At Regent we have been working on regenerating a fantastic site on the banks of the River Colne in Colchester, which includes the restoration of a grade-II-listed mill into a three-bedroom house. As with any project involving the preservation of a historical site, there are additional challenges posed when incorporating a new development around an existing heritage building, but also a number of benefits. In this blog we take a closer look at some of them.
Challenges
While many developers no longer see historic buildings as a burden, some are still reluctant to undertake projects due to the additional time and cost they can add to a regeneration project. There are also specialist skills required. It’s important to have people working on the scheme with knowledge of and experience in navigating the conservation, including planning and funding issues that can arise when dealing with historic buildings. To help overcome the knowledge barrier, the British Property Federation, Historic England and RICS have produced Heritage Works, a reference guide to help developers, community groups and others achieve successful heritage regeneration schemes.
Benefits
As in many facets of life, where there are challenges, there are also great rewards. The UK has a long, rich history, and using it as an asset has been one of the key contributors to the economic and social revival of our towns and cities. Evidence shows that the conservation of heritage buildings and areas has led to some of the most successful regeneration projects in the country.
Preserving character
Heritage-led regeneration preserves the history and character of our towns and landscapes. Rather than removing the ‘old’ to bring in the ‘new’, integrating them provides a huge opportunity to add unique historic architectural character to a new development. Historic sites are important in creating a sense of place, and are highly valued by the community, so adapting new developments to fit them rather than the other way around, serves to strengthen the bond between people and place.
Sustainability
Preserving heritage assets is a key to sustainable building development. The amount of energy required to replace a building – including its demolishment, removal of the waste, the transport of materials, and the construction of the new site – is so significant that a new building has to be extremely energy-efficient to make up for the environmental impact. This makes reusing and repurposing existing buildings, where possible, a preferable option.
Economic benefits
We previously looked at the key elements that go into making a successful urban regeneration project, which included the importance of design. It’s easy for modern, urban landscapes to become homogenised and lifeless. In contrast, historical areas can provide an environment for more unique schemes, offering interesting architecture and heritage assets that cause people to gravitate towards them. The impact of this can stretch beyond the site of the scheme to boost the wider economy of the town or city.
Find out more about our heritage-led restoration project, East Mill Bay, here. See the planning drawings from the project below (click to enlarge).
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