Extreme weather and ‘unfair taxes’ could signal end of country houses, owners warn
CLIMATE change and stormy weather are destroying country houses and castles, owners have warned, as spiralling maintenance costs risk the loss of historic buildings.
Storms and extreme temperature changes have created more leaky roofs, damaged masonry and flooded cellars than ever before, hitting private owners with multi-million-pound repair bills that could mean properties are abandoned or sold.
The majority of historic houses are privately owned, often by aristocrats whose families have lived in them for generations. Many are open to the public, employ local staff and attract tourists to the area. But owners have warned spiralling repair costs, which are subject to 20 per cent VAT charges, risk putting historic houses and their gardens out of business.
A report released this week by Historic England argued that adapting existing historic buildings rather than demolishing them saves “embodied carbon”, the CO2 released during building construction and demolition.
Lord Hopetoun, who owns Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, had to cancel a “Snowdrop Sunday” event on his estate because of weather warnings issued during Storm Dennis, which flooded towns across the UK.
His property must be repaired regularly to keep it watertight. “We are seeing warmer, wetter winters than was the case. We’re seeing often greater rainfall and often more intensive rainfall,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“We have spent more time, effort, energy, money and everything else on roofs in recent years, and on the stonework and everything else that goes along with keeping the house watertight and we are still seeing leaks springing out in surprising places.”
Peter Frost-Pennington, who owns Muncaster Castle in Cumbria, has had his cellars flooded several times in recent years and saw damage to his property during the Beast from the East cold snap in February 2018.
He said a harsh tax environment for country house owners puts them at a disadvantage compared to the National Trust and English Heritage, which are both charities.
“We are always seen as posh guys living in castles,” Mr Frost-Pennington said. “But, actually, we work 24/7, 365 days a year, looking after the heritage.”