Achievements
SAVE has used the power of public opinion, through press releases and reports, and the threat of legal action to rescue a series of major buildings from demolition and decay as well to fight for numerous local landmarks.
On three separate occasions SAVE has set up charitable trusts to restore threatened buildings - Barlaston Hall, Staffordshire, All Souls, Halifax and 6 Palace Street, Caernarfon. The SAVE Trust is currently restoring the Grade II* listed Castle House in Bridgwater.
Many of SAVE's campaigns have altered the way legislation now protects our built heritage.
Our attack on insensitive shop fronts contained guidelines now adopted by many local planning authorities.
SAVE was the first organisation to campaign for the introduction of the Thirty Year Rule which now makes outstanding post-war buildings in England and Wales eligible for listing.
SAVE has also been instrumental in changing public and professional attitudes, such as leading the way in promoting the reuse of redundant industrial buildings.
Many buildings have been saved as a direct result of featuring on the SAVE register of threatened historic buildings. This was the first register of its kind to be made available on the internet and remains a unique source of information for people looking to repair and reuse threatened historic buildings. Visit the buildings at risk section for more information.
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SAVE is hiring! We are looking for a Senior Conservation Officer
We now have a fantastic opportunity for you to become our Senior Conservation Officer. This is a key role in the SAVE team. You will co-ordinate our responses to major planning applications affecting historic buildings or places, and act as a primary point of advice for casework in the office. You will liaise with a wide range of people from members of the public and community groups to decision makers on all levels from local authorities and amenity societies to national organisations and government.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE welcomes new City of London conservation area
The Creechurch Conservation Area is the first heritage zone to be designated in the City since 2018 and recognises the rich layers of history around Aldgate
SAVE in the news - December 2023 - January 2024
In the last month we've been on Sky News and in the Financial Times
PRESS RELEASE: Let them Into Your Heart…
SAVE Britain’s Heritage calls for all four Beatles’ birthplaces to be celebrated with ‘group listing’
SAVE in the news - September 2023
From the launch of our Greater Manchester report to the unfolding events at Ayr Station Hotel, it's been another busy month on the SAVE news desk.
SAVE in the news - July 2023
SAVE’s landmark win in the M&S case was splashed across all the papers and news bulletins
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE salutes M&S decision as ‘watershed moment’ that links the benefits of carbon reduction and heritage for the first time
Secretary of State cites heritage, design and sustainability issues in landmark ruling
SAVE welcomes Secretary of State's ruling on M&S Oxford St
Victory for SAVE as Michael Gove refuses permission for highly controversial demolition and rebuild plans
NOT QUITE LAST ORDERS: Historic potteries pub saved from the bulldozers
SAVE Britain’s Heritage is pleased to report that plans to flatten a historic public house in Stoke-on-Trent have been refused by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
BaR News Round-up July 2023
The annual launch of new entries to our Buildings at Risk register on June 28th was a lively and interesting event that attracted a good deal of both national and regional press coverage. The overall message that we should reuse our historic buildings to preserve them resonated strongly. Also in this month's news round-up, we highlight a number of buildings on the register which are for sale.
SAVE in the news: June 2023
SAVE’s phone has been ringing off the hook this month with requests from TV, radio and newspapers wanting to interview our Buildings at Risk officer Liz Fuller, from The Times to the Daily Star.
PRESS RELEASE: Close-up building survey reveals ‘stunning’ details of Ayr Station Hotel still intact
Specialist building engineer scales the scaffolding at Ayr Station Hotel to establish condition of historic landmark
LISTING SUCCESS: Historic art gallery saved from demolition
SAVE Britain’s Heritage is delighted to report that 19-20 Cork Street in the heart of London’s historic contemporary art district has been granted grade II listing protection
PRESS RELEASE: Green light for SAVE to challenge school demolition in Court of Appeal
SAVE Britain’s Heritage has been granted permission by the Court of Appeal to challenge plans to demolish a historic Victorian school building in Garway, Herefordshire
BRANDON BACK ON TRACK: SAVE welcomes repair proposals for historic Suffolk station roof
Swift intervention and specialist advice commissioned by SAVE averts demolition of roof at country station in favour of sensitive repairs
Georgian gems granted listing protection in the battle for Museum Street
A series of fine but neglected early 19th century buildings just metres from the British Museum have been granted listing protection in the face of controversial development plans
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE raises alarm over new demolition threat – two years after saving listed station
SAVE commissions specialist engineer to assess threatened historic railway station
PRESS RELEASE: Palatial Liverpool hotel completes spectacular 90-year return journey
Forty-five years since SAVE Britain’s Heritage first intervened to avert demolition, guests at Liverpool’s newest hotel can experience one of the most spectacular return journeys in railway architectural history
SAVE in the news - January 2023
The launch of the Liverpool Street Station campaign with Griff Rhys Jones attracted plenty of attention from the national papers, Radio 4 and ITV London - as well as trade magazines from Building to The Caterer.
Press Release: Public inquiry opens into controversial South Kensington station plans
A high-profile public inquiry opens this week into plans to redevelop South Kensington Underground Station that would permanently scar the listed station and historic district.
SAVE in the news - December 2022
The Times ran a prominent piece on Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud arguing that the culture of demolishing buildings is wasteful, singling out M&S Oxford Street as a particularly “lazy” example.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE welcomes creation of London’s newest piazza
St Mary-le-Strand set free from traffic island to become centrepiece of spectacular new public space
Piazza creates attractive setting and new opportunities for ‘little houses on the Strand’ whose demolition SAVE successfully opposed
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE seeks Court of Appeal permission to challenge historic school demolition
SAVE Britain’s Heritage will argue demolition was approved without correct process
Appeal success: Harmful plans for historic Surrey estate thrown out
Plans opposed by SAVE Britain’s Heritage to harmfully alter grade II listed Esher Place in Surrey have been refused by the Planning Inspectorate on heritage grounds.
SAVE in the news - November 2022
SAVE made headlines in papers from The Times to the Sheffield Star
SAVE in the news - October 2022
We’ve been thrilled by the powerful media spotlight that has been shone on SAVE’s fight to stop M&S demolishing its flagship Oxford Street building.
PRESS RELEASE: Post-war mural of 'dazzling beauty' in Oldham is celebrated and urgently protected through listing
Government adds Oldham Mural masterpiece to national heritage register
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE unveils new conservation-led vision for Anglia Square
SAVE Britain’s Heritage is today publishing exciting alternative proposals for Anglia Square in Norwich, designed to show how a conservation-led scheme could reverse the damage of the 1960s and create an attractive and vibrant neighbourhood in the medieval heart of the city.
SAVE in the news - June 2022
It’s been a busy month. The Buildings at Risk launch generated headlines from Northumberland to Cornwall, while SAVE’s director Henrietta Billings was quoted in a major Guardian piece on the M&S call-in, a story that was covered by most major news outlets. Norris Castle, the remains of St Olave’s in Norwich and other casework also generated headlines.
PRESS RELEASE: Secretary of state throws out controversial hotel plans for Thames historic landmark
The Planning Inspectorate has rejected highly contested plans to convert and extend London’s Custom House and quayside into a luxury hotel complex. The decision follows a three year campaign led by the Georgian Group and SAVE Britain’s Heritage culminating in a public inquiry in February 2022.
EVENT: Rare chance to see inside grade I-listed Ombersley Court
First open day in Worcestershire country house’s 300-year history
SAVE in the news - May 2022
SAVE's work in May featured in national and regional newspapers and magazines - from the Daily Mail to the Daily Star. Our open letter calling on Michael Gove to hold a public inquiry into plans to demolish M&S’s flagship store received particular attention.
LISTING SUCCESS: National recognition and protection for historic Rochdale weavers’ cottages
Three 18th century weavers’ cottages in Middleton near Rochdale have been listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, following an emergency listing application by SAVE Britain’s Heritage.
PRESS RELEASE: Ayr Station Hotel deadlock can be broken
SAVE Britain’s Heritage publishes new proposals for Ayr Station Hotel, drawn up by leading Scottish architects and costed by Quantity Surveyors.
PRESS RELEASE: Ministers must act to protect an essential part of Wales’s heritage
The Welsh Assembly is to debate the listing of an imposing Victorian school threatened with demolition in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan.
SAVE STATEMENT: Parliament’s Restoration & Renewal Sponsor Body to be wound up
SAVE Britain's Heritage welcomes news that Parliament’s Restoration & Renewal Sponsor Body is to be stood down and replaced by new body working directly for the House of Commons Commission and House of Lords Commission.
PRESS RELEASE: Future of palatial Thames landmark in the balance as public inquiry opens
The public inquiry into highly controversial plans to convert and extend London’s Custom House has opened in the City of London. The inquiry is examining a series of issues arising from proposals to convert the 19th century landmark on the banks of the Thames into a 200-room hotel.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE welcomes Liverpool refusal of Waterloo Dock infill scheme
SAVE Britain’s Heritage welcomes the decision by Liverpool City Councillors to refuse proposals to infill part of West Waterloo Dock in the city’s historic northern docks.
PRESS RELEASE: New report blasts bulldoze and rebuild plan for M&S Oxford Street HQ
A new report published today calls on Marks and Spencer (M&S) to re-think its demolition plan for the landmark Oxford Street store and warns Westminster City Council it won’t meet its stated climate change commitments unless it immediately changes course.
PRESS RELEASE: Parliament roof repairs completed for £80 million are a bargain
Parliament roof repairs completed today for £80 million are a bargain compared to the reported £14 billion now quoted for Parliament’s Restoration and Renewal Programme.
PRESS RELEASE: National Gallery and European counterparts support urgent calls to save Oldham Mural
The Director of the National Gallery in London, Gabriele Finaldi, is backing the campaign to save the Oldham Mural.
PRESS RELEASE: Quintessential rural station saved following legal challenge
Legal action by SAVE Britain’s Heritage has secured a reprieve for one of the smallest and most delightful country stations on the railway network. This is Salhouse, north of Norwich on the line up to the fashionable seaside resorts of Cromer and Sheringham.
PRESS RELEASE: Councillors throw out controversial South Kensington station plans
Despite being tipped for approval, Kensington and Chelsea’s Major Development Planning Committee has unanimously rejected proposals for a large-scale development at the heart of historic South Kensington. The decision spells victory in a near three-year battle led by local residents and SAVE Britain’s Heritage.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE launches new plan to preserve historic 1920s Cinema
Following successful legal action to stop the demolition of a spectacular piece of early cinema architecture, SAVE Britain’s Heritage has now published an alternative scheme for reusing the Sandonia site in Stafford.
PRESS RELEASE: Emphatic refusal of Custom House hotel plans sets stage for public inquiry
The City of London’s Planning Committee has voted unanimously to refuse plans to convert London’s Custom House into a hotel, citing the lack of public access proposed and harm to the building’s heritage significance.
PRESS RELEASE: England’s premier cathedral city under attack from rapacious overdevelopment
The City of Canterbury is recklessly and destructively placing economic development ahead of its biggest draw and asset, its heritage. A new SAVE Britain's Heritage report Canterbury Take Care! assess how Canterbury City Council is in danger of eroding its unique selling point – its beauty and history.
PRESS RELEASE: Listing success as Victorian Manchester Engine House saved from demolition
SAVE is delighted to announce that the Engine House and chimney base of the former Linotype Works in Altrincham has been listed, halting its proposed demolition.
PRESS RELEASE: Demolition of charming Victorian school averted
An application to demolish a historic village school under permitted development rights has been dismissed by Herefordshire Council following SAVE's challenge and strong local outcry.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE urges Ministers to avoid UK treaty breach over Liverpool's UNESCO World Heritage
SAVE sets out series of recommendations for the UK Government to assure UNESCO that world heritage is safe in Britain's hands.
PRESS RELEASE: BVI registered company neglects historic Wiltshire mansion
SAVE calls on Wiltshire County Council to issue urgent repairs orders for grade I listed Zeals House in Wiltshire
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE legal action halts demolition of Stafford gem
Swift action by SAVE’s lawyers has stopped the demolition of the Sandonia in Stafford, a handsome 1920s cinema with a triumphal arch frontage.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE gets listing bid rolling for Lancashire Bowls Club
SAVE Britain’s Heritage has launched a listing application to secure the future of one of Britain’s earliest Bowling Clubs in Old Trafford, Lancashire.
PRESS RELEASE: South Ken plans withdrawn at 11th hour amidst surging public outcry
South Ken plans withdrawn amidst surging public outcry the day after SAVE calls on RBKC Planning Committee to reject proposals
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE this gem of Bohemia from greedy developers
SAVE calls on Kensington and Chelsea Planning Committee Councillors to reject harmful plans for South Kensington station and send out a clear message to the applicants that 'Big is not always Best' and that Small is Beautiful.
PRESS RELEASE: Richmond House is saved!
A House of Commons debate has confirmed that Parliament’s controversial plans to demolish Richmond House, one of the most significant historic public buildings of the 1980s, will not now proceed.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE and Museum of London host Prince Charles on historic visit to Smithfield General Market
The Prince of Wales yesterday visited the scene of one of SAVE Britain’s Heritage’s greatest battles – the General Market and the Fish Market in Smithfield.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE calls on MPs to reject ‘Project Goldplate’
SAVE gives MPs 10 key reasons to reject Parliament’s expensive and destructive Restoration & Renewal plans. Proposals to demolish grade II* listed Richmond House now look vastly wasteful in these more frugal times.
PETITION: STOP THE DEMOLITION OF 72-81 FLEET STREET
SAVE Britain's Heritage has launched an urgent petition calling upon Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to stop the demolition of Nos.72-78 and 80-81 Fleet Street and call a public inquiry.
LET IT BE LISTED: Campaign victory means Beatles cinema can live ‘Abbey Ever After’!
Supermarket giant told to ‘Get Back’ - to the drawing board! Lidl’s bid to demolish Liverpool’s art deco Abbey Cinema blocked by Historic England listing.
PRESS RELEASE: Norwich tower block plan abandoned as court case collapses
SAVE Britain's Heritage welcomes the decision by Weston Homes and Columbia Threadneedle to withdraw from the High Court action over highly controversial £271 million plans to re-develop Anglia Square in the centre of Norwich.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE bid to list historic Edwardian farm gains national support
SAVE's listing application gains support from national organisations and showcases previously unknown significance of model home farm.
Richmond House: Parliamentary report recognises major cost savings in SAVE approach
SAVE Britain’s Heritage is pleased to find that our alternative scheme for retaining Richmond House is cited as the “the cheapest of the shortlisted schemes by some way”, in a report published by the Sponsor body charged with reviewing the costs of restoring the Palace of Westminster.
SAVE salvo helps avert needless demolition of Victorian villa
Plans to demolish locally listed Victorian villa thrown out by Councillors
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE intervention thwarts demolition of model Edwardian farm
Swift and decisive action by SAVE Britain’s Heritage has secured a reprieve for Home Farm, a model Edwardian Farmstead in rural Hampshire threatened with imminent demolition by owner the Ministry of Defence.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE welcomes Scottish Government's dismissal of damaging Edinburgh Royal High School hotel plans
SAVE Britain's Heritage has welcomed news that the Scottish Government has thrown out an appeal by hotel developers Urbanist Hotels and Duddingston House Properties for a 150-room luxury hotel complex adjacent to the Category A Listed Royal High School on Calton Hill, Edinburgh.
PRESS RELEASE: Listing saves historic railway station from demolition
SAVE Britain's Heritage has just heard that a historic country station in Suffolk at Brandon has been designated as a grade II listed building after a 14-year battle by local people.
Staying in the past: buildings formerly at risk given new lives as historic hotels
SAVE Britain’s Heritage is pleased to see that several historic buildings formerly on the Buildings at Risk register have been successfully restored and opened as hotels.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE welcomes pivotal moment as Museum of London wins planning for Smithfield
SAVE Britain's Heritage warmly welcomes the green light given yesterday to transform Smithfield General Market into the Museum of London's new home.
PRESS RELEASE: SAVE backs rescue bid to revive 1845 Brandon Station
As bulldozers loom over Brandon’s 1845 flint station building, SAVE Britain's Heritage and the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust appeal for its immediate listing.
Listing Success: 1840s Liverpool mill granted grade II status
SAVE has successfully supported the listing of a historic former Cotton Mill in Liverpool's northern docks.
PRESS RELEASE: Going green: refurb Richmond House and slash carbon emissions
A new academic study commissioned by SAVE Britain’s Heritage, published today, sets out massive energy reduction benefits of retaining and re-using award winning offices in the heart of Whitehall.
SAVE gives evidence against 20-storey Norwich Tower
SAVE Britain’s Heritage has given evidence against the 20-storey tower block proposed for the medieval heart of Norwich during the opening week of a public inquiry examining the future of Anglia Square in the northern city centre.
SAVE salutes designation of Sutton Estate conservation area
SAVE Britain's Heritage is delighted that the Sutton Estate, a handsome Edwardian housing development in central London has been designated as conservation area by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea – rightly celebrating the architectural and historical
significance of the buildings to the borough.Press release: Heritage heavyweights slam proposals for Richmond House
Leading heritage figures brought discussions of Richmond House to the heart of Westminster this week in a special event in Pugin's Houses of Parliament.
Talks by distinguished writers, architects and architectural historians highlighted the importance of the architecture and significance of the grade II* listed building – opened just 30 years ago – and now threatened with demolition.Press release: SAVE welcomes new public piazza plans for the Strand
SAVE Britain's Heritage warmly welcomes proposals to pedestrianise a 200m stretch of the Strand in central London.
Europa Nostra delegation visits Grimsby Ice Factory
The Europa Nostra and European Investment Bank Institute 'Mission Visit' to Grimsby Ice Factory took place from 16-18 December 2018. The building was successfully nominated last year by SAVE Britain's Heritage, in conjunction with the Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust, as one of Europe's 7 Most Endangered heritage sites.
Too good to lose. SAVE publishes new book on historic schools at risk
Our report Too good to lose. Historic schools at risk, published in November 2018, is prompted by national concern about the loss of historic school buildings and illustrates examples of fi ne buildings standing empty and deteriorating and others handsomely refurbished for new uses.
Press release: Miniature castle in Bridgwater, Somerset, emerges after 20 years of rescue battle
The scaffolding has come down! SAVE Britain’s Heritage is delighted to announce that the final stage of structural repairs and restoration of the façade of Castle House in Bridgwater, Somerset, has now completed. For the first time after many years, the elaborate concrete ornaments of this unique grade II* listed building are visible again.
Listing success! Historic cinema in London’s West End is celebrated and protected through listing
SAVE Britain’s Heritage is excited to announce the listing of the Empire Cinema on Haymarket in London’s West End. The decision today by Historic England, follows a high profile campaign by SAVE and the Cinemas Theatre Association to save the building from major demolition.
Press release: SAVE wins landmark judgement against the Secretary of State on giving reasons for call-in decisions
The Court of Appeal ruled today that ministers must abide by a published government policy and give reasons for call-in decisions on planning applications. This includes planning applications that were not called in – like the highly controversial Paddington Cube.
Star actress backs listing of the historic Empire cinema, Haymarket
The award winning film, television and theatre actress, Gillian Anderson OBE has written to Historic England backing our listing application for the Empire, Haymarket, and made a plea for the preservation of the interiors of this 1927 cinema.
Press release: The Welsh Streets: a transforming moment
SAVE's prolonged battle to prevent the needless and wasteful destruction of tens of thousands of decent terraced houses in the north of England has received triumphant vindication with the opening in August 2017 of the first restored houses in Liverpool's Welsh Streets.
Update: St Mary’s Grimsby is saved!
SAVE is delighted that St Mary’s Grimsby is to remain open following an announcement from the Bishop of Nottingham on 17 November.
Work begins on refurbishing Liverpool’s Welsh Streets
August will see the first phase of plans to restore and revive Liverpool’s Welsh Streets get underway, with a pilot scheme bringing the terraced houses on Voelas Street and High Park Street back into use.
Press release: SAVE unveils more details of ‘alternative scheme’ for Liverpool Lime Street
On the day of the Court of Appeal hearing, SAVE has published further details of its alternative scheme for Lime Street
Press release: Key victory as SAVE halts immediate demolition of Liverpool’s Futurist cinema at the Court of Appeal
SAVE Britain’s Heritage has won a key victory at the Court of Appeal in the fight to save the frontage of the 1912 Futurist cinema from immediate demolition.
Press Release: Success in Southend – two historic houses saved from demolition
SAVE is pleased to report that after four years of campaigning, 59-61 East Street, Southend-on-Sea, have been saved from demolition
Press release: Liverpool City Council and Plus Dane withdraw their legal challenge to the Welsh Streets Public Inquiry decision
Liverpool Council and Plus Dane withdraw their challenge, as Turner Prize is awarded to the Granby Four Streets
Press release: SAVE salutes King's College London's decision to withdraw its planning application for the Strand
King's College London have withdrawn their plans to demolish 154-158 and façade 152-153 Strand, following overwhelming public opposition led by SAVE.
Press Release: Smithfield General Market is saved!
SAVE has won an overwhelming and resounding victory in the battle to save Smithfield General Market and the nearby Fish Market, both splendid examples of Victorian market halls.
Dockyard Church Rescue Deal Celebrated
The future of one of Kent’s most important buildings looks to be secure following a landmark rescue deal between a council and a building preservation trust.
Edwardian former mental hospital saved from demolition
A model Edwardian hospital of 1900 designed by London architects Giles Gough and Trollope set in rolling green fields on the lower slopes of the Brecon Beacons National Park has been saved from demolition by the unanimous vote of members of the planning committee of the National Park Authority. For over ten years the handsome stone-built hospital buildings have looked increasingly doomed as they have been vandalised and left to rot.
Watch SAVE Director, Clem Cecil, on BBC North West in Liverpool, talking about recent High Court ruling on transitional funds
Watch SAVE Director, Clem Cecil, on BBC North West in Liverpool on 20 September talking about the recent High Court ruling (18 September) on Pathfinder transitional funds
TWO VICTORIES AGAINST THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE HIGH COURT FOR SAVE BRITAIN'S HERITAGE
SAVE Britain's Heritage has won two major high court rulings in their decade-long campaign to end housing destruction in the north of England, both of which will potentially save thousands of homes from the bulldozer and bring in a new era of neighbourhood refurbishment.
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
The house and its contents were handed to the National Trust Following a lightening SAVE campaign.
The Grange, Hampshire
Thanks to the threat of legal action by SAVE this great neo-classical house has been restored from dereliction and is now accessible to the public.
Peninsula Barracks, Winchester
A scheme prepared by SAVE and local architect Huw Thomas for the conversion of the redundant barracks has been successfully implemented, creating a hundred homes in the city centre.
All Souls, Halifax
A redundant church regarded by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott as his finest church.
Unforgiveable Assault on a World Heritage Site
Goodbye to the landscape of the famous Villas of the Veneto as factory sheds march unchecked across open countryside.
