This series of surveys of Listed Buildings Owners and Occupiers aims to build Historic England’s and the heritage sector’s understanding of the challenges and opportunities of owning and occupying a listed building amongst large groups of heritage custodians.
image: for illustration only – Joanna Theobald
…(81%) support Listed Building Consent, but satisfaction with the process has declined (down to 35% from 51% in 2017…
Historic England writes:
2022 Survey of Listed Building Owners and Occupiers
In 2022 Historic England commissioned BMG Research to conduct a survey of residents of listed buildings and conservation areas.
1,678 listed building owners/occupiers shared their views on a range of topics, including repair and maintenance, retrofit and planning regulations. A comparison survey of 133 residents in conservation areas was also conducted.
The survey used a random sample of residential addresses selected from a list provided by Historic England. Respondents received an invitation letter with a link to the online survey and a freephone number for those who preferred to complete the survey over the telephone.
The survey ran from 11 February – 16 March 2022.
Summary of key findings:
- Living in a listed building can foster feelings of pride and local identity. 89%?of residents said they feel proud of their home and agreed it is?important to the character of their local area.
- The majority (86%) look after their homes by keeping on top of necessary repair and maintenance works.
- Builders and craftspeople are a key source of information on repair and maintenance of historic homes. They would be the first port of call for just over a third (34%) of residents.
- Whilst most look after their homes, many do encounter challenges, with just over half (57%) agreeing?that it is?difficult to afford the maintenance of their home.
- 90% of listed building residents said they were concerned about climate change, including 57% who were very concerned.
- Keeping warm in the winter is difficult for just under a quarter (23%) of residents, more so for renters and in more deprived areas. Nearly a third (32%) said that they had a very or fairly big problem with damp, condensation or mould.
- Many listed homes already have what can be seen as simpler and lower-cost efficiency measures. More complex and higher cost measures such as solar panels and wall and floor insulation have the lowest uptake. There are still many relatively simple and cost-effective measures that could be adopted, such as draft proofing and shutters/thermal curtains, whom only 38% and 41% report having used.
- Finances were identified as most important barriers to retrofit, including the upfront costs (45%) and a perceived lack of funds such as grants (47%).
- 31% and 33% of listed building residents respectively said that not knowing enough about retrofit and its complexity would put them off.
- 51% agreed that it would be difficult/ very difficult to find the right professionals (architects/ engineers) to advise on retrofit, compared to 39% of conservation area residents.
- An overwhelming majority of residents (81%) support Listed Building Consent, but satisfaction with the process has declined (down to 35% from 51% in 2017).
