Heritage Minister for the Welsh Assembly Government, Alun Ffred Jones, celebrated the richness of Wales’ historic environment, the importance of the sector to the economy and crucial part it plays in telling the story of Wales, in his address to the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) UK conference which took place in Cardiff on 24 September.
The Minister had an opportunity to welcome members to Wales for their annual peripatetic council meeting, at a dinner at Cardiff Castle, the evening before. The Minister said: “I’m delighted to welcome the Institute’s members to Cardiff and Wales for the conference. I hope that the delegates will have an opportunity to explore the wealth and beauty of our historic environment while in Wales. There’s no denying the wealth of our heritage – whether it be the castles, prehistoric monuments, industrial heritage, chapels tradition or the humble vernacular cottage. We have grown up with our historic environment and it has helped make us what we are. Everyone has his or her story to tell.”
The conference was organised by the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, whose members include leading historic environment conservation practitioners across the UK. The 100 delegates represent Local Authorities, conservation professionals and organisations involved with the historic environment from across the UK.
Richard Spencer Dean, Chair of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in Wales said: ‘We are pleased to hear the Heritage Minister highlighting the economic benefit of properly caring for our heritage and today we have leading experts in tourism, economic regeneration and conservation explaining this in detail. Conference delegates from around the UK will hear why conservation of the historic environment is not a luxury, but a necessity.’
“In Wales we have a wide range of case studies to illustrate how and why conservation has huge economic benefits. This ranges from the innovative approach taken at Cardiff Castle to regenerating industrial sites such as the Ebbw Vale steel works. These are just some of the Welsh sites promoted as exemplars across the UK”.
The Heritage Minister published his Strategic Direction Statement for the Historic Environment earlier in the week, which clearly underlines the economic importance of the Historic Environment in Wales. In addressing the delegates, the Minister said: “Heritage can make an enormous difference to Wales today. Economic benefits through tourism are the obvious example – 90% of international visitors staying in Wales visit cultural sites; there are 1.2 million annual visits to the 30 staffed Cadw sites and many more to those sites which are not staffed; National Trust properties and landscapes attract some 5 million visits each year and Welsh museums and heritage centres 3 million. This level of activity cannot be underestimated in our economy.
Furthermore, conserving or restoring our historic environment contributes tremendously to regeneration of run down areas. There is a strong economic case for regenerating historic buildings – not only for the individual building but also for the wider area and community.”
In announcing his Strategic Direction Statement this week, the Minister committed to actions to conserve and protect the historic environment; to promote heritage led regeneration; to develop imaginative and stimulating ways for people to access Welsh heritage; and to foster new research and learning into Welsh heritage.
Seán O’Reilly, IHBC Director, said that ‘Conservation, maintenance, improvement and the restoration of traditional buildings in the UK is a £5 billion a year industry, according to recent research from the National Heritage Training Group, This level of activity cannot be underestimated in our economy, and we welcome the Minister’s awareness of the scale of the impact the historic environment has on all our wealth.
“The minister has also highlighted the positive health benefits traditional places can bring. His wide-ranging awareness of the holistic benefits of well-managed places is something that we hope to hear echoed soon by every responsible government across the UK.”
IHBC President, Eddie Booth, concluded.
