16 C O N T E X T 1 0 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 8 schemes within Northern Ireland’s conservation areas. Fulfilment of the department’s statutory responsibilities within designated conservation areas would be properly based on the prime considerations of conservation and enhancement of their special interest. IHBC chairman Dave Chetwyn spoke on ‘The Role of Local Communities in the Conservation of Historic Places’, emphasising their critical importance. Fiona Newton, the institute’s project officer, followed on ‘Place Management’: the importance of the management of conservation areas, listed buildings and their settings and other historic places. Fiona achieved this using some excellent before and after photographs showing repair and re-instatement, rather than just writing off a building because the features which made it special had been removed. Nigel Barker of English Heritage provided an expert presentation on the significance of context with reference to the joint English Heritage/CABE study. The second half of the conference focused on the role of the conservation officer. Mike Brown, heritage manager for the London Borough of Enfield, clearly demonstrated the proactive role of his work, extensively focusing on enhancement in parallel to his development control remit. Mike manages service areas delivering conservation, urban design, heritage grants, area improvement projects and legal agreements, and recently led a multi-disciplinary team in developing a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a £7 million restoration project for Forty Hall (Grade l) and its estate. Mike explained that Enfield has conservation area appraisals and conservation management plans for all of its conservation areas. ‘The Successful Implementation of Article 4 Directions’ ensued in David McDonald’s presentation, based on his current team leadership position with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with some lovely photographs. Bob Kindred, government liaison secretary, former editor of Context, who heads up conservation at Ipswich, drew on his extensive experience of enforcement and prosecutions relating to the protection of the historic environment. Bob used examples from the National Database of Listed Building Prosecutions which he originated and maintains. The starting point for the afternoon walking tour of Queen’s and Malone Conservation Areas was Eglantine Avenue, within the Malone Conservation Area. The draft Malone Character Appraisal was published in 2004, within an Interim Statement released in 2006, pending the publication of the final version which is expected imminently. Malone Conservation Area is extremely important to the heritage of Belfast, all the more so in view of the absence of intact streetscapes from earlier periods, such as the medieval, early modern or Georgian eras, as is the case in other cities, such as Edinburgh with its preserved ‘old town’ and its 18th century set-piece ‘new town’. The suburb of leafy Malone comprises relatively intact Victorian and Edwardian edifices representative of Belfast during this significant period. The area’s properties are of a high quality in terms of their articulate crafting, plan forms and materials. The harmonious domestic character of the area, with its villas in their landscaped setting and the rhythm of the streetscapes, is vulnerable to a myriad of cumulative threats. These include demolition and redevelopment; insensitive extensions and alterations; uncontrolled historic feature removals; intensification; removal of single use occupancy; removal of landscape features including boundary hedges; and the creation of hard standings. Paul Larmour, in his book The Architectural Heritage of Malone and Stranmillis (1991), wrote of the Malone suburb: ‘The area contains a great wealth of buildings of special architectural interest... It would appear that this whole suburb contains the greatest concentration of good architectdesigned houses in Ulster... there is no other suburb in this country with such a rich architectural heritage.’ More generally the walkabout served to highlight the pressures that the province’s designated conservation areas face. The question is: where will Northern Ireland go from here in the conservation of its historic places, particularly its designated conservation areas? Will it secure their conservation and enhancement for current and future generations, or will it destroy and degrade forever those areas that are so special and distinctive to the province – its genius loci? The IHBC is well placed to help channel, facilitate and support the conservation of Northern Ireland’s historic places and all those who are working to achieve this. Sharon Brown, IHBC national council member for Northern Ireland, and Alan Oliver, an associate of the IHBC and a member of the Northern Ireland branch IHBC conference participants outside the venue, Malone House. After being fire-bombed in 1976, the building lay vacant for a number of years before being restored by its current owner, Belfast City Council. Alan Oliver, IHBC Northern Ireland branch events officer, leading a walkabout
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