Much of the damage done to our historic buildings is caused owners acting out of ignorance of a building's historic interest and sympathetic forms of repair and restoration. We must step up efforts to help owners of historic buildings understand legislation and correct repair techniques and find information, advice and appropriate architects, surveyors and contractors.

First, the project to establish a national building conservation centre should be given the strongest backing. The initiative intends to establish a one stop shop for information about historic buildings. This information, available instantly over the Internet or phone, would include sources of advice on repair and alteration; details of courses, publications and talks; and names of conservation architects, surveyors, engineers, contractors and suppliers accredited to vetted registers. Although there are many very able bodies offering advice and information, currently they are disparate and often unknown to most owners of historic buildings.

Second, the Government has signalled its desire to introduce a requirement for property sellers to produce vendors information packs. This would be an ideal opportunity to educate and inspire. English Heritage, in association with the Institute for Historic Building Conservation, should prepare a standard information pack for owners of listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas for inclusion with the vendor's pack. This should include essential information such as what listing and listed building and conservation area consent mean to an owner and could contain drop in inserts with contact details and the list description. Most importantly it must be written and designed in an attractive and engaging manner. The aim should not be to say, "you can't do this and you can't do that", but rather to emphasise sympathetic solutions to common problems and demands (such as central heating, window repair, damp, render and paints), describe and explain the importance of simple maintenance procedures and explain materials, features, etc. in a way that brings the seemingly ordinary to life.

The document should aspire not only to educate and inform owners, but to encourage them to take a real pride and interest in their new acquisition, explaining how they can investigate the history of their home (see Point 25 below). The vendor's pack proposals may yet die, but the listed building pack should still be introduced and sent out in response to legal searches by new buyers. Some local authorities, such as the London Borough of Richmond, already do something along these lines.