GUEST ARTICLE: Britons’ Building Bugbears – the backlash against new builds

This guest article argues it is out with the new, and in with the old, as the Great British public reveal their true feelings about new homes and commercial buildings that cast a shadow of neglect over the nation’s much-loved heritage buildings and historical houses.

The survey of 1,627 UK adults, carried out by Oaksmore ISA (an innovative, FCA-regulated Alternative Investment Fund Manager) revealed 1 in 5 Brits are unhappy about the sheer number of new homes and commercial buildings in their local area.

In fact, 7% of Brits admit to feeling angry that there are so many newly built homes, and new commercial buildings close to their home.

A double whammy of frustration, when considering 90% of the UK feel not enough is being done by their local authority to preserve heritage sites in their home region.

29% of Brits believe heritage buildings to be more beautiful and possess more character than new builds, while almost 1 in 4 (23%) consider historic buildings to be better built.

The authors of the study suggest presenting investors with positive ways to help keep Britain’s heritage alive while looking after their personal financial health too.

Reuben Skelton, at Oaksmore, commented: “We recently launched a new investment product, the Oaksmore Innovative ISA, which boasts the added benefit of supporting the restoration of existing buildings that we know investors value.

“It’s important that consumers know that, aside from receiving a good return, there are investment opportunities that support causes that stand to benefit the wider community, country’s heritage while also benefiting the individual investor beyond monetary returns with the knowledge their investment has done ‘good’.

“As we all know, some things are worth more than money, and the country’s heritage and history for the majority of us falls within this sentiment. Britons’ love for their country, it’s history and heritage runs deep, and is often one of the reasons people chose to live where they do.”

The in-depth research delved deeper into Britain’s views of making positive changes to restore and invest in Britain’s landmark building and sites of historical importance.

The data found that over 1 in 10 (12%) respondents feel British residents themselves could do more when it comes to preserving and protecting Britain’s history.

Considering 16% of Brits would consider a project that benefits their local community to be important, Rueben believes that investment opportunities that boast added benefits of supporting local areas through regeneration is what the modern-day, socially-conscience investor is looking for when making personal finance decisions.

Almost 1 in 5 (19%) consider the lack of public support to be one of the key factors negatively impacting on the restoration of the UK’s heritage and historic sites.

A further, 13% feel the preservation and protection of the country’s history should be the responsibility of the Government and local authorities.

The Oaksmore Innovative Finance ISA is one example of such a product that combines high returns with important social purpose.

It is the UK’s first Innovative Finance ISA to allow ordinary British investors to support heritage projects across the UK. As well as pledging their funds to a good cause, investors can also benefit from much higher interest rates that those seen with regular savings accounts and traditional cash ISA’s.

Oaksmore Portfolios AIFM Limited act as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).