Heritage body the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has sent letters to The Times newspaper and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne calling for Government to consider the needs of older buildings as part of the Green Deal.

Backed by National Trust, Kevin McCloud and Lloyd Grossman amongst others, the SPAB are concerned that Government plans to upgrade pre 1919 buildings could cause problems for the buildings as well as human health.

The society claim that that the Government’s Green Deal takes little account of the fact that many of the old buildings, perform differently from modern ones and need to ‘breathe’. The group claim man of the buildings are likely to require a different approach, in particular with regard to the movement of moisture within them.

Inappropriate forms of insulation and the sealing up of interiors could have averse affects and the society say that the Government should listen to their members: “While we strongly support the aim of reducing carbon emissions from the nation’s building stock, we call on the Government to involve bodies knowledgeable about old buildings in research and planning for The Green Deal. Many of these bodies already have helpful research to contribute but to date have not been called on to do so.”