Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 04 June 2025
We support the view that specialist knowledge must feed into the decisions. In some cases, a lack of access to conservation-accredited engineers and specialists could lead to an approach in which more general practitioners become more involved in decision making. It stands to reason that, without specialist knowledge of listed and traditionally constructed buildings, there may well be a more risk-averse approach, with recommendation of demolition without an understanding of the safety issues at play and the potential for restoration.
Specialists in historic buildings, including conservation engineers and building control surveyors, have a deeper understanding of the safety complexities and, crucially, the practical opportunities for refurbishment.
I will touch briefly on the financial viability of restoration and maintenance, which we believe needs to be considered with fresh eyes in 2025, through the lens of the climate emergency that has been declared and the value of embodied carbon. In looking at the two key arguments for retention and refurbishment of buildings over their demolition, the retention of heritage value and the lower level of embodied greenhouse gas emissions produced by retaining buildings are already considered as part of the decision-making process.