The document (version 4.1 - March 2005) contains a wealth of advice within its 22 pages and Appendices. Planning work should involve the authorities (e.g. District or County Council), the probable listed status of the marker, neighbouring properties, and possible safety issues. Overall principles that should be observed include the need not to make things worse nor do anything that causes irreversible changes. Simple maintenance is often called for such as clearing vegetation to make it visible to minimise risks due to mechanical cutters and flails used in verge and hedge cutting. More effort is required in righting stones that have fallen from the vertical but a simple wash and careful scrub followed by a limewash might suffice for prevention of erosion of a stone surface. However, repainting, restoration and preservation will clearly depend on the material from which the marker is made; a milestone may be made from limestone, sandstone, slate or granite having varying porosities and suggested treatments and paints are listed. Metal posts are usually of cast iron requiring removal of existing coatings, surface preparation and repainting with a durable material.
Repair or replacement of a milemarker is a major task but extensive advice is given on how this may be achieved. Notes on what renovation has been carried out, together with relevant photographs, should be recorded and where a new milemarker has been created, a permanent label to this effect should be attached indicating the maker and date of replacement.
Appendix 1 gives a list of possible specialist paints and finishes for both stone and metal markers and addresses of some possible stone masons and foundries. Appendix 2 is a Generic Risk Assessment for Roadside Work on Milestones, an important section in view of the various safety issues involved with such work and the need for awareness of posssible problems before they arise. Appendix 3 covers the Statutory Framework for Listing Monuments; approximately one half the milestones in England and Wales are listed, mostly as Grade II. The legal situation with regard to listed milestones is an important one; the listing of a milestone places a general, enforceable duty upon its owner to keep it in good repair. For planning applications adverseley affecting listed milestones, such as new road schemes, local authorities are obliged to refer cases to the Statutory Consultees. They also have a duty to refer all cases of proposed removal (demolition) to English Heritage. The maximum fine for removing a listed milestone without consent or in contravention to a condition attached to a consent is £20,000.
Since the restoration of a milemarker may involve the use of chemically-based items such as paint remover or strong adhesives such as epoxy-resins, a final section includes a COSHH Assessment of two such materials. COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations are designed provide easy steps to control health risks from chemicals by assessing such risks and aiding decisions as to what controls and precautions are necessary. Such assessments are a standard requirement for those firms and workers involved with the everyday use of chemicals.
The excellent work by Alan Rosevear in compiling this important resource document will be appreciated not only by members actively involved in milestone preservation but also by external bodies requiring such advice. Further, it does much to indicate the professionalism in the aims and work of the Society now that it is a registered charity.