Online Toolkit

What is Heritage at Risk?

Heritage at Risk is a term used to describe buildings and monuments of architectural and historic interest whose futures seem uncertain, either due to lack of use or disrepair, or due to the threat of heritage crime and/or inappropriate development. The majority of Heritage at Risk assets are listed buildings which, through neglect, have fallen into disuse.

As such, The Heritage at Risk NI Register (previously Built Heritage at Risk NI Register or BHARNI) was established in 1993 to highlight the vulnerability of our historic built environment and act as a catalyst for its restoration and reuse. It is funded by the Department for Communities (DfC) and delivered in partnership with Ulster Architectural Heritage.

Currently, more than 750 buildings and monuments are on the register. These vulnerable structures are considered ‘buildings of potential’ and may be suitable for restoration and re-use. In fact, many assets featured on the HARNI Register have subsequently found new owners or uses, with almost 200 removed from the register between 2006 and 2016.

Search the register HERE

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Why does the register exist?

The HARNI project, its register, and the statistics and data it generates, act as a ‘real time’ indicator of the condition of individual assets and trends in the condition of the broader historic environment of Northern Ireland.

It provides an important indication of how the condition of the historic environment relates to geographical areas, ownership, and type, allowing us to identify opportunities, pressures, and threats. Trends identified by the HARNI Register serve to inform wider heritage policy and identify issues affecting heritage, which need to be addressed and prioritised.

Since its inception, the Heritage at Risk project has provided help and advice for existing owners who may wish to engage upon a suitable scheme of maintenance. It also offers assistance to potential owners who may be interested in restoring an at-risk building.

REMEMBER: YOU can recommend a building for the HARNI register HERE

What you need:

• Building name (if applicable)
• Building address
• Photographs (if applicable)
• Details of why you think the building is at risk
• Any further information which may support your case

One method of rescuing heritage is through ‘meanwhile uses’. These can breathe life into at-risk buildings, catalysing their renewal and leading to their eventual removal from the Heritage at Risk Register

Meanwhile uses refer to the temporary repurposing of historic buildings or spaces whilst long-term plans for their restoration or redevelopment are being formulated or implemented. These uses help activate and revitalise underutilised or vacant historic buildings, ensuring their continued relevance and preservation. Meanwhile uses can take several forms, such as:

Pop-up shops and markets: Historic buildings can be transformed into temporary retail spaces, hosting pop-up shops, markets, or artisanal fairs. These activities attract visitors, generate foot traffic, and support local businesses.

Art exhibitions and cultural events: Historic buildings often have unique architectural features that make them ideal venues for art exhibitions, galleries, or cultural events. Temporary installations, performances, or festivals can bring art and culture to the community while showcasing the building’s heritage.

Co-working spaces and incubators: Historic buildings can be converted into co-working spaces or business incubators, providing temporary office space for startups, freelancers, or small businesses. This helps foster entrepreneurship and innovation while making use of existing infrastructure.

Community centres and social services: Historic buildings can serve as temporary community centres, hosting workshops, classes, or social service programs. These spaces can facilitate community engagement, education, and support local initiatives.

Temporary housing or accommodations: In some cases, historic buildings can be repurposed as temporary housing or accommodations, such as hostels or short-term rentals. This can help address housing shortages or provide unique lodging experiences for tourists.

Educational and heritage initiatives: Historic buildings can be used as educational centres or heritage sites, offering guided tours, workshops, or interactive exhibits. These activities can promote historical awareness and contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage.

Urban agriculture and gardens: Vacant areas or courtyards within historic buildings can be transformed into temporary urban gardens or green spaces. This promotes sustainability, provides opportunities for community gardening, and improves the visual appeal of the area.

Meanwhile uses on the designing buildings wiki

Heritage Council (Ireland): Hotbed of meanwhile use

Sometimes, a building falls into such a ruinous condition that a regular programme of maintenance is not enough to preserve it, and it becomes unsuitable for habitation, or even for meanwhile use. When this is the case, a large-scale restoration project is all that can save the asset.

These projects can range in scale from the rescue of a small cottage to the full-scale restoration of a large mill or warehouse. They are time consuming, expensive, and challenging labours that can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds. Such projects rely on successful funding grants from public bodies or charities, donations from benefactors, or the personal wealth of the owners.

These significant challenges notwithstanding, bringing a building back from a ruinous condition in a large-scale restoration is one of the most admirable rescue efforts, one that can completely transform an area, bolstering local pride and aspirations.

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Key opportunities

Bringing a building back to life can be extremely rewarding. Historic buildings enrich Northern Ireland’s landscape and celebrate the diversity of our communities at every level, showing national, regional, and local distinctiveness. Historic buildings are central to our everyday lives, creating a sense of place and identity, benefits we cannot avail of without caring for these buildings. Certain opportunities and benefits arise from rescuing built heritage:

• The rescue of historic buildings can provide the answer to societal needs e.g. childcare facilities, doctor’s surgeries, business centres, etc

• Heritage-led regeneration can create additional spaces for commercial activity, allowing for the economic revitalisation of run-down areas in a manner that remains sympathetic to their distinctive characters

• Heritage rescue projects can create or sustain jobs, both through the actual rescue and restoration work, or in the businesses or organisations that make use of the rescued asset

• The restoration of key historic buildings can bring about a sense of pride and reinforce community identity, with the potential to improve social cohesion, and grow local confidence and aspirations

• Reusing our current building stock and repairing materials in historic buildings (which are often of better quality than what they would be replaced with) carries with it a substantially reduced carbon footprint when compared to new construction

When rescuing heritage, you may:

• Unearth new information about the building or area

• Discover lost artefacts or items of interest

• Find new opportunities to explore

• Unearth hidden architectural details, styles, and phased development

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Key Challenges

The reuse and repair of a building is often a ‘labour of love’ that serves to ensure a building will be enjoyed by future generations to come – but when rescuing heritage, there are some key challenges of which you should be aware:

Stagnant ownership – not every at-risk building will be for sale, but discussions and negotiations may be possible

Development limbo – often buildings continue to deteriorate when not maintained and land banked for a potential development scheme, such as the construction of a new road or industrial site

Type of building – from the largest mill complex to a small vernacular cottage, the future use of the building should be considered within the context of its type, scale, and location to ensure the proposed use is sustainable and viable

Funding – available funding options can differ significantly whether you are a private owner, a trust, or have a building in community ownership. There are various sources of funding available for Heritage at Risk projects, awarded by organisations such as The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, Ulster Garden Villages, and the Department for Communities. 61% of the HARNI Register is currently made up of buildings in private ownership where the options for funding or grant assistance have been limited in the current economic climate. Private owners are at a disadvantage as they are unlikely to qualify for much of the funding available from government bodies and charities, which is often restricted to charities, enterprises, and not-for-profit organisations. For more information, consult the Finance section of our Online Toolkit

VAT – introduced in the UK in 1973, payable on repairs to all buildings, has been a tax disincentive to the appropriate repair and timely maintenance of historic buildings. The additional imposition of VAT at the full rate on alterations, in 2012, has placed a significant further burden on owners of listed buildings who were already acting in the interest of heritage repair and regeneration. VAT on repairs and alterations diminishes the economic viability of heritage projects and can be seen as a disincentive to those considering the acquisition, repair and, regeneration of historic buildings. UAH has for many years recommended that this be reversed.

When buildings fall into such a bad state of disrepair that they are beyond salvation, we lose a piece of our cultural identity and any associated intangible heritage along with it.

In Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities (DfC) and District Councils have the power to step in to prevent any activity (or lack of activity) which may jeopardise the character of an historic building or area of special architectural/historic significance.

DfC and District Councils can engage in conversations with owners of at-risk buildings and monuments to encourage them to carry out works to their assets and prevent further deterioration.

In worst case scenarios, particularly following non-compliance from owners, statutory protections can be enforced:

Urgent Works Notice (UWN)

Planning Act (NI) 2011, Section 161

District Councils have the power to serve an Urgent Works Notice (UWN), which is a means to secure repairs urgently needed for the preservation of a listed building or building in a Conservation Area. The notice allows councils to recoup expenses for the works from the owner.

Building Preservation Notice (BPN)/Spot Listing

Planning Act (NI) 2011, Section 81

A Building Preservation Notice (BPN)/Spot Listing acts as a temporary form of protection for unlisted buildings that are of concern or under threat of demolition and boast special architectural and/or historical character that may warrant designation. This form of protection, enforced by District Councils, usually lasts for a period of 6 months.

Compulsory Acquisition of a Listed Building

Planning (NI) 2011, Section 202

As a last resort, if steps are not taken by for the preservation of a listed building, the Department for Communities may compulsorily acquire the building and any adjacent contiguous land which appears to be required for the preservation and management of said building.