaigns across Southport.
I have worked alongside Council Officers, residents, businesses and organisations to deliver positive constrictive and informed change for the local area by proactively listening to and engaging with key stakeholders. This has encapsulated direct canvassing of person(s) for their feedback and presenting their views in Petitions, Prose Forms and Polls before Committees at different levels of the Local Authority as well as showcasing my own individual and collective successes across the local media channels and my own digital media platforms.
Since that time, I have voluntarily continued my endeavours to complete said heritage campaigns on behalf of residents and businesses and in so doing begin new ones. In my time as a voluntary Heritage Campaigner I have mainly used my grassroots knowledge to raise awareness of the value of civic heritage and its economic and environmental benefits through the vast carbon capacity potential of Old Builds predominantly via my community journalism which has enabled me to more effectively achieve positive desired outcomes with a level of priority exerted towards Non-Designated Heritage Assets at risk of demolition to the best of my resources.
I have chronicled my work for and on behalf of the community at length continuing to correspond with key people and organisations that have raised their own concerns with me and are greatly aligned in wishing to see greater support for heritage work be it conserving an existing property or potentially purchasing a new one to restore rather than demolishing it. Please note all my answers are wholly organic and have arisen continuously from a variety of third parties whom I’m actively reaching out to by means of partaking in this exercise. The ability to elaborate and expand on my grassroots feedback and proposals would be greatly appreciated if given the opportunity at any in-person/live hearings comprising this National Inquiry.
One signature campaign that I have expended many resources collaboratively with the respective key stakeholders was the mile-long Victorian Verandahs on Lord Street, which are almost at the 100% completion mark at the time of writing for units receiving a full or thorough restoration. Other prominent campaigns have included the restoration of historic street furniture and my proposals for alternative use of BT Telephone Boxes for mobile phone charging to be duly actioned alongside an improved postal collection and delivery service for businesses with Royal Mail both sanctioned in 2024.
I am therefore providing my submissions by means of actively assisting any one person(s) or organisations out there with a historic building or more to appreciate and realise the monetary ad heritage value of their assets which can be just as important and achievable if they are therefore granted the appropriate required level of support. People can will undertake restorative ventures if they feel they are being supported not penalised or obligated therefore I’m hoping that my partaking of the National Inquiry may go some way towards actually protecting more historic buildings either already or yet to be at risk of loss to the community.
Indeed, many buildings with up to centuries of existence are now at grave threat of demolition by virtue of the fact that either or both funding grants haven’t been signposted to or applied for, and Local Authorities have been depicted as prioritizing Enforcement over Collaboration and Compassion. This has caused an unhealthy recurring pattern of leaving said premises to incur sufficient structural damage before planning approval is eventually given for their removal which would suggest a lethargy on part of the Authorities who should have addressed and resolve this differently from the outset. Sefton Borough-wide is a prime example of this including neighbouring Liverpool and so we must work hard to earn the trust and mutual resect and sincerity of key third parties and stakeholders pertaining to our areas’ respective built heritage.
In too many cases, especially since 2020 I have observed a horrific rising of full or considerable demolition to perfectly materially sound old buildings on the grounds of commercial gain which are time and time again being poorly justified on the grounds of their supposed “being too expensive to run or look after”. This is clearly not completely the full truth of the matter, but I would strongly urge you to consider the benefits of helping property owners and Councils alike so that together we can physically retain our prized landscapes which our ancestors laid out before us for many future generations to enjoy and use long after us.
1. What are the most significant challenges facing owners and operators of built heritage assets, and how are they affecting what those sites can offer?
The most significant challenges I have observed are costly planning applications and associated fees for alterations which in itself has led to a rising cascade of person(s) and organisations now adopting lethargic demolition proposals. From m own anecdotal experience with the Victorian Verandahs, there is either costly or time-consuming effort required to access an already seemingly limited set of heritage funding grants with stringent conditions that are either disenfranchising key stakeholders from considering these altogether and/ or having to abandon these part way through due to the laborious nature of applying, awaiting an outcome and eventual receipt of said funding for restorative works. Retrospective funding isn’t an option this has also been a strong deterrent when encountering prominent property owners with a portfolio of properties often adjacent one another in Lord Street, Southport which has cased delays in refurbishment works taking place and in turn deterring other property owners from undertaking their own works. A pooled Town Hall Fund would perhaps be a brilliant way of crystallising a tangible way towards tackling key long-term issues plaguing Councils, especially those with heritage features hard to access or requiring a full shutdown causing additional costs for said authority therefore older buildings must be given due attention and focus subject to evidenced check listing of works undertaken to date and careful allocation of funding expenditure and resources to preserve the property to date. Frequent reports commissioned perhaps monthly may be a good gauge to identify silent or surprise problems that may arise due to freak weather patterns or wear and tear with passive time.
Suggested Interventions may therefore include: permission for retrospective heritage funding grant funding; costly larger-scale repairs, such as roof and insulation to be granted as a default therefore enabling more periodic maintenance and upkeep of items such as guttering to be more consistently undertaken through the year; removal of bureaucratic red tape such as permissions from 3rd and 4th parties to complete restorative works which has caused delays and the redoing of a previous series of works due to poor weather conditions exposed to historical buildings in between phases, such as harsh winters; and ongoing maintenance grants for simpler maintenance which may encourage voluntary support from professional contractors who could promote their craft skills, especially if they are specialists in particular aspects, such as stained glass, stone masonry, wood carving, etc.
The Government should STOP all demolition of Old Builds dating back to before the 1950s with automatic powers to get restorative funding and associated security for historic buildings at risk, especially those which may be Non-Designated Heritage Assets with centuries of existence behind them. Government at all tiers should be proactively identifying he historic structural fabric of their presiding districts so that existing property owners are given full and abled support to conserve their buildings without needing to get to the stage of costly enforcement action for both sides and enabling genuine property owners struggling financially to be provided with a more conducive offer to live within their means whilst protecting the property from being sold on and demolished for modular housing therefore blotting the landscape and deleting the civic heritage for that area.
2. How effective are the current funding and finance models for built heritage?
Current funding and finance models are neutral negative for several reasons. Whilst they do provide much needed aid, they take too long to apply for, are too competitive with ultra strict criteria and are not as well highlighted for people that may need them to access them. Very often these are only seemingly available to those already working in heritage fields therefore putting historic builds privately owned by individuals at risk of not receiving any support which may crate a vicious cycle of these people pursuing demolition proposals. They focus mainly on only listed buildings, especially Places of Holy Worship where funding is extremely limited for Non-Listed buildings presently.
Public Funding should be directly accessible with those that have already expended vast sums to be ring-fenced for funding by means of good will and encouraging others to more proactively look after their historic buildings. A funding pot already held by the Local Authority which private property owners could apply to may bypass costly time delays with evidenced levels of previous maintenance to date and restorative efforts recorded and presented to justify sooner funding release to those persons(s) and organisations in desperate need of grant funding aid.
3. What role does built heritage play in the regeneration of local areas and in contributing to economic growth and community identity?
Built heritage is key in attracting high quality net inward investment such as chain brands and independent retailers onto the high street with a particular motif they wish to market themselves against. This has historically supported Southport until the area significantly became less well maintained and dirty between 2010 and 2014 when the last major grant funding programme for the stone balustrades on the east side of the street was delivered. The local community identity can be bolstered as a either a town, area or region with a strong focus on the national development of UK planning laws that demonstrate local traditional vernacular architectural styles therefore enabling customers and visitors to become more likely to visit and spend in the surrounding areas also in need of investment and economic growth.
4. What are the financial, regulatory and practical barriers to preserving built heritage?
The financial, regulatory and practical barriers to preserving built heritage namely include: costly planning application fees, the over strict requirement to use authentic weaker materials such as sash windows rather than authentic reproduction replicas that are visually identical yet offer much greater endurance and cost effectiveness. There are counter examples of outright rebuilding of Old Builds inside out into new builds that have been permitted at the north end of Lord Street, Southport which have frustrated historic property owners having to navigate the conventional planning channels. A broad national effort to educate, train and support artisans and skilled craftsman professionals thereby enabling greater accessibility across the country at any one time without incurring time delays causing further deleterious damage to any one property with the exorbitant cost for existing restorative services able to be reduced making it more cost-effective for purchasers, such as property owners and landlords, etc. Special collective offers to bring property owners together where consecutive tenement buildings require assistance such as Lord Street Southport would also bring down contractor prices as I helped engineer myself in the past.
Remove enforcement powers and replace these with incentives, such as security for protection of historic properties and initial restorative maintenance & upkeep funding where it can be clearly evidenced that every best possible effort has been or is being made to safeguard and conserve the property/ properties concerned. Prevention of elected representatives from politically harassing property owners through embarrassment in the media and official documents to tidy their properties with a “Mutual Respect & Sincerity” Contract drawn up to best serve everyone’s interests. I am pleased to note that I have always adopted this approach which has commanded remarkable success at times where the Council have been seeking a resolution with varying key stakeholders for decades.
5. What policies would ensure the UK workforce has the right skills to maintain our heritage assets?
Free Training grants via Apprentice and University programmes with financial assistance covering everyday living including home working where people may be supporting their own immediate family in challenging times yet still being able to pursue their full academic or vocational potential; reduction of taxes wherever possible for employers to make this commercially appealing. Voluntary training provided at school to ease people in and identify people better placed for a vocational career who can consolidate their individual skill sets and be assigned a company to work for that will provide and guarantee stable job opportunities without needing to retain or reskill in something completely different. A programme to reconstruct Old Builds long lost demolished for new housing and office blocks should be entered into whereby those new builds (1960s onwards) already marked for demolition may be replaced with a reproduction of the original building(s) that came previously before, as is happening successfully across the world in Europe and America. This would guarantee a real-time need for UK workforces to be deployed to incoming job contracts and provide an incentive to potential employers to get more immersed in this sector ad consequently spend more on the training of their staff as well as bringing the net price down so that more people can afford civic heritage- be it new traditional constructions or conserving the surviving Old Builds still physically intact.