One of the conservation nonsenses that has always raised an eyebrow with me is the question of why we let so many of our beautiful old rural buildings crumble and fall because we apparently cannot agree planning or conservation policies which would give them meaningful use.

I watched a wonderful old thatched barn in a village I drive through frequently slowly deteriorate over the course of a decade until it reached such a point that it had become unsafe and had to be pulled down – and all because at the very beginning the planner wouldn’t allow the owners to convert it to residential use.

There have to be rules, or course, but there also has to be flexibility and the intelligence to judge each situation on its merits.

In my example I’m quite sure there may have been a certain dog-in-manger attitude from the owners – but the point remains that the building could have been saved and all the heritage that went with it had it been offered some economically viable modern use.

Changes in agricultural practices and animal welfare regulations mean that many traditional farm buildings have become redundant with no meaningful or economic purpose and end up becoming a financial burden for their owners.

That is why the CLA has argued for many years that local authorities must should allow traditional farm buildings to be adapted for other uses - sympathetically of course – but the inescapable fact is that these buildings have to have a viable economic purpose or important rural heritage will, inevitably, be lost.

So, hurrah for Historic England which has just published new guidance on the reuse, maintenance and repair of important historic buildings in a bid to help conserve them through sustainable development.

These buildings are costly to maintain so in order to make them sustainable we have to encourage new uses which make them relevant, valued and viable in the future.

That now puts the onus squarely on local authorities to ensure planning departments actively allow for such alterations and reuse because advice from Historic England by itself will not solve the problem – it requires sufficient expertise and active engagement within local planning department to ensued that we do not continue to run the risk of losing important buildings.

This guidance could be the beginning of a new lease of life for these redundant buildings, but it is essential that local authorities rise to the challenge and work with property owners.

Budgetary constraints mean it’s not always easy for planning authorities to ensure they employ staff with sufficient heritage expertise – but there is a sort of use it or lose it issue because traditional farm buildings are a vital part of the rural landscape and we will not be forgiven by future generations if we stand by and watch them crumble.