Power to the people
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An historic hydro electric plant in the Yorkshire Dales is set to spark into life once again to supply power to the National Grid.
The pioneering project at Linton Falls, Grassington, will see the crumbling 100 year-old red bricked power house refurbished and put back to work generating green energy using new turbines.
The scheme is highlighted today in Heritage Counts 2008, a new study published by English Heritage on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humber Historic Environment Forum. The report says that more research is urgently needed to assess the impact of climate change on historic buildings and landscapes in the region. But wider recognition is also needed of the role that historic treasures can play in contributing towards a lower carbon economy.
Built in 1909, the Linton site is an important relic from the early development of electricity supply when oil lamps slowly gave way to light bulbs in rural areas. Because of its significance it is legally protected as a scheduled monument.
English Heritage and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority have worked with the owners, civil engineering company JN Bentley of Skipton, to devise a conservation plan and both have given the company's green energy plan their backing.
The project will involve installing two Archimedean screws - a 3,000 year technology - which will be turned by the tumbling waters of the River Wharfe. The plant will generate about 510,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, saving around 216 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions compared with fossil fuel power generation. Subject to final planning approvals, work could be completed by next summer, ready for the big switch on.
Maddy Jago, Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Historic Environment Forum, said: "We are extremely enthusiastic about this scheme. Not only will it help secure the future of an important historic building, but it will also contribute to reducing the nation's reliance on fossil fuel generation - a source of greenhouse gas emissions
"Climate change is a major challenge for everyone and that includes the heritage sector. We need to re-learn the old wisdom of self-sufficiency and sustainability, which includes imaginatively re-using our historic buildings and finding local solutions to global problems."
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority has commissioned a survey to look at up to 50 other former mill sites to assess their potential for small hydro-electricity schemes and has funded two other schemes in listed watermills through its Sustainable Development Fund (Yore Mill, Aysgarth, and Gayle Mill, Hawes).
Roger Harrison-Topham, Heritage Champion with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, added: "Linton Falls brought electric light to Grassington and now it's set to resume service. This is a terrific project and an excellent way of protecting one of the Yorkshire Dales unsung, but very significant historic buildings."
Martin Bentley, Director at JN Bentley, commented: "We've owned the building for about 20 years and we're very grateful for the tremendous support from English Heritage and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. The project will reinstate the area's sustainable power generation capability and at the same time restore a derelict building to its former glory. We're very proud to be working together with these partners on such a rewarding project in one of the most breathtakingly beautiful parts of our country."
Now in its seventh year, Heritage Counts reviews the state of the historic environment in Yorkshire and Humber, charting progress over the past twelve months and highlighting trends and challenges. This year it includes a climate change supplement.
The report says that floods, wildfires and coastal erosion have all had major impacts on the region. Analysis of Environment Agency data has revealed that nearly 1,000 listed buildings have been damaged by floods over the past 70 years, along with 121 scheduled monuments, 21 registered parks and gardens, three designated battlefields and a World Heritage Site. The prediction is that extreme weather events will become more common. This could also affect buried archaeology and its state of preservation, especially in wetland areas, altering the local hydrology and possibly increasing subsidence. A meeting next month will consider the implications for Star Carr, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire. It is regarded as one of the finest Mesolithic sites in Europe, where evidence of human occupation 8,000 years ago includes hunted deer antlers, which survive in waterlogged deposits.
Elsewhere two historic estates are praised for taking their own steps towards a greener future. At 18th century Aske Hall, near Richmond, biomass boilers are providing light and heat to many of the estate's listed buildings using local timber as a fuel. The same approach has been adopted at Swinton Park, near Ripon, which dates back to the 1600s. The two schemes are saving an estimated 775 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Other findings from the study include:
* There are 2,343 traditional building craftspeople in the region, according to a survey by the National Heritage Training Group.
* In 2007/2008 there were 54,000 planning applications, including 2,520 applications for work to listed properties and 327 applications for Conservation Area consents, broadly similar to the previous year's figures.
* The Heritage Lottery Fund has pledged GBP331m in grants for projects in the region over the past 13 years.
* 72% of adults who took part in a survey said they had been to an historic site in the past 12 months - that's 2.5% higher than the national average.
* English Heritage membership increased by 8% to 67,000.
* National Trust properties attracted 728,552 people.
* There are 101 Grade I and II* buildings at risk in the region and 55% of the scheduled monuments are either at high or medium risk.
Heritage Counts 2008 can be found online at
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