| The fate of Britain's historic buildings rests with local people as much as the nation, according to new research from the independent Policy Studies Institute. |
| At least £247m was spent on the built heritage by local authorities and charitable trusts in 1994/95, more than the £239m which came from central government and Europe. In addition, the National Lottery enabled a further £138 to be spent on the conservation of important buildings across the country. |
| The latest issue of Cultural Trends, edited by Sara Selwood, includes a new study of voluntary support for the built heritage by Adrienne Muir. Although most trust money comes from the National Trust and National Trust for Scotland, a new analysis of Britain's 204 church and building trusts shows how over £21m is dedicated to the preservation of properties local people think worthy of historic or architectural interest. |
| At least £21m was available in 1994/95 in the form of assets owned by preservation trusts which are dedicated to the conservation of important buildings, ancient monuments and historic churches in their local communities. Against this, the trusts had liabilities which stood at £7.4m, including loans for restoration work. The administration of these funds was generally in the hands of local people, often volunteers. The Department of National Heritage and the National Lottery have both recently laid stress on the vital role played by local communities in the preservation of the built heritage. |
| The average church trust had financial assets of £174,000, which were used to make grants to historic places of worship. Building trusts had assets worth £251,000 on average, which were used to purchase historic properties and restore them before selling them on. The average preservation trust had liabilities of over £85,000, although half had less than £10,000. |
| Church trusts raised an average of £52,000 in revenue in 1994/95, largely from sponsorship and fundraising (42%). By contrast, building trusts raised an average of £46,000, including 37% from ticket sales, trading and lettings but only 1% from sponsorship and fundraising. |
| The biggest voluntary funders of the built heritage were the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland, which contributed £147m to the sector in 1994/95, nearly two thirds of the value of central government support for the built heritage. A further 57 charitable trusts spent another £69m. |
| ‘Everyone knows about the National Trust's work in preserving our historic buildings, but the contribution of local trusts often goes unrecognized' said Adrienne Muir. ‘In fact, there is much which can be done on a local level to protect important properties, whose future is often in the hands of local communities rather than in the trust of the nation.' |
| ENDS |
Notes to Editors:
| Press Release Index | Research Index | Publications | Home Page |