The IHBC has welcomed a new initiative by the Heritage Alliance (HA) to consolidate heritage sector opposition to the proposed removal of VAT relief for key heritage works across the UK by encouraging everyone to make use of their new ‘campaign toolkit’.
Heritage Alliance says:
The Heritage Alliance is calling on Government to reverse completely the surprise Budget 2012 decision to withdraw VAT relief on approved alterations to listed buildings.
The issue:
This unexpected announcement came as a shock to the heritage sector, which is now grappling with the devastating implications of this change for our irreplaceable protected buildings.
Due to come into force on 1 October 2012, this measure would add 20 per cent to the cost of alterations approved under listed building consent. This change could have a devastating impact on the future of listed community buildings, village halls, community spaces and places of worship across the UK, as it raises significantly the fundraising targets for communities working to give them a new lease of life for the 21st century through alterations such as adding toilet facilities, disabled access or kitchenettes. Where heritage buildings are the catalyst for wider regeneration, the adverse effects will be felt even more widely.
How you can support the campaign:
Members of The Heritage Alliance and anyone at all who’s concerned about the impact of this proposal on our unique historic environment can support the campaign in three easy steps:
Step 1: Write to your MP
Step 2: Sign the e-petition
You can also support the campaign by signing the e-petition entitled ‘Save our heritage: say no to VAT on work on listed buildings’ at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32056. This e-petition was initiated by Wakefield Cathedral, but the reversal it calls for applies to all listed buildings.
Step 3: Respond to the consultation, challenging the principle instead of commenting on the implementation
If you feel able please respond to the consultation, which is open until 4 May. Do copy your response to us for information. Numbers count!
Do note that the formal questions refer only to implementation, whereas we are calling into question the very principle in order to challenge the rationale for this change.
The Heritage Alliance will also be responding, and we will post our full submission on this page shortly.
Our concerns:
1. Viability
The withdrawal of this VAT concession will act as a sharp disincentive to just the sort of sympathetic adaptation of historic buildings that is so often necessary to secure a viable use for these buildings for the future.
As direct public funding for heritage declines, it is all the more important for Government to promote – not remove – any leverage that encourages the charitable and private sector to take on responsibility for our heritage. This measure will have severe consequences for our listed buildings where the financial viability is often marginal
2. Sustainable development
This proposal runs counter to the Government’s policies on re-use of materials to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. There is much evidence that re-using existing buildings is much more positive for the environment than new construction, but instead of putting right an anomaly this measure exacerbates the differential
Making the best use of existing resources avoids the loss of embodied energy, prevents landfill associated with demolition and waste and avoids the high levels of carbon emissions and energy involved in new development.
3. Economic context
Our listed buildings (some 400,000 in England) are the heart of our outstanding national heritage, the backbone of our tourism industry and essential to many working in the creative industries – two of the sectors acknowledged by Government to be fastest-growing. Our heritage is one of the drivers for economic recovery, not a brake on it[1]
We believe the withdrawal will have a hugely negative effect on our heritage. HMRC says the consultation is intended to ‘address some of the loopholes and anomalies in our VAT system’, but this is a rare fiscal incentive to help our historic environment earn its own keep. This anomaly remains firmly in place, creating a disincentive to invest in historic buildings and promote sustainable development.
Distinctive historic buildings are often the centrepiece of regeneration schemes, which generate income for HMRC in different forms.
The measure threatens to undermine the positive initiatives in the Penfold Review and the newly published National Planning Policy Framework to encourage the economic use of historic buildings and to realise the potential of these buildings to support economic growth.
See the petition ‘Save our heritage: say no to VAT on work on listed buildings’ at: LINK
For background and perspectives on the IHBC’s position, and more links, see the IHBC NewsBlog at: LINK
For the Cut the Vat campaign see the IHBC NewsBlog at : LINK
Heritage Alliance VAT Campaign: LINK
