News
NATIONAL MAINTENANCE WEEK 2009
The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, has produced a free leaflet to mark National Maintenance Week (Friday 20th - 27th November) aiming to encourage owners to undertake routine maintenance to safeguard the fabric and value of their buildings.
The leaflet, entitled Look Before Your Leak, emphasises how preventative maintenance is the most effective way of conserving our built heritage. It ensures that small problems don't become large and costly headaches, and helps retain the unique character that makes our historic buildings special.
Copies of the leaflet will be sent to all local council Mayors and Chief Executives as key custodians of some of our most important historic buildings. They will also be distributed around a number of conservation areas in Northern Ireland.
Andrew McClelland, Heritage Projects Officer from the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, said:
"We all spend time, effort and money looking after our cars, so why does the maintenance of our buildings - by far our most valuable asset - often take a back seat?"
"Cleaning out gutters is the most basic of tasks yet is often neglected with sometimes devastating consequences. The old adage that a stitch in time saves nine is as valid today as ever."
NOTES:
National Gutters Day (Friday 27th November) is the brainchild of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and is held annually every November during National Maintenance Week: see www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk