HC Deb 12 November 1980 vol 992 cc460-1
7. Mr. Chapman

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to bring forward any proposals to change the procedures for listing buildings of architectural or historic interest, or to discourage further the demolition of buildings of interest not on the statutory list.

Mr. Heseltine

My Department's listing procedures are currently under the comprehensive review which I set in hand following the demolition of the Firestone factory.

I have already introduced certain changes to provide wider protection for buildings of the 1914 to 1939 period. At my request, the Historic Buildings Council recently recommended criteria for the selection of inter-war buildings and identified some 50 buildings for immediate addition to the statutory list. I have accepted the HBC's recommended criteria and have already listed 12 of the 50 buildings. Others will follow shortly.

Only a small number of inter-war buildings have been listed in recent years. The criteria that I have now adopted will make it possible to preserve a far wider range of buildings from this very varied period.

Mr. Chapman

Will my right hon. Friend accept that I am deeply grateful to him for that statement and for his recent actions to save our architectural heritage? Does he agree that, no matter how subjective the judgment, we should decide as a nation which buildings should be listed and then concentrate our limited resources on conserving excellence rather than make a blanket attempt to promote mediocrity?

Mr. Heseltine

I sympathise with my hon. Friend's views. I am grateful to him for his kind words about the initiative that I have taken.

Mr. Beith

Is the Secretary of State familiar with the recent literature documenting the losses to our fine heritage of Nonconformist chapels? Is he satisfied that his Department has enough of the best examples of such buildings listed at sufficiently high levels? Is energetic action being taken to see that the best examples remain with us?

Mr. Heseltine

For the inter-war period churches are a specific category to be considered, but many Nonconformist chapels belong to an earlier era. If the hon. Gentleman is aware of any examples of conspicuous architecture that are under threat, I should like to know about them.

Mr. John Page

May the voice of a Philistine be heard? My right hon. Friend says that he has had recommended 50 further factories built between 1914 and 1939 for addition to the statutory list. What, then, is the total?

Mr. Heseltine

If I were looking for the voice of a Philistine I would never look to my hon. Friend. I hear a great many Philistine voices from the Labour Benches. Let me clarify what I said. The HBC provided me with a list of 50 buildings, not 50 factories—though factories could be included in the listing. It is the first list of its sort applying to the inter-war period. Other buildings will be added subsequently.