Richmond Heritage Partnership Scheme

Richmond is an ancient market town in North Yorkshire, with a population of around 8,750. It is located on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and is popular with tourists due to its commanding position over the River Swale.

Many of the upper floors of Georgian town-centre commercial properties were vacant and falling into disrepair. By bringing the ‘upstairs’ of retail, office and other commercial premises back into economic use, the project:

  • Will help to create 40-50 jobs for Richmond, through new and growing businesses (30 of these jobs have already been created)
  • Has already delivered significant visual improvements to the historic centre.

How the project began

In 2003, the Richmond Swale Valley Community Initiative (RSVCI) identified that finding new uses for the empty spaces above shops would be essential to conserve the town’s historic buildings. Alongside this, as part of a need to improve and restore the image of the town, it was deemed important to replace inappropriate shop-fronts and to make improvements to public spaces.

What the feasibility study found

In 2006, through Yorkshire Forward’s Renaissance Market Towns programme, a feasibility study was undertaken, which concluded that:

  • The property market and property owners were contributing to market failure in Richmond. Property owners got their rental income from the lower floors only; without financial incentives, they weren’t interested in restoring their upper floors.
  • There was a perceived lack of demand for office space, and hence poor development value. However, the feasibility study showed there was a good deal of latent demand for
  • high-quality office and commercial space in the town centre.
  • There were problems with access and poor quality space.
Forming a partnership

In 2006, an informal partnership was created between RSVCI, Richmondshire District Council, Yorkshire Forward, North Yorkshire County Council and English Heritage. This partnership was responsible for delivering the Richmond Heritage Partnership Scheme, a market town regeneration project.

The new partnership undertook the following:

  • An audit of all town-centre commercial buildings – to identify their owners, age, planning histories, and their suitability for bringing empty spaces back into commercial use.
  • A conservation appraisal, which led to the preparation of a design guide (which includes advice on the buildings and public realm).
  • The submission of bids for funding.
How the properties were identified

Working with a local conservation architect, the partnership identified properties which would benefit from the scheme. They were looking for properties whose condition or appearance was poor, or not in keeping with the rest of the public buildings, and where there was real potential for creating economically viable space.

Owners and occupiers were then contacted with details of the opportunity. If they were interested, a schedule of works was drawn up by theconservation officer, or by an architect or surveyor accredited in conservation, and an application then drafted (with assistance where necessary).

How the funding was allocated

A total funding package of £773,000 was brought together, with a panel of the key funding partners deciding where funding could be granted. Grants were made available of up to 70% of the total sum required. The grant was paid either as a lump sum once the job had been completed (on receipt of a claim), or on a phased basis while work was in progress.

Following funding approvals, and once statutory approvals were in place (planning, listed building consent and building regulations), the works were competitively tendered and completed.

By its completion, at the end of March 2009, the partnership had delivered between £1.5 and £2m of investment into historic buildings in the Georgian centre of Richmond.

Example projects

  • Chantry Wynd – The first office conversion was carried out on eight redundant rooms above Chantry Wynd. The owners received a 50% grant to help convert the premises, providing a space equipped with the latest technologies to support modern ways of working. The new occupier was The City Secret, an existing IT local company which was looking for new premises in which to grow their business. They moved in four days after the works were completed, and the new offices will eventually house 20 additional highly skilled IT programmers.
  • Richmond Shoe Repairs – Richmond’s traditional cobbler was already renting space in the town; however, it wanted to remain in the town for the long term. The business therefore bought one of the most dilapidated properties in the town centre, which had been empty for around 10 years. A full refurbishment was secured, with the new owner paying mainly for the internal refurbishment of the ground and upper floors, and the grant funding a proportion of the external works.

Key successes

  • This project will eventually assist in the generation of 40-50 jobs in Richmond town centre.
  • It will help to recreate the Georgian character of the historic market place, following damage through neglect and inappropriate development.
  • Refurbishments to other properties have been undertaken (to similar standards) without the benefit of any grant aid, particularly after several properties were refurbished via the scheme in Frenchgate and made a significant impact on the streetscape.
Lessons learnt
  • Having a single point of contact, and someone to pro-actively promote the scheme to potential applicants, contributed to its success.
  • It is vital to make the grant application process as simple as possible. This was done through a single application form, with RSCVI dealing with the various funding bodies.
  • It is difficult to balance the requirements of different funders with different objectives. It’s possible, but must be done up-front to maximise the scheme’s potential and to avoid confusion among applicants (who need to be shielded from as much bureaucracy as possible).
  • Working with listed buildings in a conservation area is complicated. All alterations require listed building consent, planning consent, building regulations approval and often advertising consent.
  • The design guide was adopted as supplementary planning guidance, and so there is a ‘carrot and stick’ approach.
  • It is difficult to engage with owners and occupiers who are not local, and where the buildings are in the ownership of, or let to, large multiple retailers or investors. The opportunity is very small for them, although the positive impact on Richmond is potentially very significant across the entire town centre.
  • The scheme was intended for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), though with hindsight perhaps it should have included larger companies to encourage further regeneration.

More about this success story

Further information can be found at http://www.richmond.org

Alternatively, contact:
Colin Grant
Town Manager
Richmond Swale Valley Community Initiative
Springwell House
Frenchgate
Richmond
01748 825835
rsvci@aol.com

Jacquie Boulton
Yorkshire Forward
Spitfire House
Aviator Court
Clifton Moor
York
YO30 4GY
01904 696711
jacquie.boulton@yorkshire-forward.com