Listed Building Condition Surveys within the Lake District National Park

Award outcome

Description

This brief is to carry out a survey of ALL listed buildings and structures in the National Park to assess their condition based on a rapid external appraisal. In order to record the data in a format compatible with existing systems and to ensure consistency, the Authority will provide the surveyor(s) with a pre-programmed tablet which will include details of each listed building and a corresponding form(s) to complete for each site. Photographs will also be taken using the tablet, so the surveyors need not provide any of their own equipment. Surveyors will be required to download the data from the tablets at regular intervals in person at our Kendal office. We anticipate the use of a pre-programmed tablet will make the rapid assessment a quick and simple process and not require the consultants to have access to GIS or other mapping software. The focus of this project therefore is a well organised approach to a high volume of site surveys, where accuracy of data, efficiency of travel and consistency in the survey approach are key considerations. Separate surveys are required for all buildings mentioned in the list description i.e. divide up group listings as required - farmhouse plus a range of listed barns would have a separate survey for each building. At least one photograph per building is required, but further images, especially where the sites are judged to be at risk would be beneficial. Where possible photographs will be taken from public access points or from private land with the prior written agreement of the owner/occupier. The LDNPA will provide all surveyors with a letter of introduction to be used where access is sought from private land or for general awareness when surveying from public land. Parish Councils, estates and other major landowners will be made aware of the survey in advance. If access is denied, any sites that cannot be accessed must be flagged up and reviewed with the project manager. Survey of listed buildings in the extension area - in addition to the condition survey, for listed buildings in the 2016 extension area of the National Park we require the surveyor to assess the extent of the listed building and record this on a map. In 2016 the Lake District National Park was extended to the east and south, increasing the size of the National Park by approximately 3% and adding 23 listed buildings to our records. The mapping data we hold for these listed buildings is point based only and not mapped as a polygon which is the standard for all other listed buildings, so we wish to rectify this by plotting the extent of these buildings (20 list entries in total, as 3 entries in the extension area are mileposts) and adding this to our GIS layer. The tools needed for this, and full training will be provided by the LDNPA. A short summary end of survey report is required, setting out the main findings of the survey to a format to be agreed with the National Park Authority. Contents should include an executive summary, key findings and trends, (focusing on the building types found to be at risk/vulnerable) as well as lessons learnt and recommendations for future listed building survey work. We do not expect the summary report to go into great detail analysing individual sites, trends in the different building elements at risk or geographic trends. The summary report will be used to guide any immediate actions by the Authority in tackling at risk sites, provide a steer for the focus and direction of a Buildings at Risk Strategy, and our approach to future survey work of this nature. Curtilage Features As a separate item, we wish consultants to provide a fee for identifying, mapping and rapidly assessing the condition of any curtilage buildings, structures and features where relevant. It is not possible to give an indication of the number of sites this will apply to - we have approximately 400 entries with no curtilage (mileposts, bridges, monuments) and many town centre entries will not have a curtilage. We expect this task to be easily carried out as part of the overall condition survey (so no additional travel needed) - it should be based on the physical layout and age of the curtilage building (pre 1948), no desk-based research is required or any knowledge of ownership etc. All assessments of curtilage structures will be reviewed by the Authority's Historic Environment Team before being committed to a publicly accessible database/map.

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