What puts buildings at risk?
Over time what people need from their buildings changes, and the buildings must adapt and change as well, otherwise they will
stop being functional, maintenance will cease and they will fall into
decline. Many of the Listed Buildings considered to be ‘at risk’ within the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park are at risk because they have do not currently have a function or economic use because changing
demands means that they are no longer able to be used for the function that they were originally designed for.
The Buildings at Risk Register
All Local Authorities in Wales produce, update and maintain registers of the Listed Buildings that are considered to be ‘at risk’ in their local authority area. The Buildings at Risk Register for the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park was compiled in 2010 following a comprehensive survey of the Listed Buildings in the National Park. There are currently 132
buildings or structures on the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority ‘at Risk’ register, which equates to 6.8% of the listed building stock in the National Park Authority area. The Buildings at Risk survey also categorised the level of repairs and the urgency of the works
required at each of the buildings at risk to identify the priority sites that
were in urgent need of critical repairs to prevent the loss of the building. This register is publicly available, and includes the names of all the buildings, ‘naming and shaming’ problem buildings within the National
Park.
Tackling Buildings at Risk: The Buildings at Risk
Strategy
The Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s Building Conservation Officer endeavours to find a sustainable long term future for the Buildings at Risk within the National Park. Usually the best use for a Listed Building is the use that it was built for, but if with the needs of modern society this is no longer practical or possible, a change of function that would bring the building back in viable economic use, whilst retaining as much of the original fabric, floor plan and as many of the original features as possible, must be viewed as a positive step towards securing the long term future of the building. The Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s
strategy for tackling Buildings at Risk was developed from the 2010 Buildings at Risk Survey results and is publically available; this means that prospective developers, entrepreneurs, architects – and indeed house-hunters – can peruse the Register to find exciting new opportunities and projects. For further information regarding buildings on the Register please contact the Senior Heritage Officer.
The links below are to the Building at Risk Registry and Strategy (2012) and the Building at Risk Registry (2013):