INTRODUCING new criteria to protect historic buildings could help safeguard hundreds of structures that are currently off the radar, an expert has said.

John McCormack welcomed the move by Environment to introduce standards to be used to judge whether buildings should be listed or not.

Mr McCormack, who was part of a focus group supporting Environment, said that there were around 1,200 pre-1800 buildings in Guernsey, of which an estimated 400 were not protected.

‘Nobody wants to stop people doing things to houses, but it’s just if you don’t know a lot about these older buildings it is very easy to remove forever something that is educational, interesting and beautiful,’ he said. ‘It is all so easily done with the knock of a hammer.

‘I think most people in the back of their mind do care, otherwise they wouldn’t want to live in this environment. If you want to keep this environment with its heart and soul intact, part of that is the culture we live in and the built environment is part of that culture.’

• Public consultation on the criteria will run until 20 December.
• Details are on www.gov.gg/planning or can be collected from Frossard House.