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sustainable placemaking forum 79 Parkway London NW1 7PP tel. 020 7485 8555 fax 020 7485 1232 |
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seminar speech |
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A seminar series organised by HTA Architects Ltd Heritage and Place-making: unlocking the value Speech given by Pam Alexander to HTA Seminar Royal Society of Arts, London 1. Introduction Power of Place demonstrates the importance of the historic environment to people: our MORI survey showed that 87% think it is right that there should be public funding to preserve it; 85% think it is important in the regeneration of our towns and cities; 76% that it enhances their lives: Power of Place also shows that people see the historic environment as a totality. They value not just series of individual sites and buildings, but unified places with distinct characters. Character is not just in palaces, but in everyday streetscape. 46% of all people surveyed felt that Black and Asian contributions to our heritage are under-represented in what we value in England – 76% of Black people feel this is true. 76% of people feel that modern architecture is an important part of our heritage too. Historic buildings, monuments, landscapes are of enormous value in creating places of character - in place-making. Their value stretches well beyond the purely aesthetic
Aesthetic value We are fortunate in this country that the historic environment is virtually everywhere. Historic buildings, monuments, landscapes form part of the backdrop of our everyday lives (and archaeological remains fill the ground beneath our feet). The aesthetic quality the heritage brings to our environment is of enormous importance. Community value Ordinary historic buildings and streetscapes are amongst the seams that knit the urban fabric together. We all want to take pride in our environment, to draw our identity from it. The heritage can help us to do that. But when what surrounds us demeans us, we will disown it, abuse it, and those who can, will move away.
Economic value When well maintained and well managed, the historic environment can be a powerful economic driver and I will talk later about the key role conservation can play in sustainable regeneration. Nowhere is this more demonstrable that Grainger Town in Newcastle. Built in the 1830s and 40s, Grainger Town is the historic core of Newcastle and an area of national architectural importance. 40% of the buildings in the area are listed, 20% at grade I. This unique historic collection has become the heart of one of the most exciting conservation-led regeneration projects in the country. By the mid 1990s Grainger Town had been overtaken by new areas of commercial and retail activity and was falling into disrepair. 1 million sq ft of floorspace was unoccupied and the area’s residential population was in steep decline. English Heritage can be of most help in giving confidence at that low point and we came in then, offering support and funding to a process that led to the creation of the Grainger Town Partnership. The Partnership aims to regenerate the area over a six year period (1997-2003). So far it has attracted £61m investment, £53m from the private sector (EH contribution £1.78m). 393 jobs have been created and 141 new businesses established. The market-led revival of the area has been impressive, as has the impact of streetscape improvements. After the completion of just phase 1 of the public realm works in August 1999, rents in the nearby shops at the top of Grainger Street increased by 42% from £90 to £120 per sq ft. So far, 150 new flats and apartments have been created, many of them over shops and many in buildings formerly classified as Buildings at Risk. This is Pudding Chare, a handsome 18th Century house, gutted by fire in 1990, but now repaired as part of an EH Conservation Area Partnership scheme. The refurbished building houses 17 flats on upper floors with restaurants below. And this is Galen House – an Edwardian medicine factory and office building. Again an EH CAP scheme has helped repair the building and bring it back into use, providing 62 furnished flats - affordable housing for local people managed by Home Housing Association. Overall the Grainger Town Project aims to bring back 70 buildings into use, creating 522 new homes. This is exactly the kind of mixed-use, mixed-tenure, high-density development that revives communities and creates sustainable places. It’s exactly what is called for by the Urban Task Force and the Urban White Paper, and at its core is the historic environment. In Grainger Town we see place-making in action. Unlocking the value – how does EH contribute to place-making We are all in the business of place-making – of creating places where people want to work and live. EH’s specialist role is to achieve that by using the historic environment, unlocking the value of the country’s heritage and use it to its maximum potential. We do this in a variety of ways:
Place-making through knowledge and expertise Characterisation A key theme of Power of Place is the importance of knowledge as a precondition to successful change. We cannot enhance places successfully without first understanding their origins, their evolution, where their significance lies. Projects like Grainger Town work because they are based on thorough research and understanding, they seek to protect and respect what is significant, reinforce local distinctiveness and knit with the existing urban grain. Power of Place champions the importance of comprehensive characterisation of the historic built environment in sustainable renewal. This means understanding how the historical evolution of a place has shaped its present day character and using that understanding to guide (not to prescribe) new development, so that it acknowledges and builds on that character, rather than ignoring it. Character appraisal recognises that change is desirable, but urges that it should respect, rather than detract from the existing environment. It’s about working with the grain of a place, rather than against it – with the spaces, not just the buildings. The characterisation process involves studying the layers that make up the urban landscape, not just the standing buildings but the morphology, topography and buried archaeology that underpins them and is reflected in the street plans and development of the townscape. It goes beyond the buildings into their occupants and the uses to which they have been put both historically and today. The process makes full use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), linking modern and historical maps on screen. The results of completed characterisation projects are, and will increasingly be available to local authorities, developers and public through Sites and Monuments Records and in the future via the Internet. Wider dissemination of information and modern channels are key objectives of Power of Place. A State of the Historic Environment Report is a top priority too. We are currently using 7 projects across England to develop our characterisation methodology on a range of scales. Projects in Lancashire and Cornwall for example look at whole counties; in Newcastle a study is examining the evolution of the historic city; other projects investigate parts of towns or cities, for example the Warehouse Quarters in Liverpool and Manchester, 19th Century workers’ housing in Nelson, and the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. This detailed understanding is crucial to the effective three-dimensional masterplanning so clearly endorsed by both the Urban Task Force and more recently the Urban White Paper. Early and effective evaluation eliminates uncertainty in the development process and creates positive opportunities for comprehensive design solutions. Birmingham Jewellery Quarter In Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter English Heritage’s extensive programme of survey and research has been targeted on raising the profile of a unique industrial area and its working community, so that future place-making initiatives in the city will build on an extraordinary asset. The importance of the area stems from its dense concentration of former houses dating from the late 18th century, converted to workshop use, custom built factories, and other specialist buildings associated with the jewellery and metal trades. 6,000 people are still employed in jewellery manufacture in the area. While some branches of the trade are thriving, others are contracting resulting in under-used and derelict buildings. EH’s research and evaluation has shown the international importance of the Quarter and demonstrated the scope for new sustainable mixed-use development that will reinforce the economic health of the area without jeopardising the surviving jewellery businesses which give it its special character. Our work provided the basis for the local authority to extend the boundaries of the conservation area to include the whole Jewellery Quarter. A firm frame of reference for future design and planning decisions and with Birmingham City Council we are co-funding a Conservation Area character statement and management guidelines and English Heritage will sit on the Urban Village project board. Borough In a similar way at Borough in Southwark, and English Heritage-commissioned report has highlighted the significance of a unique corner of London which is of immense historical and archaeological significance and whose urban grain, street layout and townscape still reflects a rich historical development. The report by Kim Wilkie Associates’ provides a vision for the area and a coherent urban design framework designed to facilitate change that will reinforce rather than erode Borough’s unique qualities. It was commissioned in the light of several development proposals in the area which were developing in isolation, without reference to each other, most notably Railtrack’s Thameslink 2000 plan for a new viaduct to cut through the heart of Borough Market easing rail traffic between London Bridge and Cannon Street and Charing Cross but threatening the area’s special character. The report provides a focus for community action and a blueprint for all those involved in the future of Borough. Spatial masterplans, conservation plans and management plans all provide frameworks which offer greater clarity and certainty about what is possible. Using them the regulatory process could be much more streamlined and effective. Place-making through funding We offer approx. £40m a year (£45.7m including archaeology) to the historic environment each year in a range of grants. As our resources are limited, we need to target our funds in ways that will have maximum impact, building confidence and levering in support from other sources. We focus on buildings that are at the heart of communities, contributing to social and economic as well as environmental regeneration. St John the Baptist, Hoxton 12 years ago the grade II* listed church of St John the Baptist in Hoxton was a virtual ruin. A congregation in single digits was worshipping behind a polythene sheet in one corner of one of the church’s aisles. A £500,000 grant from EH has enabled the repair of the roof and restoration of the church’s distinctive early C20th ceiling paintings. Perhaps more importantly it has acted as catalyst for further development of the church as a resource for the local community. St John the Baptist went on to secure £2m additional funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Church Urban Fund and others. It now houses a family crisis centre, crèche, community café, fitness gym and employment project. As well as providing a variety of new uses the church now has thriving congregation of 120. Area Grants Building confidence and levering additional funds is one of the principle aims of our area-based grant programmes. At Bradford our Conservation Area Partnership Scheme in the late 90s (1995-98) was one of the first regeneration initiatives to be implemented in the city centre for many years. Bradford was suffering from competition from nearby Leeds and the retail mix had been declining, with high vacancy rates and few magnet stores. The scheme focused on assisting existing businesses to maximise the use of their premises by improving shop fronts and improving upper floors, which had very high vacancy rates, back into use, often as new homes. The scheme helped to generate confidence in Bradford City Centre and has sparked further investment. The Conservation Area Partnership expenditure totalled £600,000; private sector investment brought in a further £933,607. This generated 18,000 sq feet of improved commercial floorspace, 39 new or improved dwellings and 102 jobs. After investing £36 million in more than 350 Conservation Area Partnerships, we are now developing Heritage Economic Regeneration Schemes which are channelling £18m over 3 years into the repair and re-use of ordinary historic buildings that support the economic life of their communities. We are tackling the "humble heritage" of some of England’s most deprived urban and rural areas, including mining villages, seaside resorts and mill communities. Place-making through regulation, influence and advice Alongside grant-giving, research and evaluation, English Heritage is an active and important player in the planning system. We advise on some 20,000 planning applications a year, working in partnership with owners and developers to manage change and achieve positive improvements and high quality new buildings. We are aware that we are still seen by too many as a reactive regulator and we work hard to combat that misconception. Sometimes we are used an excuse by local authorities - under-resourced and under-staffed in many areas, their ability to be effective gate-keepers is important to all of us. It will always be our job too to manage change through regulation, but we seek to do that proactively and in partnership. We want and need to be involved in planning discussions from the earliest stage, facilitating and influencing the best outcome. This is one of the key roles of our Urban Panel, established 18 months ago to review major developments affecting the historic environment. An example of the Panel’s work is its constructive influence on Michael Hopkins and Partners’ masterplan for the North West quarter of Chester. Chester is one of England’s most historic cities and the area under development covers a quarter of the area once occupied by the Roman legionary fortress and 15% of the medieval walled city. In their meetings with the City Council and the architects, the Urban Panel members have been able to positively influence the scheme, urging the enlargement of the scheme’s boundaries in order to deliver better integration with the urban grain, and stressing the importance of proper archaeological evaluation on a site of such international importance. The Panel has been impressed by the clear civic quality of the whole network of streets, spaces and component which make up the masterplan, as well as the sustained quality of architectural conception which complements Chester’s unique architectural personality. We also use our expertise and influence to secure the future of the historic environment. Byker, Newcastle When the Byker Estate in Newcastle came under threat of partial demolition in 1999, English Heritage recommended spot listing to safeguard an example of social housing of international importance. Initial reaction from Newcastle City Council and residents was extremely hostile. Residents feared that listing meant everything had to be frozen in aspic and an end to their right to buy. We tackled these misconceptions head on, held public meetings and have developed an excellent working relationship with the Council and residents and form part of the estate’s working party. Listing is now seen as the first step in a process of changing perceptions of the estate, of highlighting its value and of using its enhanced status to build a strong bid for funding. We are still waiting for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to act on our listing recommendation but in the mean time we continue to work on the Estate’s regeneration, and the development of a management plan. English Heritage is funding a conservation plan for the estate which will include public conservation workshops. As part of the listing process EH identified those elements of the estate that could be demolished without sacrificing the architectural integrity and value of the whole. We have played a similar role on a handful of London’s post-war housing estates, such as Priory Green in Islington, designed by Berthold Lubetkin and built just after the war. English Heritage has been successful in encouraging Islington to designate the estate as a conservation area and in persuading the Peabody Trust of the estate’s importance as an example of post-war social housing. I must declare an interest here as a new Trustee of Peabody. English Heritage helped the Peabody Trust to apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund for funding under its Townscape Heritage Initiative. The project secured stage I approval in September last year and has been given an indicative budget of £2m – the maximum available under the Townscape Heritage Initiative. If all goes well the restoration and repair of the estate will begin this summer. English Heritage’s recognition of an estate’s value can be a vital turning-point in its fortune’s, changing perceptions and building confidence, and our experience can help secure funding which leavers in many times its own worth in an upward virtuous spiral. Conclusion So what are the key messages of Power of Place for place making.
Comprehensive approach:
Quality in existing housing is poor and much recent development may well not stand the test of time. This seminar series operates on a 'Chatham House rules' basis. However, many of the participants have already expressed their willingness to have their contributions credited to them. In the other cases, speakers have not yet given clearance - no inference should be drawn from this. Anyone wishing to quote the speakers should speak to them direct for their permission. For further information, contact Chris Bazlinton, Editor on 01279 771468. HTA Architects Limited 79 Parkway London NW1 7PP telephone 020 7485 8555 fax 020 7485 1232 email hta@hta-arch.co.uk ISDN 0207267 0061
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