Around 70,000 listed buildings – nearly a fifth of the entire stock – were physically harmed by crime, a new study commissioned by English Heritage has revealed.
The findings come in the first comprehensive survey on the effect of crime on England’s historic buildings and sites. Other key findings are:-
• Churches and other religious buildings face the greatest threat with 38% damaged by crime last year
• Metal theft is the biggest single threat. Around 5% of listed buildings were affected by it, but this nearly trebles for churches with 14% affected last year
• The most precious buildings are the worst affected: 23% of grade I or grade II* buildings were subject to heritage crime last year, compared with 18% of grade II buildings
• Anti-social behaviour around heritage assets is common with 12.3% of heritage assets affected last year
“The figures are alarming, particularly for our churches,” said Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage. “Whilst heritage assets are not necessarily being targeted over other places – save perhaps for their valuable materials and artefacts – they are suffering a substantial rate of attrition from crime nonetheless.
“Damage done to a listed building or an archaeological site can often not be put right and centuries of history will be lost forever. These places have an obviously high value to society. Their particular vulnerability warrants every effort to ensure they are still around for future generations to enjoy just as much as we enjoy them now.”
English Heritage has been running a heritage crime reduction programme for two years now. The Alliance to Reduce Crime against Heritage (ARCH) is a voluntary national network of more than 100 organisations that is being used to take forward the initiatives and galvanise local action.
A memorandum of understanding setting out responsibilities between the three strategic partners – English Heritage, the police and CPS – was signed last year.
English Heritage is also producing a suite of guidance documents which will shortly include a guide to preventative measures.