informed conservation, significance and conservation plans HSEd Jules Brown North of England Civic Trust

why do we do conservation?

managing change conservation is about

significance degree of change is based on

burra charter “Places of cultural significance enrich people’s lives, often providing a deep and inspirational sense of connection to community and landscape, to the past and to lived experiences” “…must be conserved for present and future generations”

“a technique for understanding historic buildings and landscapes, and for applying that understanding to conservation and management” the need for a proper understanding of a heritage asset and why it is important before deciding to manage or change it informed conservation

4 themes  involvement  understanding  significance  risk, vulnerability  policy  use  monitor and review +  what have we got?  why is it important?  what’s its problem?  what shall we do about it?

standards heritage lottery fund conservation management planning   how to apply  further resources  conservation managem’t planning

standards  dclg / english heritage pps5 practice guide  -heritage.org.uk  professional  advice  gov’t planning policy  pps practice guide

standards  english heritage consv. principles  -heritage.org.uk  professional  advice  conservation principles

conservation (management) plans

conservation plan  a tool to be used  a starting point  comprehensive  strategic  analytical  participatory  synthetic  clarity from complexity “a document which attempts to understand a site, sets out its significance, and explains how that significance will be retained in any future use, repair, alterations, development or management”

 complex site, management  conflicting significance  lack of understanding  everywhere? where

when wwhat do we want?! understanding! wwhen do we want it?! early on, and certainly well before a decision is made, at whatever level, to intervene physically in the heritage asset or in the management regime which controls it, actually.

who  usually a team  range of info  range of skills  overall ‘editorial’ lead  independent?  consultation  participation

statements  smaller  quicker  outline consv plan  done in house  have been done by some for many years as standard practice  thought process

understanding

understanding  desk based research  on site research  analyse it  present it “…understanding is the bedrock of conservation; without understanding conservation is blind and meaningless”  elements  history / chronology  designations / policy context  ownership / management  stakeholders  gaps  written descriptions  lists  photographs  diagrams / plans / maps

understanding

significance

significance  why is it significant?  who is it significant to?  statement of significance  matrices, diagrams “…should influence every decision that is made about its future, from everyday management to planning new projects”  show your working:  evidential  historical  aesthetic  communal  presentation:  archeological  architectural  artistic  historic

significance

 low, medium, high  none, marginal, some, considerable, exceptional  local, regional, national, international

significance

risk

risk, vulnerability  what’s going on? why?  long term, critical, independent  conflicts  opportunities “…if you understand how special qualities might be at risk, you are in a better position to manage them and plan for the future”  physical condition  previous alterations  setting  ownership / control  management  use  development  access  policy context  funding  stakeholder expectations  etc...

policy

policy  clear set of policies  implementable, adoptable  conservation  management “…help make sure you do a good job and show you’re committed to caring for the heritage asset to the highest possible standards”  principles  routine maintenance  periodic renewal  repair  restoration  alteration  new work  accessibility, sustainability, biodiversity  designation  research  access (physical, intellectual)  decision-making  stakeholders, community  ownership

policy

use it!

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