18 C O N T E X T 1 0 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 8 Notes from the chair Raising the profile in Northern Ireland As the plane descends towards Belfast City Airport, you get great views of the city centre, including the dock area and the copper dome of the City Hall. Belfast is distinctive and recognisable due to its wealth of historic buildings. The reason I know this is that the autumn meeting of the IHBC council took place in Belfast. The Northern Ireland branch arranged a series of activities over three days, including dinner with Peter Robinson MP, MLA, the First Minister; a reception and dinner at Hillsborough Castle attended by the environment and culture ministers; and a seminar ‘Conserving Historic Places’ involving the Planning Service. This was an extremely successful few days in terms of raising the profile of the IHBC and heritage interests more generally. Belfast is a city in transition. The peace process has brought a huge increase in investor confidence, as illustrated by the recently completed Victoria Square Shopping Centre. This is clearly a good thing. However, there are also risks that short-term opportunism could harm longerterm economic prosperity, and bypass the needs and aspirations of local communities. Already there have been needless losses of historic buildings to the developer’s bulldozer. Numerous cities around the UK have recognised the value of historic buildings and places in delivering high-value regeneration. Cities like Newcastle, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh and various London boroughs have used their heritage creatively to help deliver dramatic physical and economic transformations. There is an appreciation that the quality of the urban environment, old and new, matters. They have raised the game in terms of the quality of new buildings and the public realm, delivering dramatic regeneration and economic development, and improving their competitiveness against a European context. At the same time, cities that have allowed their historic buildings to be demolished and have accepted poor design in the name of ‘regeneration’ have suffered from a loss of identity and often locked themselves into a cycle of under-performance. People are less inclined to live, work, invest and spend leisure time in characterless places with poor environments. There is a direct relationship between the performance of towns and cities, and the value they place on their built heritage, public realm and the quality of design in new development. In Belfast and other Northern Ireland cities and towns, the pressure on the heritage resource is increasing. Loss of such heritage for supposed short-term gains will damage Northern Ireland’s unique identity and longer-term prosperity. There are already enough clone towns around the UK. Northern Ireland can learn from past mistakes. Delivering effective regeneration means ensuring that those charged with conserving historic places have the skills, expertise and commitment to fulfil their statutory duties in respect of the conservation of the historic environment, including preventing the demolition and loss of historic buildings and fabric. There needs to be an emphasis on quality outcomes which are appropriate to their context, and to medium and long-term economic interests and the needs of local communities. Decision makers will also need skills to engage effectively with local communities and to manage heritage resources for the benefit of the quality of life of existing and future generations. At a pivotal and delicate time for Northern Ireland politics, there seems to be a genuine concern among senior politicians to avoid the needless loss of historic buildings and places, and an appreciation of the value of conservation to the quality of life. The politicians also appreciate that effective community engagement in the development process is essential. This is encouraging. The heritage sector needs to help ensure that such concerns are translated into practice on the ground. Dave Chetwyn, [email protected]
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