Aimée L Felton 2012

49 FIVE it was evaluated as cost-neutral legislation. However, since publication in 2008, the Heritage Protection Bill has since been shelved, despite strong cross-party support, ostensibly to make room in the parliamentary legislative programme for measures to deal with the economic downturn (http://www. buildingconservation.com ). Whilst this Bill offered a glimmer of hope for the UK to reform the approach to maintenance and catch up with the best practice examples from within Europe, the case has laid dormant ever since. VAT Act 1994 Section 30 Schedule 8 (Group 6) states that work to a historic building (in this instance referring to listed buildings)will be zero rated where it relates to an ‘approved alteration’ only when the building is; Designed to remain as or become a dwelling or number of dwellings Intended for use solely as a residential purpose Intended for relevant charitable purpose (Campbell, G. 2001:p54) There has been much debate regarding VAT and the various exemptions throughout all the literature available on maintenance. The major stumbling block seems to be the exemption of ‘alteration’to buildings- where work requires Chapter Five- Statutory and Policy Five•Three VAT A imee Felton