Historic buildings left vacant are at greater risk of damage, decay and trespassing. The best way to protect a building is to keep it occupied, even if the use is on a temporary or partial basis. Where there is no obvious use for a historic or listed building occupation by property guardians is a very efficient and reliable solution that comes with no cost to the owners.
Listed buildings which are left empty and unprotected may be classified as being ‘at risk by Historic England or the local authority.
Action may be taken to secure repair when it becomes evident that a building is being allowed to deteriorate. As such vacant historic buildings can become an expensive liability for their owners.
PGP help owners and purchasers of vacant listed buildings to reduce such risks with our proactive approach to building management aimed at preventing unnecessary damage, dereliction, vandalism and loss of historic fabric.
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a Grade II listed building where Big Ben, the Bow Bells, the clock bell at St Paul’s and the Liberty Bell were all cast. The Foundry was established in 1570 at Aldgate and moved to the Whitechapel Road in the 1740s and has been part of London’s heritage ever since.
In 2017, the foundry’s fourth generation of owners sold up and the future of the building needed to be decided as bell-making was no longer an economically viable use of the premises.
With the property set for a change of use PGP were selected and entrusted by the new owners to occupy the premises with our guardians, saving over £3,000 per week in security costs alone.
PGP safeguard the various buildings on the site and manage the temporary use of the property by local cultural and artistic groups during the sensitive planning process.
Security is provided 24/7 by our property guardians in occupation supported by CCTV monitoring.
Day to day management of the premises is handled by the PGP team in collaboration with our guardians.
PGP provides a building concierge service to accommodate and accompany visits by surveyors, architects, planners and tours of the property.