Government Must Act To Save Our Crumbling Heritage

10.35.32pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 28th Aug 2007

Liz Leffman, Prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Meon Valley, today called for the Government to act now to save historic buildings in the area before they are lost forever.

Liz made the call following the publication of the 2007 Buildings at Risk Register by government heritage organisation English Heritage. One of the buildings listed as being at risk is the King John House at Warnford, which is believed to have been built in the early 13th century.

The report also lists a large number of buildings in Portsmouth, Gosport and Fareham, which form an important part of the area's naval heritage.

"English Heritage has suffered a big drop in the amount of money that the Government provides to protect our heritage," Liz said. "In 1999, the cash available for these buildings was £6.6 million, but that has been slashed by one third to £4.4 million.

"With the cost of repairs growing, the Government needs to act now before rising costs mean it becomes too expensive to stop our historic buildings crumbling away.

"One measure the Government can take is to lower the VAT charged on renovation of buildings. It is unfair that when a building is renovated or, for that matter, converted or extended, VAT has to be paid at the full rate on the building materials."