Stephen Peover, Permanent Secretary of the Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland, this morning launched the seventh Buildings at Risk Northern Ireland catalogue at the Belfast Exposed Gallery, 23 Donegall Street.

The catalogue, published by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS), in partnership with the Environment and Heritage Service, highlights a range of historic buildings from across Northern Ireland that are considered to be at risk, whether through dereliction, redundancy or long-term vacancy. More than one hundred buildings are featured, ranging from thatched cottages to large scale industrial complexes, and including such structures as Gosford Castle, County Armagh; Herdsman Spinning Mills, County Tyrone; and, Rosetta Cottages, Belfast.

The publication also features sections on "Good News", buildings that have been rescued, including Christ Church, Belfast; "Bad News", buildings that have been lost, including nos. 3-5 Market Square, Dromore; as well as a number of case studies showing successful reuse schemes on smaller historic buildings.

Speaking before the launch, Peter O. Marlow, Chairman of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, said: "I am pleased to once again thank the Department of the Environment for their ongoing commitment to the buildings at risk agreement over the past twelve years and I note that approximately 25 percent of the buildings featured to date have been saved. The whole purpose of buildings at risk, indeed of the UAHS itself, is to encourage the preservation and conservation of our built heritage. Funding is critical, but so too is the commitment and support of the public. We are confident that this publication, and its sister volumes, will help to further the publicıs awareness of this important issue."

This is the seventh catalogue published since 1993 resulting from the partnership between the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, a charity, and the Environment and Heritage Service, an agency within the Department of the Environment. Collectively over 500 historic buildings at risk have been highlighted. It is estimated that 25 percent of these have been saved.

Just over 100 buildings are highlighted in the seventh catalogue, representing less than a quarter of the total number identified on the online Buildings at Risk Northern Ireland Register (BARNI), which can be accessed at www.ehsni.gov.uk and www.uahs.co.uk. Over 90 percent of buildings in the catalogue are "listed" and 55 have featured in previous volumes.