Investors sought for barn conservation project (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Investors sought for barn conservation project

12:31pm Friday 30th July 2010

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INVESTORS are being sought for a new barn conservation project which could see dilapidated buildings in the Yorkshire Dales restored to their former glory.

It is hoped that businesses, individuals and charities will support the national park authority-led scheme to ensure thousands of run down field barns are not left to go to rack and ruin.

Stuart Parsons, the YDNPA’s member champion for cultural heritage, said it was vital to find ways of conserving the 2,000 plus barns dotted around the national park that were in a ‘poor’ or ‘very bad’ condition.

“Barns are one of the National Park’s special qualities and it is becoming imperative that we find ways of stopping them from deteriorating any further,” he said.

The launch follows the overwhelming success of a groundbreaking pilot scheme, in conjunction with architects Feilden Cregg Bradley Studios, which saw a derelict barn on the Bolton Abbey estate, near Skipton, being transformed to incorporate a free-standing eco-pod within it.

In the light of this, the authority hopes places such as Sedbergh and Dent, and the acres of agricultural land in and around the Howgills, will benefit from being given a similar new lease of life.

“The eco-pod project has the long-term potential to provide significant economic and environmental benefits within the Dales by conserving and bringing back into use buildings that might be difficult or impossible to rejuvenate by ‘traditional’ conversion methods,” said Mr Parsons.

“The beauty of installing a free-standing pod is that it has no material impact on the internal fabric of the barn, and can be removed at any time, leaving the barn exactly as it was.

“Apart from making the outside of the building weatherproof – which is vitally important to its conservation – there are no material alterations to the external appearance. That means there is no detrimental impact on the surrounding, sensitive landscape.”

Ben Heyes, Bolton Abbey estate manager, said: “It is incumbent upon us all to find new economic use for these empty barns and this is an innovative and original use which the estate is pleased to be able to support.”

For more information visit www.feildbarn.com

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