The Scottish Government

Name

Miss Kirsty Dear

Job title

Organisation

Angus Council

Address

Planning & Transport, County Buildings, Market Street, Forfar, Angus, 008 3LG

Telephone

(01307) 473265

Fax

(01307) 461895

Email

deark@angus.gov.uk

1 Heritage Lottery Fund

2 European Regional Development Fund

3 Historic Scotland

4 Scottish Enterprise Tayside

5

6

Development Plans Development Management Development on the Ground Community Involvement

Title of entry

Arbroath Abbey to Harbour Townscape Heritage Initiative

Professional knowledge Innovation Management Sustainable development

Partnership Community interest Regeneration Customer satisfaction

Arbroath Abbey to Harbour Townscape Heritage Initiative ( THI) is a five-year programme of heritage-led regeneration. The THI used a partnership approach to address problems throughout the conservation area of Arbroath. The main principle was that funding partners contributed to a common fund from which:

• the cost of a project officer was met to promote, manage and provide professional expertise;
• grants were offered towards the cost of repairs and upgrading of historic buildings;
• works to the public realm were grant aided.

Grant levels were set so that any private gain was minimal and outweighed by the benefit of the scheme to the public at large.

Emphasis was given to developing links with the community to allow involvement with heritage regeneration and sustainable development.

The Community Economic Development ( CED) Plan for Arbroath indicated latent interest in boosting the image of the town. The CED consultation process highlighted a desire to boost the town's image and uplift the spirits of the citizens. This was achieved through a variety of means. The THI used heritage as a catalyst for community involvement, physical works, environmental management and education which was led through the heritage regeneration work.

This project linked with the Angus Community Plan, which aimed to "improve the quality of life for Angus residents", "increase the quality of the environment in towns" and "encourage sustainable business development".

The THI was intended to enable partnerships of local, regional and national interests to preserve and enhance the distinctive character of historic areas by:-

• repairing the fabric;
• restoring authentic details and materials;
• securing the continued use of historic buildings;
• bringing vacant floor space in historic buildings back into use;
• facilitating a high standard of design and materials in filling gap sites and key frontages;
• increasing local awareness of the environment, heritage and sustainability.

The lead in time was well over a year. At the outset approaches were made to the public via the Community Council, Council Community Liaison Officer, Arbroath Heritage Society and the President of the Retailers and Businesses Association of Arbroath.

A bid for funding was made to the Heritage Lottery Fund ( HLF) and to the European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF) in the development phase. Both bids were approved. All funding partners contributed to the overall award of £1.810 million. The Arbroath THI commenced in November 2002 and will wind up after a five year period on 13 November 2007.

April 2000 - Submission of stage 1 bid following public consultation.

December 2000: A Public meeting promoted the THI aspirations and strategy through a presentation by Angus Council and consultants.

November 2002 - THI bid approved by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

January 2003 - Project Manager appointed to ensure professional management of the THI.

June 2003 - Official THI Launch and the Partnership Executive, Project Support Group and Technical Advisory Panel were created. Elected members were a key link between the local authority and the local community and took an active role throughout the project.

September 2003 The first projects began on site. All are now at either final or practical completion. Talks were given to various groups including Probus and Rotary Clubs and Historical Groups. There was annual involvement with the Arbroath Sea Fest. Free Workshops and training days including timber grading, lime training and sculpture plus various lectures took place from 2003.

November 2007 - THI ends.

The award from the Heritage Lottery Fund showed a clear indication of the need for investment. The money was drawn from a UK-wide budget aimed specifically at addressing social inclusion and economic decline through heritage regeneration. Both HLF and ERDF emphasised community participation as part of their grant awards and monitored this through regular reports from the Project Manager.

Angus Council and Scottish Enterprise Tayside recognised the need for environmental, social and economic regeneration in the town which prompted substantial investment by both agencies in the years immediately prior to establishing the THI aswell as match funding during the project. Due to the importance of the conservation area, Historic Scotland provided match funding for specific conservation projects involving listed buildings.

The project increased community awareness of the environment, confidence in participating in managing the environment and involvement in heritage regeneration. A total of 34 main projects took place varying from built works to "The Signal Tower to the Abbey" DVD and various events, exhibitions and talks.

The project partnership ensured that the discussion process was open and non-intimidating to encourage participation by individuals who may not, otherwise, have come forward. Equal opportunities also featured in the grant application process to ensure no members of the community were disadvantaged by the process.

Careers Scotland awarded the project a certificate of achievement in their Business Partnership Awards relating to the work done with Hayshead Primary School in the creation and production of a DVD on the history of Arbroath. Lectures and workshops were well attended by the local community and field related professionals.

The THI is in addition to other works taking place in Arbroath including the Abbey Visitor Centre, Arbroath Tourism Developments and Arbroath Harbour Improvements to provide a quality area to live, work in or visit.

The project actively involved community groups, organisations and individuals in the identification, development, delivery, management and promotion of social and environmental infrastructures in Arbroath's conservation area.

A key issue was capacity building and enhancing the capabilities of the local community to come together and identify ways to enhance their environment. This enabled the community to engage in the management of the historic environment.

The success of the Arbroath THI has prompted Angus Council to pursue a THI for Brechin. The impetus for a Brechin THI stemmed from community pressure following the evident success of Arbroath. The support and involvement of the local community was key to Arbroath THl's overall success.

24 August 2007