28 C O N T E X T 1 1 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 0 it useful to bring the BPT into operation. It can be more flexible, and it can move on short notice.We have even on occasion started holding repairs before getting ownership of a building. We did one scheme with the BPT, sold it on completion to the housing association, which in turn sold it to the sitting tenant in due course. In another scheme, the BPT and housing association were joint employers for a project involving flats (for the housing association) and shops (for the BPT). There are disadvantages to the arrangement. Housing associations do not select their tenants the way a private landlord might, and a small percentage of our tenants are certainly less than ideal. BPTs do not usually have to deal with ex-prisoners or alcoholics. Inevitably most of our tenants arrive looking simply for a roof over their head rather than a nice historic building to enjoy – although the vast majority develop considerable pride in their homes and do respect the restrictions we place on them. More often there are advantages.We certainly could not have restored some buildings in the centre of Belfast during the Troubles without a mechanism like the housing association. Hearth has rescued at least half of the Georgian (actually early Victorian) houses surviving in the city and maintains them as social housing. Being our own client enables us to take some controlled risks that are difficult for an architect working for a private client or indeed a BPT developing for a housing association. Although Hearth has two separate organisations, and they are funded and managed as quite distinct entities, they operate in parallel ways. Our housing association only works with historic buildings or conservation areas, although its primary function is to provide social housing, and our BPT lets out a number of houses to tenants at affordable rents. However, it is usually clear which organisation will take the lead in a project, as their roles are complementary rather than duplicated. If Hearth works so well, why has the model not been applied elsewhere? It has been considered, and indeed the National Trust in SouthWales endeavoured to set up just such an organisation some years ago. A conservation architect was appointed and he worked with an established housing association in the area. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm for historic buildings was not matched at that time by the board of the association, who looked at a 17th century house only in terms of the number of units it might provide. When the architect visited Belfast to see how Hearth worked, I took him to meet the principal of the housing association’s branch at Stormont. He was amazed when he was told that there was no difficulty in putting a bit of housing money towards historic buildings because they both came out of the same budget. At that time the Department of the Environment funded both listed buildings and housing associations. One of the fortunate things about Northern Ireland is that it is a small place where people can still make (some) decisions using common sense, without necessarily following a book. We were told that in Wales Tai Cymru and Cadw had entirely separate budgets and objectives, and cross-fertilisation between housing and historic buildings would be much more difficult. Joined-up government may still be hard to find in many parts of the country, and sadly even here the separation has become much greater. Hearth tries to demonstrate in all its projects that historic buildings and social housing are by no means incompatible. There is no reason why social housing should all be in estates, or in comparatively new houses.The vast majority of our tenants say they prefer living in old houses. We believe that the combination of housing and heritage can be a valuable way of regenerating areas as well as specific buildings, and that tenants can benefit from the variety and quality of the houses provided. Combining the complexities of social housing with the high ideals of historic building restoration certainly does not make for an easy life. But it has been, and continues to be, a very rewarding one. The 1837 gateway by Edward Blore at Castle Upton incorporated a gate lodge with rooms on either side of the central arch.These were occupied by a private tenant on a controlled rent. The tenant did not want to leave and the owner could not afford to do repairs. Hearth Housing Association took a long lease on the property and extended the lodge in both directions to form two separate houses, and carried out extensive works to the tower using Heritage Lottery funding. The original tenant still occupies one lodge.This is an after photograph: the lodges are single-storey and singleaspect, constructed of basalt like the rest of the building, and face into the grounds of Castle Upton. Marcus Patton, an architect, has been director of Hearth’s revolving fund and housing association for more than 30 years.
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