Culture Vannin has established a new committee to raise awareness of the Island’s built environment. The Building Conservation Forum was set up last summer in order to explore ways of promoting and protecting the Island’s historic buildings.

The Forum includes representatives from Island-wide heritage organisations, such as Manx National Heritage, the Isle of Man Victorian Society, and the Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society. It also includes representatives from organisations who work closely with historic buildings, such as the Society of Architects, the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The buildings around us are an important part of our Island’s cultural heritage. From cottages and farm buildings to boarding houses and bunkers, our buildings tell an important story about the Isle of Man and its people. Whether it is the appearance or structure of the building or the intriguing history within its walls, our architecture gives us a sense of place, makes the Island attractive to visitors and contributes significantly to our quality of life.

As an Island community, we can do much more to protect and maintain the historic built environment, to ensure that our buildings are understood and valued, as well as cared for and protected, benefitting both ourselves and future generations.

The Building Conservation Forum aims to work with Government, local communities, developers, owners, and others to promote good practice, identify sustainable solutions, enable training opportunities, and assist Government in developing and maintaining its policies towards our built heritage.

Under the auspices of the Forum, Culture Vannin and the Trustees of Manx National Heritage have come together to jointly-fund a year-long project to encourage people of all ages on the Isle of Man to take a greater interest in their built environment. ‘Isle of Architecture’ will run from June 2016 to June 2017. Details of this project will be released later this month.

Further information about the Building Conservation Forum can be found on the Culture Vannin website. The Forum can be contacted at buildings@culturevannin.im.  

Photo - The Villa Arcade, before refurbishment.