30 C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 Joint Repairs Scheme established in 1996 and the VAT refund introduced in 2001 have failed to take account of unlisted religious buildings as well as those not in religious use. Given the context, local authority and community involvement is still central to saving religious buildings if they become vulnerable. From the early 1970s, Leeds City Council has successfully designated and enforced a number of conservation areas.As a result, the proportion of unlisted places of worship protected by being within a conservation area is twice as high in Leeds, at 13 per cent, than it currently is in Liverpool. Leeds’ stronger conservation ethos has also led to 29 per cent of the city’s places of worship having been converted to secular uses, compared to just 13 per cent in Liverpool.The comparative lack of places of worship in secular uses in Liverpool, coupled with the high rate of losses since 1990, shows that demolition has remained an acceptable option for redundant religious buildings. The Liverpool Unitary Development Plan, formally adopted in 2002, did mark a turning point of sorts in the city’s attitude to conservation. It recognised that many of the city’s places of worship were ‘exceptionally fine buildings’ and outlined the role of the local authority in helping to safeguard them. In 2004 the importance of Liverpool was recognised internationally when the historic docks and city centre were inscribed as a world heritage site, placing further scrutiny on the city’s management of its historic environment. Despite progress, demolitions of significant historic religious buildings have continued up to the present day, even if at a reduced rate. For example, the mid-19th century Anglican church of St Catherine,Tunnel Road, Liverpool, was demolished in 2008 to make way for housing, while the turn-of-the-century Catholic church of St Malachy, Beaufort Street, Liverpool, was lost in 2010, victim to a larger redevelopment of a neighbouring site. The churches were neither listed nor within a conservation area. If the lessons of the 20th century are to be learned both locally and nationally, the conservation system needs to place more emphasis on the collective value of places of worship, whether that means a street, a town or a city. More attention must also be paid to preserving redundant religious buildings rather than demolishing them. After all, religious redundancy is not a judgement on the architectural or historic interest of a place of worship. Most important, an appreciation of the huge scale of past losses should inform the conservation agenda of the future. Stephen Brothwell has just finished studying for an MSc in European Urban Conservation at the University of Dundee. St Malachy’s Church, Liverpool (Photo: Sue Adair) St Catherine’s Church, Liverpool (Photo: Sue Adair)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=