Welcome to the SAVE Buildings at Risk Register

SAVE has been compiling a register of Buildings at Risk (BaR) since 1989. The register highlights historic buildings that are vacant and whose future is not secure with the aim to identify new owners able to repair them and/or new uses, which will secure the building's future. The great majority of the buildings on our register are listed.

The register exists in two versions:

• Catalogue: Once a year we compile and publish a catalogue of buildings at risk. This year's BaR catalogue, 'Cherish or Perish'. This new, more colourful edition contains details of over 100 buildings in need of attention and can be obtained from SAVE for £12.00.
  
  

• Online register: The online register contains many more entries than the catalogue - presently about 750 - and allows us to make updates and additions immediately whenever they occur. To access it you need to become a Friend of SAVE.
  
  Subscribe to the register
  

A building at risk (BaR) is a building that has been identified as an historic building at risk through neglect and decay. Buildings at Risk range from those that are virtually on the point of collapse to those that are just a bit ragged around the edges, and from vacant to inhabited buildings. The term Buildings at Risk also applies to historic buildings that are not listed (as yet) or within a conservation area but make an important contribution to their overall rural or urban landscape that do not necessarily merit their individual listing.

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Why are so many buildings at risk?

There are a number of reasons why a building may be at risk. Each case is unique but there are recurring themes:

Redundancy
Buildings are made redundant and may become at risk through changes in technology, demography, economic patterns, popular taste or government policies. Textile mills, churches, schools, hospitals, farm buildings, railway stations or Ministry of Defence sites, such as the Royal Aircraft Establishment Farnborough, are just a few examples. Less obvious problems are faced by the traditional high street shops, many of whose upper floors are unused and poorly maintained, putting the whole property at risk. Redundancy need not be the death knell for a building; in the majority of cases a new use can be found.

Many buildings, however, particularly agricultural or industrial, have been redundant for years. Without regular maintenance their condition often deteriorates before a new use is identified, leading in some cases to their demolition (a stage that historic buildings should not be allowed to reach). These buildings can become a target for vandals and like all empty buildings blight the quality of an area's environment.

Owners
It is often said that there are no problem buildings, just problem owners. While this may be something of an exaggeration it does demonstrate one of the biggest problems with buildings at risk. There are many buildings whose future is jeopardised by owners who, for a variety of reasons ranging from brazen neglect to lack of funds, have allowed their buildings to fall into disrepair. One of the biggest problems is that often the owners refuse to repair or sell the building at a reasonable price. These problems can be overcome, but they lengthen the time before the building is repaired.

Another problem, which can seriously impair the re-use of a building, is unclear ownership. An estimated third of Britain's 18 million or so properties are still either unregistered or the title is unclear. Often rural properties will not have been registered because it has remained in the same family for generations, particularly if part of a large estate.

Location
The location of a building can be a problem. It might have been cut off by an insensitive road development or lie in a now abandoned industrial area, or it might simply be situated in an area characterised by neglect. This does not mean that there is no hope, for the restoration of historic buildings is a key factor in the regeneration of an area. A local eyesore can be transformed into a building the local community can feel proud of once more, enhancing the quality of the environment and the desirability of the area, and often, providing employment possibilities.

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