"Buildings at Risk Register" (Adam Teladia)

"Buildings at Risk Register"

August 29, 2007 12:02 AM

Dear Mr Khalid Mahmood MP,

I am writing to you to ask that you call on the Government to act now to save our historic buildings before they are lost forever.

You may have seen the publication of the 2007 "Buildings at Risk Register" by government heritage organisation English Heritage which listed nineteen buildings (listed below) in Birmingham as being at serious risk of further decay and damage, some of these are right here in the constituency of Birmingham Perry Barr.

• 54-57 Albion Street, Birmingham

• Stable range to Aston Hall, Aston Hall Road, Aston

• British Rail Goods Office (Curzon Street Station)

• Grand Hotel, Colmore Row

• Methodist Central Hall, Corporation Street

• Bell's Farmhouse (East Wing), Bells Lane, Druid's Heath

• Perrott's Folly, Waterworks Road, Edgbaston

• Former Gas Retort House, 39 Gas Street, Birmingham

• Mortuary Chapel, Handsworth Cemetery, Oxhill Road, Handsworth

• Newman Brothers Coffin Furniture Works, 13-15 Fleet Street, Hockley

• 303 Icknield Street, Hockley

• Icknield Street School (Sikh Temple), Icknield Street, Hockley

• Former School of Art, 496-500 Moseley Road, Moseley

• Public Baths, Moseley

• The Red Lion Public House, Soho Road

• Weoley Castle, Birmingham

• The Bellefield Inn, 36-38 Winson Street, Winson Green

• Primrose Hill Farmhouse, Primrose Hill, Kings Norton

• Old Grammar School, The Green, Kings Norton

Many of these buildings are important to our local heritage and their loss would be a big blow and my fear is that with funding so limited to prevent further decay, restoring them in the future will be even more expensive.

English Heritage has suffered a massive drop in the amount of money the government provides to support our heritage. In 1999, the cash available for these building's was £6.6 million. Last year this dropped to a mere £4.4 million.

Building and repair costs are rising and without government action to stop the rot now, it may become too expensive to save some of our great historic buildings that at the moment are crumbling away.

One measure the government can take is to lower the VAT charged on renovating or extending homes and buildings. It is unfair that when a building is converted into housing or is renovated or extended, VAT has to be paid at the full rate on the building materials.

Yet at the same time, a house that is built from scratch on a greenfield site is charged no VAT at all. The effect is to encourage more new houses to be build in greenfield areas and to make it more expensive to improve and renovate existing buildings.

I hope that you will call on the Government to increase the funding given to English Heritage and to lower the VAT charged on renovating and extending buildings, these acts will help to save our historic buildings before they are lost forever.

Yours sincerely,

Adam Nazir Ahmed Teladia