“The builders and craftsmen of the past were often far from naive; even humble traditional buildings were usually constructed on sustainable principles and architects today, who are professionally obliged to encourage their clients to use environmentally benign materials and energy efficient specifications, need to develop more respect for historic design and construction approaches. Heritage assets offer many opportunities, and may even have advantages over new buildings, for improvements and sustainable approaches that also preserve their heritage value.” Robin Kent Architecture & Conservation

Active management of a local authority’s property portfolio is an important practice to ensure that properties are being maintained cost effectively and to maximise the economic and social benefits such assets may bring to local communities and local authority districts. This section discusses what ‘active management’ approaches local authorities can undertake to ensure heritage assets are maintained to an acceptable standard in order to prevent such assets from falling into disrepair due to under-investment. Such under-investment can result in decreased interest in the purchase of such assets by potential buyers due to concerns about the cost of repairs, severely hampering the prospects for the sustainable disposal of assets and the feasibility of bringing such assets back into use.

This section will provide local authorities with practical guidance on how to implement best practice approaches to asset management, outlining who should be involved and at what stage, in order to ensure that assets are maintained in the best condition possible.