Buildings at risk

If you are concerned at all about the condition of any historic building within the district, you can report it to the conservation officer. 

The term ‘building at risk’ can refer to any building or structure, but is generally used to describe listed buildings or buildings within conservation areas.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has approximately 1200 entries on Historic England’s national listed building register and while the majority are in good condition, there are some that have fallen into disuse, dereliction and disrepair.

Council powers to protect listed buildings at risk

Not all listed buildings receive adequate or appropriate maintenance and repair.  

Wherever possible the council will work with owners of listed buildings considered to be at risk to try and resolve the issues and protect the property.

On the rare occasions where these conversations do not result in the listed building being protected, the council has the following legal powers to serve notices. These notices will be served on the owners of neglected buildings, to require works to be carried out to prevent further decay:

• Urgent Works Notice – restricted to emergency repairs only, for example, works to ensure a building remains weatherproof and secure
• Repairs Notice – may be served to preserve architectural or historic features. It cannot be used to improve a building beyond its condition at the time of listing

These powers are very much a last resort and will only be implemented after all other means of securing the buildings repair or sale have been exhausted.