This English Heritage position statement, published in January 2005, is intended to be a contribution to the ongoing debate on low demand housing. Is has been prepared to inform decisions on the future of these areas and gives guidance on how an understanding of the historic environment can help in this process. A model brief for commissioning assessment work is available from this website.

There are around one million homes affected by low demand and abandonment in the northern and midland areas of England. In April 2002 the Government announced measures to address this issue as part of its strategy set out in Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. Nine Pathfinders, covering 846,000 dwellings, have been created to tackle the most acute problems and provide models for successful renewal elsewhere. Dwellings within Pathfinder areas vary both in terms of age and building type, but the older terraced house predominates. The programme will involve clearance, the refurbishment of existing dwellings and replacing unpopular housing with new build.

The Pathfinders have developed strategic schemes which describe their long-term vision for their areas. These look at demographic and economic changes as well as analysing the supply, demand and quality of the housing in the sub-region. Appropriate solutions are being developed in the light of this evidence, taking into account declining populations and high levels of vacancy. Many of these areas are suffering from a lack of housing choice, poor housing mix and a perception that the existing dwellings do not meet the aspirations of current and likely future populations. A range of actions are needed to address the problem of low demand and create a balanced and sustainable housing market.

It is inevitable that some reduction in the existing housing stock is necessary and that this will involve demolition. English Heritage is not opposed to demolition where it has been shown to be the way forward following a thorough and transparent analysis at a sub-regional and neighbourhood level. This guidance shows how an assessment of the historic environment can help deliver the most sustainable outcome at neighbourhood level. It also demonstrates how the historic environment can further the aims of regeneration. The advice will be of use to those local authorities and other public and private bodies engaged in the process of housing renewal, including the Pathfinder Partnerships. It expands on the heritage section of Building Sustainable Communities: Actions for Housing Market Renewal (CABE et al, 2003).

The Case For Conservation-Led Regeneration

Where the future of the housing stock is being considered, English Heritage will seek to ensure that its historical and architectural significance has been assessed. In areas where the historic housing is distinctive, retains its coherence and is valued by the local community, English Heritage will favour an approach which promotes its repair and refurbishment as an alternative to new build.

Houses are among our most important historic assets. Some 4.4 million houses representing 21% of the total stock were built before 1919. Nineteenth century terraced houses are a distinctive national building type and are often associated with factories, mills, shops, pubs, schools and other public buildings. The majority do not receive any form of statutory protection, but by their very existence they give places a distinctive identity and character.

The range and variability of terraced housing types and their relationship to the landscape often provides a strong local identity. Created during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries these high density compact neighbourhoods often have integrated services, shops and transport links. The historic environment can often provide a model and template for successful sustainable communities.

Most terraced housing continues to be popular and sufficiently flexible for modern living. Well designed new extensions, and the imaginative use of rear yards and roof spaces can help some older houses meet today’s needs, whilst retaining the strong relationship between built form, street network and landscape, that is part of their value. The problem of size can be overcome by combining two houses into one or three into two to create larger dwellings, whilst additional open space can be created by selective demolition. Research and demonstration projects are being undertaken in many Pathfinder areas to explore the potential of these housing types to accommodate diverse populations. The conversion of other redundant historic buildings such as mills for residential or mixed use can also be hugely successful in building confidence and acting as a catalyst for further regeneration.

The adaptation and reuse of historic buildings is environmentally sustainable. The existing housing stock represents a huge investment in embodied environmental capital. Recent research undertaken by English Heritage in the North West of England found that, on the basis of repair cost projections stretching over 30 years, the cost of repairing a typical Victorian terraced house was between 40 and 60% cheaper (depending on the level of refurbishment) than replacing it with a new home.

Repair and refurbishment is cost effective. Much of the historic housing that survives is robust and highly adaptable, and with regular maintenance could survive almost indefinitely. Research for Heritage Counts 2003 has demonstrated that older housing actually costs less to maintain and occupy over the long-term life of the dwelling than more modern housing. Although the long-term demand for properties in the wider area also needs to be taken into account in determining the most appropriate course of action, when the energy used in demolition, site remediation and the construction of new houses is considered, there is a strong environmental argument for promoting the reuse of the historic built stock wherever a choice exists.

English Heritage accepts the need for some demolition, but it is important that we learn from the past and do not unnecessarily sweep away places with real value that have the potential for imaginative renewal.

Understanding and Transforming Places

When considering options for the future of an area, it is essential that decisions are based on an informed understanding of the historic environment. This should form part of the overall analysis that lies behind the masterplanning and design process.

An assessment of the historic environment should be undertaken at the earliest opportunity and before detailed proposals are drawn up for the regeneration of an area. As well as identifying assets which are protected through listing, scheduling or conservation area designation, the value of the wider historic environment needs to be considered.

In deciding whether or not to declare clearance areas a local authority has a statutory duty under Section 607 of the 1985 Housing Act to have regard to the amenities of the locality and the desirability of preserving existing works of architectural, historic or artistic interest.

Once the information from an assessment is available, it can be integrated with other social, economic and environmental data to make informed decisions on the future of an area. For example, where the historic environment is of particular significance and retains its coherence, repair and refurbishment should be considered in the first instance. Clearance will be more appropriate in areas characterised by poor quality spaces and housing layouts whose removal will address the problems of over-supply, choice and housing mix. Given the complex decisions that have to be taken, a combination of both strategies is likely to be appropriate in many areas.

Where clearance is proposed, standard design solutions should be resisted in favour of an approach which seeks to connect with the past through the reuse of historic buildings, public spaces and urban layouts. Key historic buildings can often act as an anchor by adding quality and visual interest to a new development. Through the use of imaginative, high quality design and appropriate materials new buildings can be stitched into historic areas without the loss of local character, while surviving old buildings can be reconnected with their urban context. The enduring success of many traditional high density settlement patterns suggests they might act as a useful model for new development.

Recording the existing townscape and mapping the changes should form an integral part of any major housing renewal programme. Recording needs to be carried out at a level of detail that reflects the importance of what is being lost or altered. Some areas may also retain significant buried archaeological remains, which will need to be fully assessed in advance of redevelopment.

The Role of English Heritage

It is neither possible nor desirable for English Heritage to engage in detail with every housing renewal programme. Although as a national body English Heritage can help with general guidance and advice, local specialists are best placed to understand the significance of a particular area, and it will usually be the local authority historic buildings officer and archaeologist who are able to offer detailed practical advice.

Through our regional offices English Heritage can offer:

• Advice to the Pathfinder Partnerships, local authorities and other public and private bodies on the management of change in the historic environment.
• A model brief which sets out how to undertake and commission work to identify and assess historical significance in areas with low demand housing. This is available from the English Heritage web site at: www.english-heritage.org.uk/regeneration or the English Heritage regional office.
• Advice on how the information from the assessment can be used to guide the emerging improvement strategies including area development frameworks, masterplans, development briefs and urban design studies in the management of those areas and buildings that are of proven historical significance.
• English Heritage also has outreach officers in each of its regional offices who may be able to provide advice about community engagement in the process.

Historic Environment Checklist

The following checklist is aimed at local authorities, Pathfinder Partnerships and housing and regeneration practitioners engaged in the process of housing renewal.

• Do you know what people value about the historic character of the area? Has the regeneration strategy been informed by an assessment of the historic environment? Has anything valuable been lost or damaged that is capable of being recovered or repaired by sensitive planning and design?
• Did the stakeholder consultation on the emerging scheme consider and address the local community’s aspirations for the historic environment in the planning and regeneration of this area?
• What is the likely impact of the development proposal on the historic environment? Where the assessment has identified areas of heritage value, a programme of repair and refurbishment should be promoted in preference to new build, with clearance being concentrated in the areas where the existing environment is of least value.
• Have you considered the positive benefits that the existing historic fabric can offer in the creation of sustainable communities in locally distinctive settings? In the past, programmes of large-scale intervention have often cut across earlier settlement patterns, causing dislocation and leading to a loss of social cohesion.
• Where major housing renewal is being undertaken, will it be accompanied by a recording strategy that will preserve a record of the existing built environment and the changes being made to it? How will this information be stored and made publicly available?

The key to unlocking the potential of the historic environment in the successful regeneration of these areas is by understanding its character. This is best achieved by undertaking an assessment as part of the regeneration programme which has involved from the outset the local community, the local authority historic buildings officer and archaeologist, and English Heritage.

Moving Forward

We welcome comments on this document and the model brief. We would particularly like to hear of case studies demonstrating how heritage has been successfully integrated within a programme of housing renewal and any examples of area-based assessments where the information on the historic environment has informed the regeneration strategy.

Comments should be sent to:
Policy Team, Room 414
English Heritage, 23 Savile Row, London W1S 2ET
policy@english-heritage.org.uk

English Heritage Contacts

Contact English Heritage in the Regions

Please click on the PDF icon in the right-hand column to download this document. A ‘Model brief for the commissioning of work to assess historical significance in areas of housing renewal’ has also been prepared to accompany this statement.