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Regeneration Funding - Case Studies
| A Selection of Regeneration Funding Case Studies From the standpoint of architectural heritage, the important point about the following case study projects is that the repair of historic buildings was not their principal objective. They were first and foremost regeneration projects, which coincidentally and quite fortuitously happened to involve the repair of historic buildings. The Blickling Textile Conservation Studio The Blickling Textile Conservation Studio (East of England Development Agency) is one of the foremost centres in the country for cleaning and preserving historic textiles. Because of an increasing workload, it was forced to move from its original premises to converted buildings on a nearby estate. EEDA helped fund the renovation project with a redundant building grant and the result has been a purpose built facility which is run by the National Trust. Cranfields Mill, Ipswich East of England Development Agency (EEDA) purchased the site and selected the preferred developer after a national competition to find the most creative proposals for regenerating the mill. The proposal is for a mixed-use development on the site, including an important dance centre, apartments, offices, a health club, galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars. The intention is to generate a daytime and evening economy for the people of Ipswich and visitors from beyond. This mixed-use development scheme is part of EEDA's continuing support for the development of local economies in its major regional centres. Merseyside (EU Objective 1 Funding) Merseyside provides a number of interesting case studies of large-scale historic building regeneration in practice, made possible by the EU Objective 1 funding programme. Known as eeu&merseyside (eeu&me for short) the programme delivers Objective 1 funding to Merseyside through a partnership of the UK Government, Merseyside stakeholders and the European Union. The programme's targets are principally economic job creation, business assistance, commercial floorspace added, and access to further education and training schemes. However, within these overall objectives, the programme is contributing to a number of major projects involving historic buildings. One of the most prominent examples is St George's Hall, Liverpool (built between 1841 and 1855, and Grade I listed) which has been described by architects as among the greatest neo-classical buildings in the world. Work started early in 2003 on an £18 million facelift to restore it to its former glory. The work will take two years to complete. It will include weatherproofing, improved access, and major refurbishment of the interior. The restoration is being funded by £12 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £3 million from European Objective 1 funds and a donation of £800,000 from Liverpool City Council. |
| Website: www.euandmerseyside.org.uk |