Tips for Meeting with Conservation Officer

[andrew gayton]

slightly out of context if one considers the comparable buildings stock..... but i get your point!

 

[Flyfisher]

you must appreciate that the conservation movement was established to coincide with huge changes as a result of industrialism and population expansion

Fair point . . . population growth must surely be the biggest problem the planet faces

 

[Mark]

I'm sure you could get some volunteers to harrow westminster if that would help?

 

[biffvernon]

. . . population growth must surely be the biggest problem the planet faces

It's not so much their numbers as what they do.

 

[Flyfisher]

Well, whatever else they do, they all need feeding, watering, somewhere to live and somewhere to dispose of their waste, which all puts a strain on the ecosystem. And that's even before they become active participants in today's consumer-driven society.

 

[middi]

There will never be a time when the human race is pleased about their existence..........TOO MANY OF US NOW !!!!!!.......

Hitler, Stalin, Idi amin, Saddam hussain, the Americans( nuclear bomb !), plus countless other prdecessors sharing the same mentality tried to reduce the numbers, but we keep shouting ...." FOUL ".

As volontary castration is off the agenda, we are stuck with lots of us.

 

[Flyfisher]

As volontary castration is off the agenda, we are stuck with lots of us.

If we were only 'stuck with lots of us' it might not be too bad, it's the ever increasing numbers that worries me. But I agree there's not much that can be done about it in practice so we'll just have to wait until something catastrophic beyond our control happens, as it inevitably does with population explosions

Anyone remember that Star Trek episode about a planet of beings that had solved all sickness and death, with the result that there was literally no more room on the planet ?

 

[swoodley]

Thanks for all your feedback, this is a great site. It's been good to get advice from others who have had previous experience.

The meeting went ahead with the CO, and we felt went really well. It was great to get not only information on ways we could approach the renovation sympathetcially, but also likely problems or concerns with attempting anything major (i.e digging out and problems with damp), background on why the building was listed and further information on where specific features would have originally been located (i.e. the stairs).

Thanks everyone for all your help and advice.

Steph

 

[Nemesis]

I suggest that a brief pause for thought is given to the destruction of the country house in this country in the 20th century - and it was only because conservationists made such a fuss about it that it stopped. We lost hundreds upon hundreds until Marcus Binney, Johh Harris and Roy Strong mounted the 'Destruction of the Country House' exhibition at the V and A.


Anyone who thinks that without major fusses being made people would simply carry on conserving buildings is frankly living in cloud cuckoo land.

Some would - many wouldn't - without legal controls it would simply be a free for all.

Even with legal controls it's all too frequently a huge and daunting battle to preserve buildings (including listed ones) and prevent demolition.

I'm afraid developers can get more for cleared sites and overdevelopment, and a concern for the historic environment simply isn't on their horizons.

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org

 

[Nemesis]

And let's not forget HM Government isn't averse to spoiling buildings of great merit, going against its own policies - see Middlesex Guildhall (for which all is being done which can be done to try to prevent this 'state-sponsored vandalism' - A Wilkinson)

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org


Anyone who thinks that it's fine to rip out interiors of this quality is frankly barking.

The building isn't empty - it's in use as a court and should remain so, the new Supreme Court should be built or located elsewhere.

 

[andrew gayton]

the historic environment will not be a priority for the government until it is all lost. joni m and parking lots spring to mind.

 

[Nemesis]

Aye, pave Paradise...

But the Guildhall isn't going to be lost without a fight, nor Easington Colliery School, nor indeed Smithfield...