ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE PROTECTION IN IRELAND - A QUARTER OF A CENTURY ON

 

The Planning & Development Act 2000 (Part IV) introduced robust new measures* intended to halt and reverse years of incremental damage to and whittling away of the features and fabric of Ireland's architectural heritage through inappropriate repairs and replacement, and demolition. Instead though, damage and loss has continued furiously.

 

*(These have been carried into the Planning & Development Act 2024.)

 

Included in the measures of the Act was the requirement for local authorities to designate and maintain Records of Protected Structures and Architectural Conservation Areas (ACAs) in their development plans - thereby giving statutory, enforceable protection to designated architectural heritage, where alterations or development materially affecting the character of subject structures or areas would require planning permission.

 

While Protected Structures and ACAs have been designated, unauthorised work is rampant, and a huge portion of this goes unreported or, if brought to the attention of the local planning enforcement system, goes unresolved, and prosecutions are rarely taken.

 

The Act also allowed for provision of Architectural Conservation Officers (ACOs) for each local authority area to provide essential advice and oversight on conservation, including within the development management process but, a quarter of a century on, more than a third of local authorities in Ireland do not have an ACO in place. Serious damage to architectural heritage has been and continues to be incurred in their absence.

 

Where no ACO is present, essential work is farmed out to the private sector or, in some cases, is covered by the council’s Heritage Officer, but the absence of an ACO militates against the engendering of a conservation culture within local authorities and the communities, custodians of, users of and potential investors in, built heritage in their jurisdictions.

 

There is good professional building-conservation expertise available in the private sector in Ireland now, but too often it is tied up in State, institutional or other higher-profile projects while work to the to great mass of ordinary historic buildings is undertaken by general building contractors unversed in conservation, or is subject to 'modernising' alterations by owners. Levels of damage and loss are enormous even since 2000.

 

Vast quantities of hand-crafted historic detail and fabric to Ireland's traditional buildings is routinely wiped away in favour of poorly-detailed, factory-made, non-traditional or synthetic replacements.

 

The predominant 18th- and 19th-century character of Irish town and village streetscapes survived largely intact well into the middle of the 20th century but has been hugely compromised since, and at an accelerated pace in the past couple of decades. We have maintained and nurtured many aspects of our cultural heritage - literature, painting, sport (GAA/hurling), Irish language, traditional music - but our authentic local architectural heritage is disappearing before our eyes.

 

The conservation provisions of the Planning & Development Act 2000 were welcomed as a major step forward at the time, putting protection of architectural heritage on the map as part of government policy, but analysis shows that the measures have fallen significantly short of their aims. Why is this the case? Contributing factors include:

 

- under-resourcing / under-staffing of local authority conservation sections

- enormous extent of unauthorised alterations to Protected Structures or buildings within ACAs, and ineffectuality of planning enforcement in tackling this

- building-regs approach to renovations of traditional buildings

- aggressive marketing of modern replacement products which are unsuitable for older buildings

- insufficiency of conservation grant funding schemes (though matters are improving)

- conservation skills deficit

- under-developed architectural conservation culture in the general public in Ireland

- lack of public-representative support and buy-in for conservation

- clientilist local politics

- the perceived public need to have everything “new” looking.

  

PHOTO STUDY

 

This photo-study consists of a survey of Ireland’s architectural heritage, using 'before & after' photographs taken since 2000 (unless otherwise stated) to document loss and inappropriate replacement of traditional features and fabric, and demolition. The photographs are augmented by imagery from Google Maps, and archival black-and-white photographs.

 

The photo-study should be viewed under 'Albums' (not 'Photostream').

 

No AI or other digital falsification has been used in the photographs, other than the making of minor adjustments to obscure or reduce the presence of distracting elements in images, or information which might raise GDPR issues.

 

Where available, a link to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) - now under the National Built Heritage Service (NBHS) - record for a given structure is included.

 

Some observations of the study include:

 

# Local authorities have designated Protected Structures and ACAs as per their obligations under the Act but may not be equipped with adequate resources to manage them

 

# An enormous extent of work to Protected Structures or buildings within ACAs has been and continues to be carried out without planning permission, much of which may go unreported or unenforced and thus gain permission by default

 

# Change of ownership is a vulnerable time for older buildings; unauthorised changes or replacement of historic features often occurs prior to or, more commonly, just after a property is sold

 

# Having previously served easily for long periods such as a century or two centuries, features like windows and doors to old buildings are now treated as a "fast fashion" item that can be discarded and replaced every decade or so

 

# A limited availability and/or lack of competition in the area of skilled window repair is a contributor to the high proliferation of replacement, rather than repair, of historic windows in Ireland

 

# The “Celtic Tiger” period meant that there was money around for conservation projects, but also meant that the pace of poor quality and destructive work to older buildings increased

 

# Due to the great volume of modern one-off bungalows constructed in Ireland over the past 30 or 40 years, there exists a huge body of knowledge and skill in this area in the builder community, and thus these skills and approaches are being applied to renovations of traditional buildings

 

LOCAL AUTHORITY RECORD

 

Local authorities have regrettably set some of the worst examples for conservation.

 

Laois County Council issued exemption for replacement of historic sash windows to a landmark Protected Georgian house in Portlaoise with PVC sashes in 2023, while Waterford City & County Council refurbished a pair of Protected mid-19th-century houses in the city in 2024, removing original joinery features in one house and fitting PVC replacements in both houses, in breach of its own Part 8 planning permission for the refurbishment.

 

In 2018, Tipperary County Council demolished a late-Georgian house in good condition, one of a pair on the main square in Thurles, to create vehicle access to a surface car park behind the square, while Mayo County Council set a deplorable example by demolishing, rather than renovating and reactivating, a group of vacant historic buildings in a key location on Castlebar's main street in 2026.

 

Wexford County Council demolished a "last of its type" 19th-century mercantile warehouse on the unique Crescent Quay, Wexford Town in 2023 under a local authority works scheme, and it also removed a historic bollard-and-chain boundary between the quay and harbour for a flood protection scheme of utilitarian character in 2019, which could easily have been incorporated.

 

Astonishingly, Wexford County Council also removed and newly replicated a set of rare original 1770s sash windows in a 2022 refurbishment of the Wexford Arts Centre (former Town Hall) in its ownership and, likewise, replaced a set of timber sash windows with PVC sashes to a Georgian building in an ACA which it renovated c.2018 as Wexford District Borough Office nearby at The Bullring. With no apparent irony, the council also uses a photograph of the renovated building sporting its new PVC windows on the front cover of the current County Record of Protected Structures.

 

TV RENOVATION/PROPERTY SHOWS

 

The popular national TV renovation/property shows have similarly sent out very negative messages for conservation of the historic built fabric, routinely showcasing inappropriate work to and demolition of built heritage. Examples are featured here from Castletownshend, County Cork (Cheap Irish Homes, RTE), Stradbally, County Laois, and Butlerstown, County Cork (both The Great Irish House Revival, RTE).

 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR CONSERVATION

 

In recent years, the financial support framework for conservation and regeneration of historic areas and individual buildings has improved, with grants available under schemes including the Historic Structures Fund, Built Heritage Investment Scheme, Croí Cónaithe Scheme and the sucessful Historic Towns Initiative, all of which offer supports to property owners to conserve, repair and enhance historic buildings and streetscapes.

 

VACANT PROPERTY REFURBISHMENT GRANT

 

Many older buildings in Irish towns and elsewhere are being refurbished under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant which, in principle, is welcome as it reduces and reverses vacancy and dereliction and in many cases delivers housing, however the historic architectural character of the subject buildings refurbished under the grant is in many cases being substantially erased with removal of traditional features and finishes and use of inappropriate, non-traditional materials and replacements.

 

MODERN MATERIALS

 

Modern materials widely used used in renovations and repair can cause harm to traditional buildings and are given to breakdown, degradation, discolouration or warping in a short number of years requiring replacement, and often present a toxic waste problem on disposal. In contrast, materials used in historic buildings are generally long-lasting, repairable and can be recycled at end-of-life or biodegrade naturally without harm to the environment.

 

WINDOWS

 

Windows are the eyes of a building. Ireland's predominant traditional window - the sliding timber sash - has faced successive waves of deleterious assault; the first generation of aluminium replacements of the 1970s and '80s, followed by the parody of the white PVC Georgian-style swing-out window from the 1980s and '90s on, causing major visual damage to streetscapes and buildings.

 

In the past decade or two, double- or triple-glazed sash windows made in PVC or timber, which purport to maintain the appearance of traditional windows, and driven by the bid to improve BER ratings, have gained increased use but these are proprietary, factory products bearing only a passing relation to Ireland's timber-joinery craft and tradition.

 

The net effect of these various "solutions" is the ongoing grievous loss of Ireland's imperilled surviving stock of historic sash windows with their sparkling handmade old glass. Historic timber windows are fully repairable. Windows of the Georgian and Victorian period are constructed of a very high quality, close-grained, seasoned timber which is not available anymore and should rarely if ever be discarded.

 

In particular, Ireland’s window history is being rewritten by widespread proliferation of modern copies of traditional timber sash windows which are of incorrect (thicker) dimension, profile and detail. These are proprietary products made by a number of large commercial window companies and are marketed at owners of protected and older buildings constructed across a wide time period.

 

A quarter of a century into the conservation legislation, reinstatement of accurate, correctly detailed copies of period sash windows to buildings which had undergone inappropriate first-generation replacement should be a straightforward matter, yet installation of the incorrectly-detailed window type described here is widespread.

 

200-plus-year-old sash windows continue to be casually lost, even in rare, unusual or prominently located protected buildings (featured examples include a bow-fronted late-18th-century house at George's Quay, Cork City, an 1801 Venetian window on the main street, Roscommon Town, and a good Georgian terrace house opposite the Town Hall, Sligo Town).

 

RETROFIT / BER

 

Historic buildings should not be subject to modern BER ratings as they perform differently to modern buildings. The trend towards sealing up older buildings to improve energy performance has placed renewed pressure on Ireland's dwindling surviving stock of historic sash windows in the 2020s.

 

Modern double- or triple-glazed windows, doors and other elements can overseal traditional masonry buildings, impairing their natural movement and breathability, and promoting condensation or damp in areas adjacent to where these products are used.

 

Any retrofitting work should not irreparably damage the historic building fabric or undermine the building's character. The aim should be to improve energy efficiency as far as is practical, taking care not to injure the character of the structure or risk the long-term deterioration of its fabric.

 

Refer to Irish government publication, 'Improving Energy Efficiency in Traditional Buildings' guidance document.

 

DEMOLITION

 

Too many reuseable older buildings of character and heritage value are being demolished and replaced rather than given new life. Apart from keeping the collective local memory of places and providing historical continuity, retaining and reusing existing structures reduces environmental impact by avoiding the carbon footprint of new construction. Conserving the built heritage is good for tourism, for local communities, makes efficient use of existing resources and can positively transform the everyday places we inhabit.

 

PLANNING ENFORCEMENT

 

Effectuality of council planning enforcement sections concerning unauthorised changes to Protected Structures or buildings within ACAs is found to be poor. Some of the problems experienced are:

 

- lack of action on, or no evidence of having acted on, complaints when registered

- repeated non-action on complaints even where planning breaches are blatant and multiple or serial on one site

- lack of response to emails requesting updates on cases

- premature closing of enforcement files where unauthorised development remains unresolved

- lack of follow-up action where a warning letter / enforcement notice is issued

- non-taking of court injunctions or prosecutions against offenders where warranted

 

Because of the "after the fact" nature of planning enforcement, local authorities need to be able to respond promptly to reported unauthorised development. For example if historic windows or other features are removed from a Protected Structure or building within an ACA, experience shows that once the removed material leaves the site, the chances of securing reinstatement / making good of the unauthorised work are much decreased.

 

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CONCLUSION

 

In conclusion, in order to address the epidemic and ongoing losses of high-quality repairable historic features and other elements of Protected Structures, buildings within ACAs and older buildings generally, and dissuade demolition, more must be done to encourage conservation. It is desireable that:

 

- Renewed effort be made across all local authorities to save all historic windows and other joinery to older buildings in their administrative areas, and prevent its removal through:

 

A.) Active promotion of use of an inner, insulating window (secondary glazing) so as to improve energy performance in older buildings without replacing single-glazed historic windows with new double- or triple-glazed windows; while this entails impact on the character of windows and rooms, it must be weighed against the complete loss of historic window fabric

 

B.) The circulation of timely leaflet correspondence / digital infographics to owners/managers of Protected Structures and older buildings within ACAs reminding that alteration of relevant fabric and features requires planning permission and explaining the desireability of preventing loss of features such as historic joinery, and placing "special character" as an economic asset

 

- Establishment of national State-run training courses in historic joinery repair and craft (similar to that run for traditional roof thatching)

 

- In view of the crucial importance of the local authority Architectural Conservation Officer role, the filling of all remaining vacant positions be undertaken as soon as possible, in order to ensure that local authorities are resourced with adequate conservation personnel to manage Protected Structures and ACAs in their jurisdictions and ensure that planning applications affecting same receive necessary scrutiny

 

- The need for effective planning enforcement as a cornerstone of planning service which must be taken seriously and properly resourced, and that local authorities take a more pro-active role in planning enforcement - eg. by instigating enforcement action as opposed to acting solely on third-party complaints

 

- Strong predisposition against permission for demolition of pre-1930 buildings and active encouragement for reuse

 

For more information, contact: kevin.duff@antaisce.org

 

An Taisce - The National Trust for Ireland

5 Foster Place, Dublin 2, Ireland

Phone: 01 454 1786

 

Protecting Ireland’s heritage, safeguarding its future