REVIT Heritage Report.pdf

Torfaen County Borough Council
REVIT: A Review of the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Assets on Brownfield Sites
2 Linking Industrial Heritage and Regeneration
2.1 Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development
2.1.1 The European Heritage Conservation Year 1975 was a defining point in
Europe’s change of attitude toward the historic landscape and a more
questioning approach to unsustainable growth. In some countries of the
European Union, large numbers of historic, and therefore architectural and
archaeological sites, have been destroyed in the course of urban revival,
economic expansion and road construction in the post-war period up to the
1970s.
2.1.2 The growth of heritage-led regeneration protection has frequently caused the
reconsideration of urban renewal and state development policies as a whole.
It has also led to more sustainable policies for the regeneration of historic
landscapes to be adopted.
2.1.3 As a result the conservation and protection of cultural heritage is no longer
considered to be an obstacle, but the driving force of urban development; the
source of attractiveness of towns and cities and a landscape’s uniqueness.
New laws, administrative measures, state funding programmes and tax relief
polices were instituted to promote sustainable conservation and protection of
cultural heritage remains across the European Union and also to highlight the
importance of conservation and protection of the cultural heritage.
2.1.4 This trend matured and flourished in the 1980s, preserving historic the layout
of towns and cities, carefully renewing the fabric of old buildings, integrating
important architectural heritage sites, making use of growth potential in order
to revive old buildings which are the basis of this policy of sustainable
development.
2.1.5 Over 100 years the decline and redundancy of large-scale manufacturing and
mining industries in the great economies of Western Europe has left a gap in
employment and land-use which is ripe for regeneration. At the same time the
benefits were appreciated of preserving and conserving our cultural heritage in
terms of the economic benefits, lifestyle and re-use of existing buildings
against re-development.
2.1.6 The definition of industrial heritage must be considered as broad as possible
and encompass important features such as buildings, bridges, viaducts,
aqueducts, leats, balance ponds, parks, landscapes, museums, archives,
townscapes, waterways and archaeology, whether of local or national
importance, as well as intangible heritage such as language or oral traditions.
The emphasise has to be the need to deliver benefits to people as well as to
places and deliver not just conservation, but greater access and involvement
for communities and new economically sustainable uses for historic places.
2.1.7 Historic places, buildings, landscapes or townscapes, are part of a wider
heritage and people often relate strongly to the places where they live or were
brought up. Historic buildings or features contribute to the distinctiveness and
identity of places, and can be a source of history and meaning for people.
Heritage adds depth, character and value to places. Individual owners may
bear the cost of caring for a historic place, but the benefits accrue to the wider
community. This is why there is often a case for subsidy or regulation to
correct a failure of the market.
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