Look Up for Inspiration
Follow up to the Institute of Place Management Webinar : Demolish? Repurpose? or Re-let?
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Apologies for a slightly late catch-up on the really interesting and inspiring webinar I took part in with the Institute of Place Management on behalf of Health Spaces , I wanted to share a thought which started to wander around in my head while preparing my slides and even more since listening to my co-presenters speak.
When Fleet Architects Ltd used to teach degree level architecture we'd to encourage our students to look above the shop signs as much as the activated shop front to understand the story behind any high street or town centre.
I was mulling over a recent site visit made to a pretty historic port market town to rummage around inside a former Debenhams (The image used for this presentation is actually taken from the roof towards the opposing building) with the task of assessing whether it was a suitable home for a future Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC). ?
A great location, excellent transport links including train, walking distance for much of the town, and surrounded by wreath of amenities and, possibly most of all, a place desperate for footfall and purpose to return to the High Street.
During the webinar Michael Brown walked us through the measured process of activating the space above an arcade in Sale for work spaces.?Niamh Mulrine of Belfast City Council showed how the activation of one property had clambered up to the roof, to host Belfast’s first roof top open-air gym.? Hannah Brewster and Lou Overton showed how the extensive demands of the educational campus could swell to occupy all floors of the much-loved department store, as did the meanwhile space, Sparks, presented by Jason Thorne and Kathryn Chiswell Jones .?Like these, Health on the High Street uses will almost certainly provide the volume to occupy historic shops and the spaces over – and with in-situ vertical circulation the opportunity to create good quality space and greater employment density, over multiple floors, is evident.
So, what’s the problem?
One of the most significant barriers we see, and the pictured visit is a great example of this, is that beyond the shop floor many of the buildings are very poorly maintained.?Decades of neglect beyond the stock room, motheaten and leaky.?The situation is only amplified when there is residual heritage or design value.?Layers of cosmetic over-boarding, blocked hidden gutters, raised floors, chopped and changed floor openings all add up.?Even before considering inserting a new use, especially an ambitious retrofits like health, the enabling or abnormal bill is already straining affordability.?Most need to be considered a strip back to masonry or the frame and that’s obviously not possible if there is metres of decorative stonework to revive.
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So, what’s the answer?
It’s not easy, there really isn’t a money tree.?Like many we have been involved in Heritage Lottery Enterprise schemes which, alongside initiatives like Heritage Action Zones and Town Deals do offer the opportunity to tackle valuable buildings in disrepair or activate difficult sites.?I assume, also like many, we have been frustrated by the lack of tangible reuses bound in with these projects, where the market is expected to benevolently respond.
Who should shoulder the burden if we are to see more of our hollowed out old historic department stores reused for a broader range of healthcare uses? And why would they?
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The Landlords – Landlords have enjoyed years or good returns before the rot really set in.?is it time they helped through direct investment, rent breaks or rents to sale agreements, to invite new long term tenants into their buildings with the promise of good covenants and competitive incomes?
The Local Authorities – (Who may also be the landlords) They stand to gain business rates income (yes the NHS pays rates where charities get relief) as well as the multiplier effect which promises to activate more space and further swell revenues - with the by-product of reviving the town.
The Heritage Funds – The salvation of a historic asset is great – it’s arguably even better if the future care of the property is underwritten with a worthwhile and desperately needed public use.?Why shouldn’t a stunning Victorian arcade become a concourse with access to an array accessible healthcare? Can the 'build beautiful' bandwagon get behind this?
The NHS – Slight trick answer here.?The NHS invest huge sums in their real estate, and will rarely have enough, but coupled with the leverage of the previous three, the affordability gap might be bridged. ?Have a read of our Well Placed Hospital Essay to fully understand the wealth of benefits of high street health when rescued from peri-urban obscurity.
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Our town centres and high streets, when reactivated, will open the door to a host of healthier, more sustainable lifestyle choices and may even challenge some of the drivers of our increasingly unequal society.?That said, without collaboration across public and private bodies, by people with vision and thick skins it feels unlikely.
Demolish? hopefully not, Re-purpose? most certainly and Re-let? Yes! though the short-sighted business case test is rarely going to point to the long term answer.
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Thanks for Iain Nicholson, Founder of The Vacant Shops Academy for excellent hosting.
Presenters:
Niamh Mulrine of?Belfast City Council
Jaime Bishop?of?Fleet Architects Ltd and Health Spaces