Owners of local listed buildings that are in poor repair are being targeted in a drive to reduce the number of buildings at risk. As of 7 June 2007, only the owners of structures on Huntingdonshire District Council’s Buildings at Risk register will be eligible to apply for grant aid towards their repair. This is a change to the previous system where all listed building owners were eligible to apply for grants and funding had been given to relatively minor works. The new system is an attempt to make the grants more specific.

The new system will help to ensure that local buildings of architectural or historic interest are returned to good order. With a new maximum grant of £10,000, the district council can go further in helping to get derelict buildings which blight the district back into use.

Councillor Peter Bucknell said: The new system will help to improve the quality of our local towns, villages and countryside.”

For more information on how the new grants system will work, visit the council’s website or contact the conservation section of the planning department.