Region's cities win praise for work in conservation areas

THREE Yorkshire cities have been praised for helping to protect and revitalise historic conservation areas.

Ripon, Sheffield and Bradford are all singled out in a guide published by English Heritage guide for making dramatic improvements to their historic neighbourhoods, providing other areas with a benchmark of success.

The report follows the publication of English Heritage's Heritage at Risk Register in July last year which revealed that 10 per cent of conservation areas in Yorkshire and the Humber were threatened by neglect, decline or inappropriate change.

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English Heritage's regional director, Trevor Mitchell, said: "The study aims to inspire councils, civic societies and community groups to replicate the methods and success achieved by others, as highlighted in a series of powerful case studies.

"Conservation areas offer a golden opportunity for people to take heritage into their own hands and to decide what they value and how they want to protect and enhance it."

The guide, Valuing Places: Good Practice in Conservation Areas, says many conservation areas are benefiting from the voluntary efforts of local people, working closely with councils and supported by English Heritage.

Bradford has 5,800 listed buildings and 59 conservation areas, which place huge demands on heritage officials. But Bradford Council introduced a scoring system in 2005 to assess the condition of roofs, chimneys, walls, windows, doors, shop fronts and boundary walls for each pre-1956 building – a valuable tool to guide management of these vulnerable areas.

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One conservation area to benefit is Haworth. The Bront village was put on the Heritage at Risk Register last year due to the erosion of traditional features. But English Heritage has given the council a 15,000 grant to produce a design guide which will include photo-montages illustrating how shop fronts and its cobbles could recover some of the character lost in recent years.

Sheffield earns plaudits for arresting decades of decline by revitalising the city centre with projects like the Winter Gardens and Millennium Galleries. Many projects, although bold in style, utilised local materials such as steel and stone, reinforcing Sheffield's distinctive character.

In Ripon, projects including re-opening the local canal in 1996 and completing work on Ripon Workhouse last year are highlighted. Many buildings have been transformed through grants with local materials used widely. The report states that by "cultivating well-informed, small-scale changes to a common vision over a period of time, Ripon has been transformed".

A seminar for local authorities and the voluntary sector focusing on good examples of how conservation areas are being managed will be held on March 24 in Dewsbury. More details are available from Cath Marsh on 01904 601901.