News
Anybody home? Uncover your house history
Have you ever wondered whose footsteps you follow when you walk through your door? Discover the secret history of your…
Read more
Edinburgh World Heritage/News/New guidance published to help protect Edinburgh’s buildings against Climate Change
22nd August 2019
Rebecca Leary
A new guide published today alerts property owners to the impact of climate change on traditional buildings in the capital, and provides practical advice on how to protect them against damage and decay. The Guide to Building Maintenance in a Changing Climate reports on the effect of fluctuating weather patterns on the condition of Edinburgh’s buildings, and provides step-by-step advice and guidance on how to identify damage and carry out repairs to keep properties wind and watertight.
The new guidance reports that Edinburgh will face unprecedented weather events, with homes being disproportionately affected by changing rainfall patterns and an increase in extreme weather events. It also cautions that damage such as blocked drains, ineffective gutters, inappropriate vegetation growth, and stone erosion can adversely affect the ability of Edinburgh’s buildings to keep out wind and water.
Recommendations to property owners include taking simple actions that can mitigate the risk of having to pay for greater repairs further down the line, especially following major weather events. Research quoted in the new guidance states that “every £1 ‘saved’ by not carrying out preventative maintenance could cost £20 in repairs within 5 years”.
This guide, a joint Edinburgh Adapts project between Edinburgh World Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland (HES), contains practical and effective solutions designed for property owners to help them ensure that their historic homes and businesses are climate ready, including:
Adam Wilkinson, Director of Edinburgh World Heritage said, “Although efforts to prevent climate change are necessary and urgent, there is no question that we must now confront the already substantial and unavoidable impact of climate change on our historic homes.
“The resilience of the historic buildings in our World Heritage Site is dependant on our ability to act now to maintain them. Systematic and proactive measures taken today to prevent decay and damage is one of the most important things we can do to prevent damage and loss in the future.”
Mairi Davies, Climate Change Manager at HES, said: “Edinburgh’s climate is changing at an unprecedented rate, making it more urgent than ever that we deal with the impact on the historic environment. We are moving towards warmer, wetter winters and an increase in the frequency and intensity of extremes.
“This guide provides a practical toolkit which will empower owners of historic buildings across the capital to adapt their properties and enhance resilience to the effects of climate change, protecting these irreplacable heritage assets for the future.”
Download The Guide to Building Maintenance in a Changing Climate here, or pick up a hard copy from one of the following locations:
Image by Santiago Arribas.
News
Have you ever wondered whose footsteps you follow when you walk through your door? Discover the secret history of your…
News
Maintenance week 2020 is November 20 – 27 and at Edinburgh World Heritage we’re calling on you to take advantage…
News
Can you be a spyster and help save the city’s traditional buildings? That’s the question asked by children’s writer Vivian…
News
Edinburgh World Heritage welcomes the decision of the Scottish Government to dismiss the appeal of Duddingston House Properties, and refuse…
News
Major conservation work, led by Edinburgh World Heritage, has just been completed on the last of three historic tenements on…
News
To mark Scottish Climate Week, we are today publishing a manifesto which calls for the historic environment to be at…
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Pariatur nemo excepturi incidunt eius, vitae rerum, voluptatum distinctio nulla nostrum cumque ex neque inventore quae minus! Neque in quod animi perspiciatis.
Get the latest updates on our work in the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage site, plus news, events and exclusive offers.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.