T W E N T Y F I R S T E D I T I O N
T H E B U I L D I N G C O N S E R VAT I O N D I R E C T O R Y 2 0 1 4
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THE HERITAGE MOVEMENT
The breadth of heritage has motivated many
individuals and groups, in both amateur
and professional fields, to engage with the
aesthetic, artistic, and creative elements of our
buildings and monuments. The histories of
societies such as the Society for the Protection
of Ancient Buildings, the UK’s two national
trusts (with over four million members), and
numerous local antiquarian and heritage
groups, paint a picture of value for heritage in
all its forms, and reflect a desire to maintain
or enhance understanding of its distinctive
features into the future.
Conservation initiatives often arise
out of potential threat, whether it is access
to a location, imminent destruction of a
building, gradual neglect of something which
might otherwise be deemed to be an asset,
or the building being deemed no longer fit
for purpose. They may also arise as society
re-evaluates the value of a place or style of
building, perhaps as a result of a change
in fashion. Redundant buildings are often
the most challenging, but they can also be
the lynchpin of a successful regeneration
project, taking only a spark of inspiration
to find a new life which has heritage value
at its core, providing the unique selling
point. Recent examples of this are seen in
Urban Splash’s re-configuration of listed
(but unloved) blocks of flats in Sheffield at
Park Hill, creating a design-led regeneration
of degraded housing stock. Other examples
include the many projects undertaken by
organisations like the Prince’s Regeneration
Trust, such as the conversion of a large
cotton-mill complex at Stanley Mills on the
banks of the River Tay into residential units.
The close relationship between heritage
‘assets’ (objects, buildings, places or
landscapes) and their guardians (pressure
groups, movements and causes) is founded on
a recognition that this asset can do something
wonderful within society. That might sound
somewhat rose-tinted or idealistic, but time
and time again it rings true when interrogated
closely. Of particular note in the last couple
of years has been the advocacy undertaken by
the National Trust in response to the English
government’s draft National Planning Policy
Framework, billed as the ‘Planning for People’
campaign. This focused on the involvement
of local communities, encouraging them to
engage more fully with the planning process.
In particular, its child- and family-based
advocacy encouraged greater engagement
with outdoor recreation via its ‘50 things to do
before you’re 11¾’ programme.
But we must move beyond heritage as catalyst
to better articulate its value in society today.
HERITAGE VALUE
Although clear value can be seen in the
examples already mentioned, when heritage is
considered on a formal level in local planning
decisions, council funding directions, and
government policy and regulation, it has
inevitably to be de-personalised. On this
formal level it must be evaluated in a context
of competing concerns and assessed in terms
of what it can deliver for society.
Debates around value in recent years
have gathered momentum, and are seen in
heritage agencies’ policies and publications
as an underpinning for discussions
around significance. While necessary for a
maturing in heritage as both a discipline and
profession, the tenor of this discussion has
diverged slightly from a more instrumental
understanding in civil society decision-
making contexts (PPG15’s appendices for
example), and has drifted towards re-
establishing our fundamental conservation
philosophies and principles at a professional
level. An argument is not being made on
reductionist lines for a pure profit-and-loss
approach for heritage in the modern world but,
in England at least, the swinging weathervane
of political attention must be heeded.
Furthermore, if a minister for culture suggests
that a case has not been made, then a renewed
effort or change in language is required to
demonstrate what heritage does in society
now, and what it has the potential to do in
future. Conservationists must adopt a more
business-like approach to communicating its
message on value.
The evidence clearly exists: heritage
protection works and delivers outputs and
outcomes across a range of societal areas.
Practical education and work-based skills,
specialised heritage crafts experience,
and conservation-related skills are all
in demand, not only in the conservation
and refurbishment/renewal trades, but
also in the complex regeneration field and
throughout the wider building industry
itself. From conservation schemes within
individual historic properties, to wider-scale
conservation and maintenance of historic
estates (such as the maintenance of the
historic waterways in the care of the Canal
& River Trust), training pathways and skills
development are a feature of organisational
planning. Equally, training and skills form
a key agenda item for the professional
institutes within this sector, such as the
Institute of Historic Building Conservation,
the Institute for Archaeologists and Icon.
Allied to this, the Heritage Lottery Fund
has invested significant funds in individual
craft and heritage skills projects, as well
as larger strategic bursary schemes to
support careers within the heritage sector.
There is already a well-developed private
market in skills and competencies (as amply
illustrated by leafing through the pages of this
directory), and when heritage assets are fully
recognised for the role they can play within
the sustainable development agenda we can
expect to see an increasing need for education,
skills and services from the heritage sector.
Heritage businesses are already identified
within national business surveys and reported
as a specialised sector within national
statistics. Although growth in the sector has
been low due to the global economic climate,
the fact that an industrial sector can be clearly
identified means that we can begin to assess
the scale of value to the economy. This has
been considered by Scotland in its assessment
of the economic value of heritage (HEACS
report 2009, see further information) and
more recently by English Heritage as part of its
annual Heritage Counts survey, which focused
in 2012 on resilience. However, perhaps the
most detailed figures relating to the value of
heritage within the building and construction
industry have been collated by the National
Stanley Mills, Perthshire: part of the listed mill complex was converted into residential units in 1997–2001
(Photo: The Prince’s Regeneration Trust)
Crofton Park Library in London is one of around
2,500 Carnegie Libraries worldwide. Earmarked for
closure in May 2011 by Lewisham Council, the library
was saved by the local community with private sector
assistance. (Photo: William Badenhorst)
