Gosport Heritage Fund

Temporary building works

If there is an unavoidable delay before full repairs are carried out, temporary measures to protect the building can be funded. These include work to protect a structure from collapse, damage or deterioration such as propping and shoring, temporary weather proofing, or putting up protective structures to secure the building while its structure is being surveyed or repairs being drawn up.

Roofs

Repairing roof structures, together with renewing or substantially repairing roof coverings; repairing roof features such as parapet and valley gutters, dormer windows and skylights, chimney-stacks and pots, cupolas and balustrading.

Leadwork

Renewing roof leadwork, if it is no longer serviceable, or using lead welding in order to extend the life of lead that is of historic interest. It may be necessary to redesign the substrate to keep to current good practice. The visual and physical implications of this need to be considered carefully, however, before any changes are made. To avoid the risk of underside lead corrosion, lead roofing should be carried out between April and September and under a temporary roof.

Rainwater disposal

The repair or replacement of rainwater disposal systems, both above and below ground can be funded.

Lead and cast iron should be replaced on a like-for-like basis, although in certain cases where theft, vandalism or maintenance access is exceptionally problematic, there may be a case for using appropriate substitute materials.

Digging trenches for drains and soakaways in demonstrably archaeologically sensitive areas will often require supervision by suitably qualified archaeologists, and a grant can be offered towards these costs.

Installing proprietary electric heating tapes in gutters and rainwater heads where access is difficult and weather conditions are particularly severe, or where especially valuable building fabric or contents may be at risk from the guttering and rainwater disposal systems failing.

Providing overflows and weirs to rainwater disposal systems so that, in case of blockage, water is shed away from the building.

Walls

Necessary repairs to external walls, including work to their structure, surfaces, and decorative elements on the wall surface, and wall-coverings or claddings are fundable.

Permanent access to carry out maintenance

If difficult access has prevented proper maintenance in the past, installing hatches, handrails or cables, fixed ladders or crawl-boards to improve access for maintenance and inspection can be funded as part of a wider project.

Windows and Doors

Repairing or replacing elements set in walls, such as panels, windows and doors, including their frames, glazing, ironmongery and other fittings.

External features

Repairing or replacing, where necessary, existing external features, such as balconies, canopies, bargeboards and shutters, where these contribute to the special architectural or historic interest of the building.

Damp

Measures to manage rising or penetrating damp, if this is directly damaging the fabric or contents of a historic building, including providing surface water drainage, lowering external ground levels (where this would not be archaeologically or structurally damaging), and improved ventilation, if this is essential. Old buildings need to breathe, and keeping vapour permeable traditional plaster is preferable to re-plastering in relatively impermeable cement-based plasters.

Providing a damp-proof course simply because the existing structure was built without one does not qualify for a grant. Experience has shown that providing damp-proof courses and membranes in historic structures has often transferred damp problems to other areas of the building.

Reinstating architectural features

The reinstatement of architectural details must be carried out only if the building is otherwise in good repair (or will be repaired as part of the wider project).

The objective should be to reinstate (in whole or part) elements of the exterior fabric of buildings that are essential to their design and character and that contribute to the character of the building and the street, provided the reinstatement is to the original size, pattern, detail and material. This can include:

• decorative ironwork, such as balconies, canopies and railings;
• ornamental masonry, including architectural sculpture, stucco and other applied finishes;
• details and joinery to historic patterns.

The reinstatement of shop fronts to the original design (based on evidence), or to a design that is appropriate to the period and location, can also be considered for a grant.

Decoration

Decoration only qualifies for a grant where they are necessary to make good after disturbance as a result of grant eligible works.

Professional fees

Where a grant is offered for a project costing £20,000 or more you must employ the services of a competent professional with relevant specialist conservation knowledge and experience.

The service should include, where applicable:

• preparing a thorough survey of the structure(s) or site and its condition,
• including survey drawings and plans;
• research, analysis and archaeological investigation of the fabric likely to be affected;
• preparing a detailed specification and drawings for the urgent and necessary repairs, or recording of the fabric;
• providing a list of competent contractors able to carry out the work to a high standard;
• getting competitive tenders and providing a tender report;
• arranging a contract for the works;
• regular inspections and valuations of the work on site until it is completed;
• full contact with the local authority on the technical details of both the application and the work for which a grant has been awarded.

When you appoint your surveyor or architect you should make sure they include all the requirements set out above. We consider the competitive tendering of professional fees to be best practice. The scale in RIBA's A Client's Guide to Engaging an Architect can be used as a guide to the maximum allowances for fees.

Cleaning

Cleaning will only qualify for a grant where:

• there is so much dirt on a structure that it must be removed in order to assess the need for and scope of repairs;
• or if chemicals in the surface build-up are damaging the fabric.

Pigeon deterrents

Non-electric physical barriers to prevent a build-up of damaging pigeon droppings, where these can be provided in a visually acceptable way and without using chemicals.

Value Added Tax

(VAT)

Grants will only be paid towards the VAT which you are unable to recover. It is up to you to determine the VAT status of your project. We will seek the repayment of grant towards VAT costs which you are subsequently able to recover.

Preliminary costs

and insurance

We can grant fund preliminary costs, such as scaffolding, hoardings, contractors' facilities and access for vehicles.

The works contract with your professional team will set out the responsibilities for insurance. If you need to take out insurance other than that which forms part of the contract cost you can include the cost of this in your application.

Management costs

We can offer support towards professional consultancy services. We cannot contribute towards the cost of your existing staff or in-house legal costs.

If you believe that you will need to employ consultancy services please speak to us to discuss the scope of the work and briefs for the employment of such consultants and a list of potential tenderers.

Demolition

The removal of any part of the building does not normally qualify for a grant, though exceptionally a grant may be offered for:

• the careful dismantling of a structure that threatens to damage surrounding historic fabric;
• careful dismantling prior to reinstatement;
• the removal of later additions of little merit which alter or obscure the original design of the building and where;
• careful dismantling is carried out as part of an agreed scheme of reinstatement.

Building services

The free-standing renewal of building services, e.g. new heating systems or rewiring (unless integral to conservative repair or where failure to renew or replace building services systems puts the historic fabric at risk).

Substitute materials

The use of substitute materials where the original is obtainable, except in situations where the original materials have failed and will continue to fail regularly if they are replaced like-for-like. In the case of lead and copper where there has been a history of theft or there is a high risk of theft we can assess substitute materials on a case-by-case basis.

Conjectural reinstatement

There is a strong presumption against wholly speculative reconstruction or reinstatement of features that have totally disappeared leaving no archaeological traces, photographs or drawings. Exceptionally, cases may arise where the ground floor façade of a building has been totally lost and the present façade detracts from the street, in which case grant aid may be given towards a well-informed design that is in keeping with its context.

Maintenance and minor repairs

This is work that we would expect to be carried out on a regular basis to prevent the building from deteriorating, such as the cleaning out of rainwater goods, checking of flashings and roof coverings for slipped slates or tiles, removal of plants, redecoration including cleaning of metalwork and regular repainting of joinery.