34 CONTEXT 180 : JUNE 2024 and maintenance that need attention, but those should ideally exclude any items that should be considered enhancement, rather than simply maintenance or preservation. HMPs have proved to be an essential tool in the conservation of these kinds of landscapes. Owners often find that the process of identifying what is significant about a landscape is the first step in determining a strategic plan for its management. The official guidance for HMPs makes clear that the intention is not to create museum pieces, but rather to ensure that any changes (such as in vegetation cover and management) are in keeping with the significance of the site. Historic Houses advises its member properties to aim for broad and generic plans rather than unrealistic targets set against an overly ambitious timetable. The official guidance on HMPs refers to the cost of producing these plans as being typically in the range of £6,000 to £16,000. This range now needs to be updated. Historic Houses member properties have reported that they have incurred costs up to three times higher than this. Natural England offers discretionary grant funding of up to 50 per cent of the eligible cost of preparing a HMP for land of outstanding scenic, historic or scientific interest in England. But such funding is capped subject to budget availability and it excludes the historic house. The other issue facing many owners of Historic Houses within the conditional exemption regime relates to ‘double funding’. Where an owner is under an obligation in the HMP in return for an exemption from capital taxation, they may find it difficult or even impossible to secure other sources of funding to deliver the same outcome; for example, agricultural subsidies available for the delivery of beneficial environmental outcomes. This is because grantgiving agencies perceive that the conditional exemption is already an allocation of public funds by virtue of having a tax demand waived. The problem is that this makes the achievement of the outcome even harder for the owner. Or, where land is under tenancy, the rule could prevent a tenant from securing essential subsidies to achieve public outcomes, despite not having benefited from the original exemption. The perverse consequence of this is that it can become a disincentive to invest in conservation work, where grant-funded support is often essential. Nevertheless, HMPs have become essential tools in the management of historically significant landscapes. Historic Houses commends their use, where the initial cost can be managed and where the plans set out realistic programmes of work that honour the ‘spirit of place’ that resides within an historic landscape. Ben Cowell is director general of Historic Houses. At Mapperton, Dorset, the Jacobean manor overlooks a 15-acre Italianate garden.
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