IELTS essay: Restoration of old buildings is expensive

Essay topic

Restoration of old buildings involves enormous expenditure. Some people believe that this money should be used to build new housing structures. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Sample essay

Building restoration is a responsible way of using resources because it involves the preservation of what we have already built. Of course, restoration can sometimes be expensive. Still, it is better than building altogether new structures.

Restoration also helps preserve our heritage. Old buildings often have a story to tell. They are windows to the past. When we restore a building, we are preserving our heritage and a part of our history.  The major cost involved in restoration is the cost of labour and that is the best thing about it. Restoration creates jobs and improves local economy without further depleting our natural resources.

Building a new house requires a lot of materials including wood, bricks, steel, cement and sand. When new buildings mushroom in cities and towns, we lose forests. Sand mining has caused the death of many a river. When sand beds disappear rivers lose their ability to retain water. And when rivers dry out, water scarcity occurs. This can lead to the loss of crops and cattle and has become quite an issue in many countries.

What’s more, when new buildings are built after demolishing old buildings, we need to dispose of the cement and concrete. Failure to do so will lead to a major environmental issue. Of course, some buildings cannot be restored. Also in cities where space is an issue there is a need to demolish old and dilapidated structures and create new high rises. This is necessary to provide housing to a large number of people. Restoration is not advisable in this case.

In conclusion, restoration can be expensive but it must be promoted because it does not leave a negative impact on the environment. Building new structures should be permitted only in cases where restoration is not possible.

Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.

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