The Department of the Environment Northern Ireland (DoENI) Minister has launched a new report which looks at the economic and community benefits of the historic environment.
Department of the Environment Northern Ireland (DoENI) writes:
Environment Minister Mark H Durkan today published a report following the international built heritage conference which took place in Derry last month. ‘The Back to the Future – New Directions’ conference highlighted the huge potential that exists for district councils, through their community planning powers, to realise major economic and social benefits from the historic environment.
Mark H Durkan said: ‘We are blessed here in the North with a wealth of beautiful historic monuments, sites, buildings and shipwrecks. Our historic environment should be cherished and protected but we are not doing enough to maximise its potential to create wealth through boosting the economy and delivering jobs. Our historic environment sector already generates £532 million of output per annum and sustains around 10,000 jobs. Whilst this is impressive, if it were performing at an equivalent rate to Scotland, it could be generating £1.5 billion annually and supporting 20,000 jobs which is three times the output and twice as many jobs. This is why I organised this conference and brought together key stakeholders. Only by working together can we deliver these important benefits for our economy and society. Partnership working to the highest international standards, through the framework of conservation planning is in my view key to this which is where councils have an important role to play.
‘I was very interested to hear the ideas and debate which emerged on the day and I hope that councils’ departments and decision makers will bear these in mind as they develop plans and strategies over the next few years. In my view, we should be aspiring to international best practice and for Northern Ireland’s council areas to stand out as a destination worth visiting for their unique heritage. UNESCO has had a long involvement with World Heritage Sites and has published best practice guidance so the talk from the UNESCO speaker at the conference was particularly insightful.’
John Kelpie, Chief Executive of Derry and Strabane District Council who spoke at the conference said: ‘Derry City and Strabane District Council fully recognise the value of its built heritage in terms of its contribution to the physical and economic fabric of the city and district as well as broader tourism benefits associated with built heritage and conservation management. This conference was an opportunity for us to showcase the work we have done in terms of preserving, protecting and regenerating our city and district through the Walled City Partnership and our ongoing commitment to enhance the management of our heritage assets going forward.’
The Minister concluded: ‘Whilst this conference brought together key stakeholders, the potential benefits, if seized, could be for everyone. This is why I have published the conference report and urge everyone to go online and have a look.’
View the press release
