The other <em>Restoration</em>

I am, while doing other things, watching the final of Restoration on BBC2. It’s a fine show and it’s been fascinating to watch. You can see the 10 buildings in the final tonight and what they could look like here.

The idea of the show is very simple. Show three buildings per episode and let the public vote for their favourite. Hold a live final with the final 10, and give the winner ?3.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the proceeds from all the telephone voting. Bingo, a building is saved for posterity and the profile of the other buildings is raised.

It’s working, too. We’ve heard this evening how several of the “losers” from previous weeks have been saved through the interest raised by the show. It’s just a shame that it takes pseudo-reality TV to interest people in the heritage of their built environment.