Memorandum by the Institute of Historic
Building Conservation (IHBC) (HIS 13)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The historic environment is fundamentally important
in the creation of a successful, prosperous and growing economy.
There is a clear correlation between the quality and condition
of an area's built environment and its economic performance and
ability to attract investment.
The historic environment is often a key factor
in triggering area regeneration and achieving the kind of urban
renaissance envisaged by the Urban Task Force. Many high profile
regeneration schemes are based on a combination of the conservation
and regeneration of historic buildings, together with high quality,
creative contemporary design in new buildings and a strong emphasis
on urban design and the quality of the public realm. These factors
can transform areas where the market had previously failed into
economically prosperous zones. Creating confidence is the key.
Where developers employ sub-standard professional
teams, the scope for conflict in the planning process is at its
greatest. Where more enlightened developers and investors select
highly skilled teams, including skills in design and historic
building conservation, the interaction with the planning process
is usually more positive and constructive, with benefits for everyone.
Britain increasingly needs to compete against
a European and global context to attract highly mobile capital
and investment. The roles of historic buildings and design are
appreciated only too well by many other countries, and used to
gain competitive advantage. Britain must respond to this if it
is to improve its competitiveness.
Listed buildings and buildings in conservation
areas can provide access to funding from heritage and other sources.
The re-use and refurbishment of buildings creates
variety in accommodation and rentals, allowing for greater economic
diversity and levels of activity—essential to the creation
of sustainable communities.
Tourism is a significant element of the nation's
economy, and it relies heavily on a well-preserved and maintained
historic environment.
The retention and re-use of historic buildings
can massively contribute to targets and aims for sustainable development.
The historic environment contributes substantially
to skilled employment in the construction industry, contributing
to more opportunities for skilled work, better paid jobs, a better
trained and motivated workforce, higher levels of job satisfaction
and a better educated population.
Historic buildings require a greater priority
for funding, especially in areas with more marginal economies.
In such areas, funding for the historic environment can trigger
private investment and considerable benefits for regeneration
and the creation of jobs.
The combination of complexity and incompatibility
between different funding programmes is preventing many regeneration
projects from proceeding. There is an urgent need for radical
reform of UK funding programmes and a new European Regeneration
Framework.
It is increasingly clear that the new regeneration
agenda relies on robust master-planning and strong quality assurance
mechanisms through the planning process. A relaxation of planning
and historic building protection would undermine the certainty
that is essential to the delivery of quality orientated regeneration.
There is a need for new Government guidance
on economic development strategies and best practice in regeneration.
Consideration should be given to introducing
quality standards for developers with regard to their professional
teams. Such moves would create substantial economic benefits.
Britain's (and Europe's) current fiscal policies
act directly against sustainable development. VAT in particular
needs to be reduced for building repairs.
Historic building controls need to be simplified
and standardised. The Article 4 procedure should be abolished
in favour of a simple, standard and robust set of controls for
conservation areas.
There is currently a lack of awareness by many
funders and Regional Development Agencies of best practice in
urban design and conservation. Too often, the emphasis is on low
value investment, which reinforces the economic cycle of under-performing
areas. Where this cycle has been broken and structural economic
change has been achieved, the historic environment and good design
have usually been catalysts in the process.
The historic environment and urban design have
often been key elements in securing structural micro-economic
change. At a national level, they make a massive contribution
to the economy and sense of national image.
The view that the historic environment is a
barrier to regeneration is indicative of regressive thinking and
a lack of understanding of the new regeneration agenda.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The roles of good design and the creative
reuse of historic buildings in securing economic development,
urban regeneration and creating sustainable communities are now
beyond question to anyone with knowledge of recent successful
initiatives around the UK. In many parts of Britain, historic
buildings have been a positive catalyst in achieving structural
economic change, attracting higher value investment and jobs,
and providing the context for creative, high quality contemporary
design in new development. The historic environment and good urban
design are key elements in achieving "urban renaissance'.
2. THE HISTORIC
ENVIRONMENT, URBAN
DESIGN AND
THE ECONOMY
2.2 The historic environment is fundamentally
important in the creation of a successful, prosperous and growing
economy. It is not merely by coincidence that areas with extensive
and well-maintained historic environments have the most prosperous
economies and are most able to attract high quality investment,
well-designed new development and high value jobs. Conversely,
neglected and degraded historic environments are often indicative
of decline, economic failure and a cycle of poor quality development
and low wages. There is a clear correlation between the quality
and condition of an area's built environment and its economic
performance and ability to attract investment.
2.3 The historic environment is often a
key factor in triggering area regeneration and achieving the kind
of urban renaissance envisaged by the Urban Task Force. Many high
profile regeneration schemes are based on a combination of the
conservation and regeneration of historic buildings, together
with high quality, creative contemporary design in new buildings
and a strong emphasis on urban design and the quality of the public
realm. Together, these factors have achieved dramatic results,
transforming areas suffering from decline and market failure into
destinations able to attract high value investment. High profile
examples of this include parts of Manchester, Duke Street/Concert
Square in Liverpool and Grainger Town in Newcastle-on-Tyne.
2.4 Ironically, it is often the areas that
most need to use urban design and historic buildings as effective
regeneration tools that consider them as peripheral and low priority.
Thus, regeneration opportunities are being missed through simple
lack of awareness and low levels of urban and economic literacy.
3. DEVELOPERS
AND DEVELOPMENT
3.1 Developers and businesses display widely
differing attitudes to urban design and the historic environment.
There are some developers that view the historic environment as
a block to regeneration. Others, especially newer, more dynamic
and entrepreneurial developers, specifically target historic buildings
as part of their product and marketing approach. Such developers
place high value on the quality of the built environment and see
it as an essential factor in attracting consumer interest. A common
factor in many very high value area regeneration initiatives is
the identification of new marketing opportunities by "specialist"
developers (for example new urban living). Mainstream developers
have then sometimes followed this lead, but have been surprisingly
poor at taking the lead in developing new markets themselves.
3.3 Some developers have little interest
in the impact of their development on the local economy, environment
and communities. Such developers often pay no attention to urban
design, the quality of the public realm and sustainability. The
historic environment can obviously be seen as a barrier to such
developers. Clearly, problems can arise where low value, mediocre
development is proposed, with short-term profit as the only driving
force. Such developers can often have little awareness of historic
buildings and urban design. Consequently, they often select professional
teams that lack skills and experience in these disciplines. Where
sub-standard professional teams are employed to produce development
schemes, the scope for conflict in the planning process is at
its greatest. Where more enlightened developers and investors
select highly skilled teams, including skills in design and historic
building conservation, the interaction with the planning process
is usually more positive and constructive, with benefits for everyone.
4. LOCATIONAL
FACTORS FOR
INVESTORS, COMPANIES
AND EMPLOYEES
4.1 Companies, developers and investors
are increasingly mobile, not only against a national context,
but globally. There is a complex range of factors determining
the choice of location. Important urban factors for high growth
companies and their employees often include:
— the quality of the urban environment;
— the choice and quality of urban housing;
and
— social and recreational infrastructure.
Such companies are very concerned with their
image and the area in which they invest needs to reflect this.
They need to attract and retain skilled and professional employees.
Areas that can offer the above attributes have a substantial competitive
advantage over other areas. The historic environment and urban
design are fundamental to all three of these elements, as discussed
below.
4.2 Quality of urban environment:
Historic buildings and areas can lend identity and distinctiveness
to different towns and cities at a national and even international
level. The condition of the historic environment is important,
creating perceptions of decline and dereliction, or prosperity
and vitality. Historic building projects can raise the profile
of their areas, act as a magnet for further investment and generate
publicity and raise an area's (or even nation's) profile, as demonstrated
by the Tate Modern on Bankside and the Baltic Exchange in Gateshead.
4.3 Urban housing: Many more people
are living in town and city centres compared to a decade ago.
For example, more than 10,000 people live in the centre of Manchester,
compared to less than 1,000 in 1991[9]This
new trend for inner city living is highly desirable on grounds
of sustainability, inner-city regeneration, safety, crime reduction,
and the creation of new sustainable urban communities. Such housing
is often characterised by high standards of design. High quality
urban housing is an essential element in attracting new firms
and employees to an area. The historic environment is often utilised
to provide modern apartments, such as in the conversion of large-scale
warehouses and industrial buildings. The combination of refurbished
historical buildings with high quality modern new architecture
and good urban design results in dramatic regeneration, sometimes
transforming areas where the market had previously failed into
economically prosperous zones. Castlefield in Manchester is an
example of this and includes a mixture of residential, leisure
and business uses. Such areas provide an exemplar and model for
future urban policy, integrating considerations of regeneration,
urban design, conservation, economic development and sustainability.
Creating confidence is the key to regenerating such areas.
4.4 Social and leisure infrastructure:
There has been a vast expansion over the past decade in the range
and quality of social facilities in most areas, including restaurants,
bars, cinemas, galleries, sports/keep fit centres and performance
venues. The range and quality of social and cultural infrastructure
is a significant factor for many people when deciding to re-locate.
There has been a vast amount of investment in leisure facilities
in historic quarters. Canals and waterfront areas in particular
can often provide a focus for leisure-related investment, in addition
to living accommodation and office space. The River Tyne at Gateshead
is an example of successful waterfront regeneration.
4.5 Britain increasingly needs to compete
against a European and global context to attract highly mobile
capital and investment. The roles of historic buildings and design
are appreciated only too well by many other countries, and used
to gain competitive advantage. Britain must respond to this if
it is to improve its competitiveness.
5. OTHER WAYS
IN WHICH
THE HISTORIC
ENVIRONMENT CONTRIBUTES
TO REGENERATION
5.1 Listed buildings and buildings in conservation
areas can provide access to funding from heritage sources such
as English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund and other more
general regeneration sources. The HLF's Townscape Heritage Initiatives
and English Heritage's Heritage Economic Regeneration schemes
provide funds for area based regeneration.
5.2 The re-use of old buildings, in conjunction
with the normal processes of regeneration and renewal, provides
for a greater diversity of uses. It helps to provide for different
kinds of business with varied accommodation requirements and different
levels of rental including more affordable rates (which would
be difficult or impossible to provide in new development). The
re-use and refurbishment of buildings therefore adds to diversity
and choice and helps to achieve a more balanced range of mixed
uses in town and city centres. This allows for greater economic
diversity and levels of activity—essential to the creation
of sustainable communities.
5.3 Both historic buildings and creative
new architecture contribute considerably to tourism and visitor-related
business. This can be a major factor in the local economy of areas
with an extensive historic environment. A few of the many thousand
examples are the Albert Dock in Liverpool, numerous cathedrals
and churches, Ironbridge, and cities such as York, Bath and Chester.
Tourism can be a valuable growth sector of the economy in some
industrial cities, helping to offset the decline of the manufacturing
sector. For example, the Potteries in North Staffordshire attracts
hundreds of thousands of visitors from all around the world. Tourism
is a significant element of the nation's economy, and it relies
heavily on a well-preserved and maintained historic environment.
5.4 The retention and re-use of historic
buildings can massively contribute to targets and aims for sustainable
development. There is still often a lack of awareness of the vast
amount of energy required to manufacture materials and construct
new buildings (embodied energy—often more energy than is
used in the lifetime of the building!). The destruction of buildings
represents the loss of this energy investment and necessitates
a new investment of energy to construct the replacement development.
Demolition also contributes to landfilling, compounding the environmental
problem. Thus, conservation of historic buildings contributes
to a sustainable urban environment and sustainable growth. Conservation
is a wholly sustainable economic activity, maximising the use
of existing built fabric, promoting the use of natural materials
and minimising the use of new non-renewable materials.
5.5 The historic environment contributes
substantially to skilled employment in the construction industry.
The repair and refurbishment of historic buildings requires a
wide range of skills from chemical analysis and materials science
to craft skills involving natural and sustainable materials. Thus,
the conservation sector contributes to:
— more opportunities for skilled work;
— a better trained and motivated workforce;
— higher levels of job satisfaction;
and
— a better educated population[10]
6. CURRENT ISSUES
CONCERNING HISTORIC
BUILDINGS AND
REGENERATION
6.1 Historic buildings require a greater
priority for funding, especially in areas with more marginal economies.
In such areas, funding for the historic environment can trigger
considerable benefits for regeneration and the creation of jobs.
Public funding can often lever in substantial amounts of private
investment, which would otherwise not be viable.
6.2 Many projects involve numerous funding
programmes, especially larger projects. Problems often arise due
to the complexity and problems of incompatibility between different
funding regimes. There has been a tendency for funding programmes
to become more complicated over the past decade. This may be due
partly to legal and financial advisors introducing additional
requirements to help avoid problems experienced in the past. It
is also undoubtedly due in part to new regulations and requirements
imposed on the funders by the Government and/or the European Commission.
Whilst such measures are often well-intended, the result has been
to make many funding programmes horrendously complex and onerous.
The application process and administrative requirements of some
funding programmes are significant deterrents to many potential
applicants, from local government officers with stretched time
resources to members of the voluntary sector. Constantly changing
funding priorities and lack of certainty over funding in future
years are further barriers to project delivery.
6.3 In terms of compatibility, it is often
extremely difficult or even impossible to reconcile the requirements
of different funders. Some funders base their programmes on expenditure
and claims, others on allocation of funds. The outputs required
by different funders can be very different and inflexible. Different
funders can impose different scrutiny and administrative processes,
requiring projects to undergo a range of parallel administrative
procedures, with substantial time implications. Funding programmes
often have different time frames and financial years, with inflexible
deadlines for delivery.
6.4 The combination of complexity and incompatibility
between different funding programmes is undoubtedly preventing
many regeneration projects from proceeding. When State Aid issues
are added into the equation, even with the new heritage notifications,
many projects are simply too complex and time-consuming to deliver.
There is an urgent need for a new European Regeneration Framework.
There is also a need to radically simplify funding programmes
and to make them more accessible. A more integrated approach needs
to be adopted, ensuring maximum flexibility and compatibility
between funding programmes. This is not a case of tinkering around
the edges, but of fundamental reform.
6.5 There is still a common misconception
that the protection systems for historic buildings and planning
are no change, anti-progress regime. In reality, whilst historic
building and design controls have sometimes been misapplied, for
example in the suppression of creative contemporary design, it
is increasingly clear that the new regeneration agenda relies
on robust master-planning and strong quality assurance mechanisms
through the planning process. A relaxation of planning and historic
building protection controls would not have delivered the best
regeneration schemes of recent years and, indeed, would undermine
the certainty that is essential to the delivery of quality orientated
regeneration.
6.6 There is a need for new Government guidance
on economic development strategies and best practice in regeneration.
Such guidance should be informed by the many recent examples around
Britain of successful regeneration. There are still too many organisations
and departments (including Government Departments) trapped in
the ethos of the 1970s and 80s. All public authorities and organisations
need to appreciate the importance of urban design, the public
realm and the historic environment and to incorporate them into
their economic and regeneration strategies and policies. This
will require a raising of economic and urban literacy.
6.7 In some European countries, there are
more rigorous standards over the quality and level of qualification
of professions employed to design new development. In Britain,
anyone can "design" development of any scale; there
is currently no competency standard that developers must meet.
Whilst planning controls can seek to ameliorate the worst excesses
of such development, they can not make up for a lack of skills
in the developer's design team. The poor standards of design in
much new development reinforces negative perceptions, especially
where an area's economy is marginal. Whilst developers can make
some savings on professional fees, this is a false economy. The
cost to the public sector in seeking to make the scheme at least
acceptable can be considerable. The cost to the wider economy
can also be significant. In many instances, the developer themselves
gain poorer value for money from their overall budget, due to
the limitations of their designers. This limits the marketing
and profit potential of the development. The CABE/DETR commissioned
publication, The Value of Urban Design, [11]points
out the impact that good design can have on profits and marketability
for developers. Consideration should be given to introducing quality
standards for developers with regard to their professional teams.
Such moves would create substantial economic benefits.
6.8 Britain's (and Europe's) current fiscal
policies act directly against sustainable development. There are
fiscal incentives for certain kinds of new-build development,
whilst the refurbishment of existing buildings invokes the full
VAT rate. Thus, developers are penalised for choosing the more
sustainable option! Sustainability is not only afforded low priority,
but firmly discouraged by current VAT provisions. VAT needs to
be reduced to the minimum possible rate in respect of works to
repair, maintain, and refurbish existing buildings, especially
listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas. There should
also be fiscal incentives for the use of "green" construction
techniques and materials.
6.9 There is a need at all levels of government
for a more pro-active approach to promoting urban quality, with
emphasis on best practice in conservation and urban design. In
particular, historic building controls need to be simplified and
standardised. The Article 4 procedure should be abolished in favour
of a simple, standard and robust set of controls for conservation
areas. These would be far easier to understand, and more consistent.
They would also provide better protection for responsible owners
and businesses against the activities of less responsible developers.
6.10 There is currently a lack of awareness
by many funders and Regional Development Agencies of best practice
in urban design and conservation. All grant-aided schemes should
be carefully assessed against criteria of good urban design and
creative conservation of the historic environment. Urban specialists
should be employed to provide the necessary input into project
appraisals and decision making. It must be understood that local
authorities, funders, RDAs, government departments and other organisations
that fail to afford the necessary priority to the historic environment
put at risk huge regeneration, job creation and investment opportunities.
Too often, the emphasis is on low value investment, which reinforces
the economic cycle of under-performing areas, with no accompanying
economic strategy aimed at lifting the level of investment and
attracting higher paid employment. Thus, as a result of funded
projects, the economy in marginal areas can stagnate or even decline
further. Where this cycle has been broken and structural economic
change has been achieved, the historic environment and good design
have usually been catalysts in the process.
7. CONCLUSION
7.1 The historic environment and urban design
have been used to achieve dramatic results in sustainable regeneration
and economic development. In some cases they have been key elements
in securing structural micro-economic change. At a national level,
they make a massive contribution to the economy and sense of national
image.
7.2 However, many local authorities, public
organisations and Government Departments are stuck in the past
in their approach to urban economics. There is a pressing need
to modernise the approach to regeneration. Reactionary attitudes
need to be challenged. The view that the historic environment
is a barrier to regeneration is indicative of regressive thinking
and a lack of understanding of the new regeneration agenda.
Dave Chetwyn MA MA MRTPI
IHBC
Consultations Secretary
Institute of Historic Building Conservation
November 2003
9 Figures quoted from Woodford in Planning, 7 June
2002. Back
10
Mick Downs, June 2002. Back
11
The Value of Urban Design, CABE, 2001. Back
| 
