Manifesto for SAVE Europe's Heritage

Europe abounds in beautiful, historic buildings. Many are highly prized and well looked after. Others stand empty and slowly decay. Still others approach actual collapse or are threatened with demolition. Some are well-known, others deserve to be much better known.

The aims of SAVE Europe's Heritage are:

 To draw public attention to endangered historic buildings and places in the belief that publicity is an essential mean of prompting action and of finding people keen and able to save these buildings from their plight. Again and again, experience has shown that it takes only one dedicated individual or energetic local action group to save a fine building and give it a new lease of life.

 To put forward practical solutions for the rescue and use of historic buildings in danger in the recognition that only a small percentage of these buildings can be preserved purely as showplaces or museums.

 In exceptional cases, to prepare and implement schemes for the rescue of individual buildings to show that rescue is possible and viable.

To these ends SAVE Europe's Heritage will issue press releases, prepare feasibility studies, publish illustrated reports and mount exhibitions.

SAVE Europe's Heritage concern will extend to buildings of all dates, in the knowledge that outstanding buildings of recent date may be under imminent threat, and will extend to modest vernacular buildings as well as major architectural setpieces.

The Trustees of SAVE Europe's Heritage are:

Marcus Binney, OBE, is Chairman of SAVE Europe's Heritage and the author of numerous articles, books and reports on architecture and conservation. After writing for many years on architecture at Country Life, he is now the architecture correspondent of The London Times.

John Harris, OBE, is a leading architectural historian and played a crucial role in the growth of the Royal Institute of British Architects drawings collection and the establishment of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal and the Heinz Architecture Centre in Pittsburgh.

Kit Martin has rescued and restored nine large country houses in the UK, and converted them as individual houses and cottages for families to live in. These include Dingley Hall, Northamptonshire, Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutland, Gunton Hall, Norfolk, Callaly Castle, Northumberland in England, and Cullen House Banffshire and Tyninghame, East Lothian in Scotland.

To read more visit http://www.biostim.com.au/sustainable-agriculture.html David Roberts is a solicitor with international experience in charity work and has set up a series of highly successful trust companies.

The Duke of Segorbe has rescued dozens of old houses in the historic quarter of Seville from decay, adapting them as low rent apartments. He is also restoring the large 16th century Tavera Hospital in Toledo, which is now open to the public and serving as a repository for family archives.

Baron Sweerts de Landas-Wyborgh worked in the property field before setting up his own business specialising in garden ornaments and is now restoring his own house and extensive gardens.

Calder Loth is architectural historian to the State of Virginia. He has contributed to two SAVE Britain's Heritage reports on Gibraltar and has travelled extensively in Eastern Europe.

The founder sponsor of SAVE Europe's Heritage is Andersen Consulting.

To read more visit http://www.biostim.com.au/sustainable-agriculture.html