Memorandum by the Grainger Town Project
(HIS 53)
1. I refer to your call for evidence on
the Grainger Town Experience of heritage led regeneration.
2. I am a member of the RTPI and have had
over 20 years experience in urban regeneration working in Liverpool,
Teesside and Newcastle. I was Director of the Grainger Town Project
between 1997 and 2003 and am now employed as Executive Director
of the TyneWear Partnership. The views expressed in my evidence
relate solely to my experience in Grainger Town.
3. Grainger Town covers approximately 36
hectares and comprises a complex mix of buildings and spaces for
office, retail, residential, leisure and cultural uses. It takes
its name from a series of elegant streets of "Tyneside Classical"
architecture, including Grey Street which was described by Pevsner
as "one of the finest streets in England", which were
conceived as a whole and built by Richard Grainger between 1835-42.
The area also includes a Mediaeval 13th century Dominican Friary,
remnants of the old Town Walls and many fine Victorian Buildings.
4. The area possesses a richness of character
and is an asset of international importance that is quite unique.
Virtually all of it is included within Newcastle's Central Conservation
Area, one of the first to be designated in England. Within the
area 244 buildings are listed of special architectural or historic
interest, of which 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II*. The majority
of the buildings are in private ownership.
5. By the 1990's Richard Grainger's legacy
was in poor shape—a consequence of economic marginalisation
as shops and offices moved out to more attractive locations. The
area exhibited all the classic symptoms of urban decay and calls
for selective clearance of listed properties and whole streets
were widespread. Indicators of its economic and social decline
were:
— Over 100,000 square metre of vacant
floorspace, particularly in the upper floors of buildings.
— Major structural problems were prevalent
with 47% of its 244 listed buildings classified as being "at
risk" and a further 29% classified as vulnerable.
— Employment had fallen rapidly from
14,682 in 1992 to 9,892 in 1997.
— The residential population had decreased
to 1,200 and was still falling.
— There had been a rapid turnover of
occupiers from 1,144 businesses in 1992 to 950 in 1997.
— The property market was weak and
characterised by hope value.
— Traffic congestion and limited parking
provision was hindering regeneration.
— The general area was characterised
by a very poor environment and low standards of public realm.
— There was a lack of developer, investor
and occupier confidence.
6. A programme of conservation-led property
development and environmental enhancement had been introduced
in 1993 involving Newcastle City Council and English Heritage.
This had tackled many of the worst buildings at risk and had started
to halt the spiral of decline by utilsing the area's rich architectural
assets. However, in 1996 both parties along with English Partnerships
agreed that the area could no longer be left to take care of itself
and must develop a new role in the context of the changing structure
of Newcastle as a European Regional Capital. Although it was generally
acknowledged that Grainger Town possessed the potential to power
the engine for the City's economic growth, the real issue was
how to manage the regeneration in such a way which respected the
past but secured its long term future.
7. In 1996 consultants EDAW were commissioned
to produce a regeneration strategy for Grainger Town and to prepare
a bid for Government funding. An "in depth" analysis
of the area's problems was immediately undertaken including a
detailed building audit. The consultants recognised that Grainger
Town represented a complex urban system and that its revival must
be tackled in a "holistic" way which respected its fine
grain nature. They produced a vision, which reflected the aspirations
for Grainger Town:
Grainger Town will become a dynamic and competitive
location in the heart of the City. Grainger Town will develop
its role in the regional economy within a high quality environment
appropriate to a major European regional capital. Its reputation
for excellence will be focused on leisure, culture, the arts and
entrepreneurial activity. Grainger Town will become a distinctive
place, a safe and attractive location to work, live and visit.
8. The vision was endorsed by all parties
and arrangements put in place to realize it through a six year
(April 1997-March 2003) £120 million regeneration programme
bringing together £40 million of public funding from English
Partnerships (funding subsequently managed by ONE North East,
the regional development agency), English Heritage, Newcastle
City Council and Tyneside TEC (now the Learning and Skills Council)
with the balance from the private sector. The investment sought
to strengthen and develop Grainger Town as a mixed use historic
urban quarter based on seven inter-related regeneration themes:
— Business Development and Enterprise.
— Non-Housing Property Development.
— Quality of Environment.
— Management Marketing and Promotion.
The Grainger Town Project came to an end on
31 March 2003, although a number of projects are still on site.
9. The regeneration programme was delivered
by the Grainger Town Partnership, a company limited by guarantee.
Its Board had 20 directors from the public, private and community
sectors and was a partnership of equals with no single body in
overall control. The Board was supported by specialist advisory
panels such as the Urban Design and Public Arts Panels and community
ownership was built up through monthly meetings of both residents
and business fora. The Project was implemented by a dedicated
Delivery Team of 14 officers based in Central Exchange Buildings
at the heart of Grainger Town. The Partnership Board had its final
meeting (AGM) on 19 December 2003.
10. At the end of the Project in March 2003
over £174 million had been attracted into the area, including
£146 million from the private sector, comfortably exceeding
the Projects lifetime target of £74 million. During the project
there was a massive change in investment activity. In 1997 the
project struggled to attract developers for vacant sites and buildings.
By 2002-03 it struggled to find investment opportunities for developers.
11. The Partnership Board approved nearly
70 schemes with a grant requirement of over £35 million.
Notable achievements included:
— 1,506 jobs created, directly by the
Project, plus a further 800 in Grainger Town generally due to
the increased confidence in the area, together with over 82,658
construction job weeks.
— 286 new businesses set up, largely
through the Grainger Town Business Development Fund and PNE's
Youth Enterprise Support Scheme.
— 80,900 sq. m. of new and/or improved
commercial floorspace mostly in listed properties for example
at the Union Rooms, Wengers, Central Post Office, Binns and 33-39
Grey Street.
— 289 flats and apartments completed
with a further 283 in the pipeline—many located within the
Grainger Street and Clayton Street areas with their high concentrations
of "Buildings at Risk".
— 121 buildings (many of them listed
properties and classified as "Buildings at Risk") brought
back into use, for example 2-12 Grey Street, Murton House, Victoria
Buildings, Lloyds Court and Union Rooms.
— Phase 1-5 of the Public Realm Programme
completed based on Gillespies Urban Design Framework.
— Greys Monument, arguably Newcastle's
most famous landmark, successfully repaired and cleaned with the
help of Heritage Lottery Fund grant assistance.
— Westgate House—an eleven storey
office block, perhaps Newcastle's most unpopular building, acquired
by ONE North East for demolition and redevelopment for mixed uses.
— Wards Building on High Bridge acquired
for extension to the Waygood Gallery and conversion of former
warehouses for artists studios and workshops.
— Major Conservation Area Partnership
/Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme projects completed at Reiss,
Tucci, Union Rooms and Temple Buildings, all jointly funded by
English Heritage and Newcastle City Council.
12. An independent interim evaluation undertaken
in 2001 led by Fred Robinson of Durham University concluded that:
"It has been successful in promoting change,
reversing decline and helping to produce more positive perceptions
of the area. The Project has been well managed and the process
of regeneration has worked well".
13. The independent final evaluation completed
in September 2003, again by Fred Robinson concluded that:
"The Grainger Town Partnership is widely
regarded as a demonstration of "what works" . . . The
Project revitalised the area and did much to save its threatened
architectural heritage. The achievements of the last six years
need to be maintained and secured and further regeneration has
to be encouraged and supported in Grainger Town".
14. Copies of Investing in Heritage (Fred
Robinson, Harvey Dowdy, Mary Lou Downie, Peter Fisher and Paul
Greenhalgh); Grainger Town—Been There Done That (Grainger
Town Partnership Ltd); Newcastle's Grainger Town: An Urban Renaissance
(English Heritage); and Pride of Place (Fred Robinson, Durham
University) will be forwarded separately to you.
15. The following paragraphs provide evidence
from the experience of the Grainger Town Project in relation to
the six specific points highlighted by the inquiry.
16. The contribution of historic buildings
to urban regeneration
(i)
Historic buildings and the historic environment
can make a significant contribution to urban regeneration. Their
economic role as potential drivers and catalysts of urban regeneration
is clearly demonstrated by the Grainger Town experience and other
case studies covered in the "Heritage Dividend".
(ii)
Historic buildings also provide continuity,
a sense of identity and place, set quality standards for new design
and encourage sustainable urban regeneration.
(iii)
The success of the Grainger Town Project
demonstrates the critical role that heritage can play in urban
regeneration. However, this transformation was not easily achieved
and required the implementation of a coherent, yet flexible, heritage-led
strategy which responded to the needs and demands of the market
and helped to build up investment confidence. In addition, it
called for a major change in mindsets of property professionals,
developers and investors in the area to overcome the negative
perceptions of heritage and listed buildings. This turnaround
in thinking was achieved through the publication of informative,
educational and promotional material (including professional handbooks
demonstrating international best practice in heritage led regeneration,
educational packs, press releases, advertising and newsletters);
the promotion of key demonstration projects (such as Central Post
Office, Central Exchange Buildings and 33-39 Grey Street); and
active communication to raise awareness of the value of heritage
and to promote the "civic vision" for Grainger Town
(including hosting an international conference).
(iv)
This change of perception is illustrated
by the growth in rents of refurbished offices within the heart
of Grainger Town from £113 in 1997 to £188 in 2003 (a
growth of 66.6%). (The rental values of modern offices on the
edge of the city only grew by 34.6% during the same period). In
addition, between 1997 and 2003, there was a growth in retail
rental values of 60% on Grey Street and 33.3% on Clayton Street.
Thus it is apparent that, complimented by other initiatives such
as improvements in the public realm, historic buildings in Grainger
Town are now seen as "assets" rather than "liabilities"
and have contributed to the regeneration of the area.
17. The role and effectiveness of the
public agencies responsible for the built and historic environment
in encouraging urban regeneration
(i)
There were three main public agencies involved
in the renaissance of Grainger Town ie English Partnerships/One
NorthEast (main funder); English Heritage (national conservation
body and part funder) and Newcastle City Council (planning authority,
highways authority, part funder etc).
(ii)
The overall experience of the Grainger
Town Partnership in dealing with these public agencies was that
they were effective in their roles and encouraged the regeneration
of the historic environment. However, a recurring issue was that
of the length of time it took to process applications, be they
for grant funding, listed building consent or section 106 agreements
etc. often causing delays to individual projects which led to
frustrated developers and lack of investor confidence. Developers
and investors need "clarity" over application processes
and "certainty" in terms of timescales. It must be stressed
that this appears to be a general problem in relation to urban
regeneration and is not unique to the Grainger Town Project or
the North East.
(iii)
The Grainger Town Project has shown that
all partners need to accept shared responsibility and to collectively
endorse an integrated approach to the regeneration of urban areas.
Also it would be beneficial if the grant and planning/conservation
application systems were streamlined to encourage developer and
investor confidence. (The current reviews of Heritage Designation
and Protection and the Planning System are welcome). As stated
by the British Urban Regeneration Association in 2001 when the
Project won a Best Practice award for excellence regeneration,
"The area is being transformed in a way that would not have
seemed possible a few years ago showing that effective partnership
can achieve rapid improvements. It is clear that the remarkable
way this partnership of public sector, local businesses and the
local community has worked together is contributing greatly to
its success".
18. Whether those organisations carrying
out regeneration projects give sufficient regard to historic buildings
(i)
The Urban Task Force Report placed great
emphasis on urban quality and distinctiveness. Historic buildings
and spaces help to define this distinctiveness and there is a
need for organisations carrying out regeneration projects to give
them greater regard.
(ii)
Once the Grainger Town Partnership had
overcome the initial commercial concerns and changed developer
and investor perceptions, most of the organisations involved appreciated
the special qualities offered by historic buildings. However,
lack of suitably experienced architects and builders sometimes
meant that individual schemes were not completed in accordance
with initial plans or to the quality standards expected.
(iii)
To reduce these problems the Grainger Town
Partnership produced informative and educational material about
the buildings and the area to educate developers, investors, workers,
residents and the general public about its architectural and historic
significance and appropriate repair and refurbishment proposals.
In addition, the project team provided a one-stop shop offering
advice, guidance and information.
19. Whether the planning system and
the listing of historic buildings aid or hinder urban regeneration
(i)
The success of the Grainger Town project
shows that the planning system and the listing of historic buildings
does not hinder the process of urban regeneration, on the contrary
they can assist the sustainable and high-quality revitalisation
of a historic core.
(ii)
To achieve this success it was critical
that the Project Team, the local planning authority and English
Heritage shared responsibility for the historic environment and
worked with the private sector and others to find viable solutions
to problem buildings. This required a pragmatic and flexible approach
backed by sound technical advice from qualified professionals
within all of the partner organisations. (Issues relating to the
need to find appropriate uses for vacant listed buildings, how
to handle containerisation of refuse for flats above shops and
car parking requirements were all resolved through the Local Authority
adopting a committed and flexible approach to Grainger Town).
(iii)
As stated above, timescales are very important
in the context of historic buildings and it is vital that all
partners understand and appreciate each other's time constraints.
20. Whether all Government Departments
take adequate account of the historic environment
(i)
The Grainger Town Project had an integrated
and holistic approach to the regeneration of the historic environment,
linking the conservation and enhancement of buildings and spaces
within the historic environment to employment, culture and business
development initiatives.
(ii)
This "total" approach encouraged
the various Government Departments/ Agencies (local and regional)
involved to take more account of the conservation and enhancement
of the historic environment. However, improvements could be made
at a local level to encourage the Regional Government Office to
be more conscious and proactive in protecting and enhancing the
areas historic environment.
(iii)
It would be beneficial for Government Departments/Agencies
to have a local "Heritage/Design Champion" who would
aim to proactively promote the preservation and enhancement of
the historic environment through the endorsement of good conservation
practice and good design.
21. Whether fiscal and legislative changes
should be made
(i)
The experience of the Grainger Town Project
has highlighted the need for several fiscal and legislative changes
to the current system to facilitate and improve the process of
heritage-led regeneration.
(ii)
There is a need for clarification and/or
alteration of state aid rules. The loss of the Partnership Investment
Programme (PIP) funding from English Partnerships in 1999 as a
result of EC decisions on infringements to State Aid rules and
the consequential reduced funding allocations from ONE North East
were significant blows to the Grainger Town Project and their
impact had to be handled extremely carefully in order to protect
investment confidence in the area.
(iii)
There is also a need for positive changes
to European VAT laws which at the present time do not encourage
the repair and restoration of buildings by charging full rate
VAT on any repair works.
(iv)
It is essential that increased resources
are made available at a local level to (a) employ more conservation
officers within local authorities and conservation agencies to
protect the historic environment and (b) establish more grant
initiatives to encourage and assist regeneration organisations/teams
and owners/occupiers to utilise the local heritage resource and
regenerate historic areas.
(v)
In relation to legislative changes, as
stated before, the success of particular regeneration schemes
is highly dependent on timescales in relation to grant applications,
planning permission/listed building consent/conservation area
consent applications etc. It is vital that timescales are kept
to a minimum in order to facilitate the process of regeneration.
Thus, speeding up or streamlining the conservation planning process
would encourage regeneration. This would only be acceptable if
the rigour of the current system is maintained or improved by
any changes.
22. In conclusion the Grainger Town Project
has shown that the historic environment can play a vital role
in the regeneration of urban areas. However, there is still a
need to raise the profile of our built heritage and its continued
conservation and enhancement at every level and in every sector
of Government. In this respect the current reviews of Heritage
Designation and Protection and the Planning System are very welcome.
Chris Oldershaw
Executive Director
(Formally Director of the Grainger Town Project)
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