Frequently asked questions

Wondering where to send a casework application, how to access our members' area, or what the opening hours are for our technical advice line? We've aimed to answer these and other common queries here. If you need more information, or the answer to your question isn't here, please get in touch.

I'm a member, how do I log in?

If we have your email address, you should have been sent a link to set up an online account when the new website was first launched in May 2018, or when you first joined the SPAB. Your username is the email address we have on file for you.

If you can't remember your password, you can request a new one here: https://www.spab.org.uk/user/login

If you think we might not have your email address on file, please get in touch with membership@spab.org.uk to request a log in to be set up for you.

I've logged into the members' area before, but can't remember my password

If you need to reset your password, you can use the forgotten password option on the log in page (or go direct to it here:https://www.spab.org.uk/user/login). Your username is your email address.

If this doesn't work, please get in touch with membership@spab.org.uk to request a new one.

I live outside the UK, can I still join as a SPAB member?

Of course - we welcome members from all over the world and appreciate your support in sharing our approach to caring for historic buildings further affield.

If you are outside the UK, we do have to add a small extra charge for postage, to cover the costs of sending our quarterly magazine and other information about your membership. The appropriate postage will be added when you join using our abroad members form. It is currently £10 for members in the Republic of Ireland and £22 for the rest of the world.

How do I join SPAB Ireland / SPAB Scotland?

Members living in Ireland or Northern Ireland automatically become members of SPAB Ireland when they join the main SPAB. Similarly, members living in Scotland are automatically members of SPAB Scotland

If you live somewhere else, you can still subscribe to SPAB Ireland and SPAB Scotland's email newsletters and attend their events

All members receive the same magazine and have access to all the other benefits of membership, such as the property list and online events. All membership administration is handled centrally by our membership officer.

I've changed my contact details, how can I let SPAB know?

If you are a member of ours, you can keep your contact details up to date via your members' profile page  - you'll need to be logged in first. If you aren't a member, please get in touch to update your details with us.

I am a student / retired / on low income - do you offer a concessionary membership rate?

If you are under 30 we offer a discounted membership rate which you can sign up for via our main membership page.

We don't offer a concessionary rate on membership of the main Society specifically for students or retirees, but we can offer a lower rate to those who are earning under £18,500 a year from all sources after tax, which may cover people in these categories. You can find the application form for concessionary memberships here. Please note that you may have to provide substantiating evidence.

Our Mills Section do offer a student rate. You can find out more here.

Can I sign my organisation up for membership?

Absolutely - we welcome new Corporate Supporters and you can bring the benefits of membership to your staff members too.

You can find out more about joining as a Corporate Supporter and our current prices here.

Where can I find the list of properties for sale?

Our property list is only available to members. If you are a member, log in and you should be taken to our members' homepage. The property list can be accessed using the navigation menu on your left.

If you aren't currently a member, you can join online and log in details will be emailed to you automatically when you submit the form.

I would like to join a Regional Group, where can I sign up?

Our Regional Groups are open to all members. If you are a member, you can join the groups you are interested in by logging in and then clicking the Regional Groups link on the menu on the lefthand side of the members' homepage. 

If you aren't currently a member, you can join online and you'll be able to select which groups you are interested in joining when you sign up.

I want to attend a Regional Group event, how can I register?

Many of our Regional Groups now accept bookings for their events online. Current events are listed in the What's On section of our website, or on the page of the relevant Regional Group. You'll need to be a member to book, and to be logged in.

For events that aren't bookable online, please contact the relevant Regional Group Organiser using the contact details found in the Regional Group events newsletter which accompanies our magazine, or visit the Regional Group pages in the members' area. 

Regional Group events are usually only available to members. If you aren't currently a member, you can join online and log in details will be emailed to you automatically when you submit the form.

If you are a member and are having trouble booking online, please contact the membership officer on 020 7456 0901 or membership@spab.org.uk

My property is for sale, can I add it to the property list?

As long as the property is historic, we will consider it for inclusion in our Property List. It doesn't have to be listed, and our members are often looking for a project.

Please email details of the property to property@spab.org.uk, making sure to include the price, listing status, an honest description of the current state of repair, details of the estate agent or who to contact, and at least one good quality photograph.

If we think it is suitable, we will add it to the list. You'll only be able to see the listing if you are a member yourself.

I need to consult SPAB about an application to alter a listed building, where do I send information?

We work together with the other National Amenity Societies to log applications via a central database. 

To notify us officially of an application or to request pre-application advice, please email casework@jcnas.org.uk.

Your request will be logged and passed to the relevant Amenity Society. For more information about what the SPAB should be consulted on, please visit our Casework page.

I've submitted an application for casework consideration, how do I know if it has been received?

We aspire to log all relevant cases within 5 working days for our casework team's consideration. If you would like to check if your case has been received by the SPAB you can check our publically accessible database

On the homepage, click the SPAB icon to be taken to a search page. Here enter the details of your application and select ‘search’. Any relevant applications will be retrieved. Click the link to an application and if there is a green tick against the SPAB’s name in ‘notified organisations’ that means your application has been sent to the relevant caseworker for their consideration.

I'd like to attend a SPAB course, how can I register?

All courses that are currently open for booking can be found in the courses section of our What's On pages.

We encourage you to book online where possible. If you need us to invoice you, please get in touch with education@spab.org.uk with the details of the course you are booking, who will be attending, the address for invoicing, and a purchase order (if required).

We prefer not to take payment by cheques for courses and no longer issue paper booking forms, but if you are struggling to book online, please let us know. 

If a course is full, you will normally be able to join the waiting list online and we will let you know if a place becomes available.

I'm interested in learning about a particular topic, do you offer courses in it?

All courses that are currently open for booking can be found in the courses section of our What's On pages and you can also sign up to our monthly courses bulletin to stay up to date with new courses as they are added.

If you can't find the topic you are interested in, it means we don't have anything on that right now. You can check the Other Organisations Events page or the Building Conservation website to see if there is something being offered by another training provider, or get in touch to let us know about topics you would like to see in the future. 

I'm booked onto a SPAB course but I need to cancel my place

Please check our Terms and Conditions for course bookings which detail when and how you can cancel a course booking or transfer it to another course.

I'd like to promote a course or event to SPAB contacts, can you help?

We list other training providers and one-off events on the Other Organisations' Events page of our website.

If you would like to add a listing, please email the details to education@spab.org.uk. We need a good quality image, a URL to link the listing to, and a very short description of the event or training programme. If your organisation regularly offers courses, please give us a general description of what you offer, rather than listing individual courses. Please do not sent us PDF fliers, as these are difficult to edit and cannot be easily uploaded to this section of the website.

We do not usually feature other organisations' events in our courses email bulletin or email newsletter, but may be able to discuss doing this if there is an offer available for SPAB members. If you would like to offer a discount to SPAB members, please get in touch with membership@spab.org.uk to discuss the offer. 

I'm looking for someone to work on an old building, does the SPAB have a list of suitable people?

We do keep a database of people who can work on old buildings, and can share suggestions from this database with callers to our free technical advice line. Unfortunately we cannot make suggestions by email, so please give us a call and we will do our best to point you in the right direction.

I'm trying to get through to the technical advice line, but there is no answer

The technical advice line is open every weekday morning, from 09.30 to 12.30, so if there is no response, it may be that it is outside our opening hours. 

If you are trying during opening hours and are still not able to get through, please be patient and keep trying. Our funding only allows us to have one advisor on the line at a time, so if they are caught on another call, it may be a few minutes before they are available to speak. Our advisors aim to give the most thorough advice they can, which means calls can last fifteen minutes or more.

We regret that we do not, at this time, have the capacity to offer technical advice via email, or to respond to voicemail messages. If you are struggling to get through to us, you may be able to find some of the answers you need by searching our Knowledge Base.

I'd like to visit a mill, how do I use the Visit a Mill search?

You can find mills to visit using our Visit a Mill search

When you first arrive on the page, give it a moment to load. The map will show lots of red markers, all over the UK.

Then, when finding all the mills in a county for example, simply select the relevant county from the drop-down list from the 'search options' above the map. Make sure the other fields are appropriately filled/empty and then press 'search'. Any mills to see in the county will appear on the map as red markers. The example below shows the county of Herefordshire

The area can be zoomed in or out of on by clicking on the plus/minus signs to the left. Click on a red marker to see details of the relevant mill.

Or you can click on the 'List View' to see at a glance what mills are in the county. In both cases (map view or list view) you can click on the individual mill shown to see the full details.

I own a mill, how can I edit the details that appear under Visit a Mill?

If you are a member of the SPAB and already have a log in for our website, you can edit your mill by logging in and finding your mill's listing in Visit a Mill (instructions above for how to find mills). You should see a pencil icon and 'request mill edit' next to the name of the mill. Click here to change the details. When you are happy, click submit at the bottom of the form and your mills' listing should update automatically.

If you are not already a member or are a member but don't have a log in, please contact membership@spab.org.uk with your name and email address, and the name of your mill, in order to get this set up.

If you are logged in, but don't see the option to edit your mill, it is likely because we don't have you listed as the mill owner. Please contact millsinfo@spab.org.uk.

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