Ludlow Mascall Centre, Ludlow, SY8 1RZ
Saturday 28th April 2018
10am – 2pm
Philip Dunne MP and The Listed Property Owners’ Club (LPOC) are proud to host the next Listed Property Owners’ Forum.
This Forum, which aims to help current and future owners of listed buildings deal with the challenges of looking after the nation’s historic properties, is hosted by the MP for Ludlow Philip Dunne and in partnership with The Listed Property Owners’ Club; the UK’s only membership organisation for owners or prospective owners of listed buildings and regular campaigning force for changes to VAT and planning rules.
Philip is one of 52 members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Listed Properties to provide a voice in Parliament and to ensure parliamentarians have proper and correct information on the issues and problems surrounding listed property ownership. This makes this forum a great opportunity to allow owners to speak directly to Philip about their experiences or to air their concerns about the complexities of looking after a listed building.
By law, owners of listed buildings must ensure that all building or maintenance works carried out on their property conforms to the standards demanded by their local Conservation Officer. Due to the nature of listed buildings this often means that owners incur greatly increased costs that would not apply to non-listed homes. Owners are also automatically liable for any unauthorised work carried out by previous owners, and can even be prosecuted if they fall foul of complex planning laws.
While such rules are in place to protect the properties themselves, little or no consideration is given to the financial means of owners, who often cannot afford the extra expense; a situation that was worsened by the scrapping of zero rated VAT on approved alterations in 2012.
Philip says: “I am interested to hear my constituents’ views on how parliament can better serve the needs of listed property owners through actions such as simplifying the planning process and reducing the VAT rate for work on listed buildings to 5%”
Founder of The Listed Property Owners’ Club, Peter Anslow says: “After years of decisions going against them, listed property owners feel increasingly unsupported in looking after their buildings. This event will give owners the opportunity to tell their local MP about the challenges they face and how the loss of zero VAT has affected them.”
Also coming along to the Forum will be specially selected suppliers who have vast experience dealing with listed properties including a legal advisor from Adams & Remers, a surveyor from Listed Building Surveys and a paint supplier from Keim Paints.
LPOC has planned a number of free forums throughout the UK, with Ludlow being chosen as it homes over 3,500 listed properties. This event hopes not only to draw attention to such issues but will also give owners the opportunity to gain invaluable free advice from listed property experts on topics such as what to look for when buying a listed building, listed building consent, insurance and more.
The Listed Property Owners’ Forum will be held at the Ludlow Mascall Centre on Saturday 28th April 2018 from 10am – 2pm. All owners of listed buildings and anyone who is considering purchasing are welcome and can drop in at any time during the day. Visitors are asked to confirm their attendance by emailing their name and contact details to: events@lpoc.co.uk.
