1. 1
Peterborough
Buildings in Need
September 2011 – June 2012
Heritage Lottery Fund Project Reference: YH-11-00479
Project Update: June 2012
Report Author: Alice Kershaw, Heritage Regeneration Officer, Opportunity
Peterborough
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Contents
This report booklet comprises of the report on the project outcomes and
achievements, including a summary of results verified by a local architect,
and the toolkit for doing a Buildings in Need Survey
Section Title Page number
Executive Summary 5
Overview of Project 5
Project Aims 8
Overview of Project Outcomes 10
1) Online 11
2) Steering Group 13
3) Training for volunteers and the general public 13
Quarry Visit 16
Lectures 20
Masterclasses 22
4) Building Surveys 26
Civic Society City Centre Survey Results 31
Verification and summary of results by David Turnock, Architect 33
5) Promotion and Celebration 37
Press coverage 37
Support in Kind 40
Costs 40
Buildings in Need Toolkit 42
1. Introduction 43
2. How to use the Toolkit 46
3. Sources of Information 54
4. Appendix A: Letter for Volunteers 55
5. Appendix B: Survey Form 56
6. Appendix C: Excel Spreadsheet of results and Google Maps 60
5. 5
Executive Summary
The Peterborough Buildings in Need project has been running since
September 2011, and will finish on June 28th 2012 with a celebration event.
Between September and November 2011 over 1100 people have attended a
lecture or workshop on the project, in total 12 lectures at St Johns Church and
17 workshops at various historic locations have been run, as well as a series of
visits.
Three groups of volunteers from the Civic Society, University Centre
Peterborough and Peterborough Regional College have surveyed over 250
buildings and given over 40 days of volunteer time to the project. The project
has been promoted at over 6 events, with hundreds of flyers, posters and
using a variety of social media tools. The project website is up and running,
with 40 pages, 10 posts and 5 modules available on it. An embedded map
helps share the gathered information.
Photos showing aspects of buildings that
can put them ‘in need’. From top left,
missing architectural features in the Park
Area, Graffiti on Broadway (Park Area) and
growth in gutters in the City Centre
Conservation Area.
Overview of Project
Peterborough Buildings in Need ran from September 2011 until the end of
June 2012, nine months in total. The total Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the
project was £24,200. The project officer is Alice Kershaw.
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Through understanding and awareness raising of the historic environment of
Peterborough's city centre, members of the local community have learnt
what puts the historic environment 'in need' of becoming officially 'at risk', the
challenges faced by the historic environment and how these can be
managed. This training was provided in the form of daytime, evening, half
and full day courses for both dedicated volunteers and for the general
public, as a way of sharing information and to encourage participation in the
project.
This project trained users of the space to understand aspects such as
'significance' 'setting' and levels of need. It created the most complete
building by building snapshot survey of the degree of 'need' present within
the city centre conservation area. This survey was carried out by volunteers
from the general public, local groups members and volunteers, who was
trained up and supported by the Heritage Regeneration Officer and Built
Environment team.
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It created an on-line toolkit of resources, including a 'traffic light' style system
for flagging levels of need, to enable people to engage on a local level with
the management of the built heritage of Peterborough, as a lasting legacy of
the project. People were engaged as on the ground heritage champions,
aware of the built environment and the vulnerabilities found there.
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Project Aims
The overall project aims are as follows:
Raise public awareness of the heritage value of Peterborough with a
focus on the City Centre
Promote the good management of heritage assets
Deliver a programme of targeted training, activities and events
Provide support, feedback and development opportunities for
volunteers
Provide comprehensive, accessible information on the condition of our
heritage
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In order to achieve this the following approved purposes of grant were
agreed upon:
Create an interactive project website for participants using Wordpress,
to allow access to downloadable resources, training modules and
survey results
Produce five online modules containing training material and project
resources
Establish a community steering group
Deliver four walking tours and at least 12 master classes as part of the
training for participants.
Carry out a survey of at least 50 buildings 'in need' in Peterborough by
volunteer participants. Validate the results and obtain feedback from
professional architects and surveyors.
Deliver a historic environment workshop for at least 20 attendees, plus
a lunchtime and an evening lecture series with 350 attendees over ten
sessions
Promote the project and engage with interested local groups at a
minimum of six meetings/events e.g. amenity society meetings,
Heritage Open Days etc
Celebrate the project's achievements with a launch event for the
public, including walking tours led by volunteers, hands on workshops
and the publication of the survey results.
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Overview of Project Outcomes
The project outcomes split into 5 key interlocking areas, the online presence
of the project through a website, the steering group, training for volunteers
and the general public (for the purposes of this grant the general public
count as volunteers once they have undergone any training, as they have
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given up their time for the project), building surveys and the promotion and
celebration of the project as a whole.
1) Online
Outcomes
Create an interactive project website for participants using Wordpress,
to allow access to downloadable resources, training modules and
survey results
Produce five online modules containing training material and project
resources
Update
The Wordpress website www.peterboroughbuildingsinneed.wordpress.com
has been created, maintained and updated by the project officer. It is a free
open source Wordpress blog converted to a website. As such it has no
current or forward costs for hosting and will continue to run beyond the length
of the project. The straightforward content management system allows for
quick and flexible updates and editing through the ‘dashboard’, also at no
cost. So far it has had over 4000 individual hits, and the daily visitation rate is
rising.
It has over 40 individual pages and 10 front page posts. The front page also
links to the social media aspects of the promotion, the Twitter
(@buildingsinneed) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/buildingsinneed)
page which allow communication to and from the project on different free
platforms. A ‘Box net’ widget on the main page also allows downloads of key
documents, flyers for events and fact sheets.
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The pages allow the user to drill down to reports on previous events, all of
which have a page on the site. Some of the event pages, under ‘resources’,
have embedded Slideshare slideshows if these have been made available by
the speaker. These allow the viewer to download or run on screen the lecture
slides. It is also free open source software. Alongside slide shows there are
photos of the events taking place and in many cases short summaries of key
points written by the project officer and uploaded very soon after the event.
Bibliographies and links to relevant sites are also embedded where available.
Results are added to a Google Map embedded into the site, and can be
viewed by the public, so far it has had several hundred hits.
The 5 module pages are all populated to a certain degree, with the
exception of the final module, which can only be populated once the
project final results have been returned. These link to the resource pages and
also to slides, PDF documents and e-books where relevant.
Starting with the use of social media for promotion, including a Twitter
dictionary, downloads of slides on social media and quick guides to using
Wordpress and Google maps, as well as Twitter and Facebook, the first
module helps to break down the boundaries of online usage for those
volunteers not so familiar with the medium. As a result of the workshop on
social media, an additional 5 participants are now on Twitter and using it to
highlight the built environment.
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2) Steering Group
Outcomes
Establish a community steering group
Update
Steering Group established, the initial meeting was held in September 2011,
the second in November 2011, and another three meetings held before the
completion of the project. The community steering group consists of local
representatives from Opportunity Peterborough, Peterborough Regional
College and University Centre Peterborough, Peterborough Civic Society,
Peterborough City Council, Natural England and English Heritage, St John the
Baptist Community Interest Company, Peterborough Environment City Trust,
Vivacity Culture and Leisure Trust and Peterborough Cathedral. All of these
members are key stakeholders within the City Centre area of Peterborough
and within the heritage sector of the Unitary Authority area and beyond. This
will allow dissemination of results of the project and legacy.
The feedback from this steering group has been valuable in driving the
direction of the project, developing contacts, finding volunteers and event
suggestions and speakers.
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3) Training for volunteers and the general public
Outcomes
Deliver four walking tours and at least 12 master classes as part of the
training for participants.
Deliver a historic environment workshop for at least 20 attendees, plus
a lunchtime and an evening lecture series with 350 attendees over ten
sessions
Update
12 lectures in St Johns Church and 17 Masterclasses have been delivered for
this project, with over 1000 attendees across the two. The attendance
numbers and information on the events are below. Walking tours have been
undertaken with volunteer groups and are highlighted in the survey section
below. So far four walking tours have been undertaken. Two more for the
general public are taking place as part of the Peterborough Heritage Festival.
Three of the Masterclasses were delivered by Shape East.
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About Shape East:
SHAPE EAST is a Centre for Design Excellence and Sustainable Innovation
based in the East of England. We are dedicated to providing a positive
influence on the quality of urban design and the built environment through
supporting the professional community, engaging the public and facilitating
debate and understanding between the two. We do this by running a diverse
and ever-changing range of events; from professional training seminars to
public lectures, local walking tours to school model-making workshops.
Our central objectives are to:
Inspire and excite people about the built environment and help them
see it through fresh eyes.
Increase understanding of the importance of good planning, urban
design, architecture and construction.
Encourage people to participate in the planning and other processes
which shape change in their communities.
Prepare the ground for the future by engaging children and young
people in built environment issues.
http://www.shape-east.org.uk/
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Quarry and Geology Visit
On April 30 and May 1 student volunteer groups from Peterborough Regional
College and University Centre Peterborough, in association with this project
and GeoPeterborough (representatives on the Buildings in Need steering
group via Natural England) went on a visit to geological sites across the
district to see processes relating to the geology of the built environment, and
that geology in situ. The agenda was the same both days and 15 students
and two tutors attended each day.
Jonathan giving a talk in
the morning.
The morning began with two short lectures by Dr Jonathan Larwood and Dr
Colin Prosser, both Geologists with Natural England, followed by a tour of
Peterborough city centre, including Cathedral Precincts and the Cathedral
itself. The afternoon was a visit to Ketton Quarry followed by a visit to nearby
Stamford stone to see the stone being carved before shipping.
Colin pointing out red
granite setts in the
Cathedral Precincts
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Lectures
12 arranged in total, up from 10 originally proposed
Total attendees: 718 of 350 total required for whole project. Over 100%
increase on original outcome. As a result of this lecture series St John’s Church
have continued to run lectures as a way of bringing life to the building.
Photos from the lecture
series
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Lecture Summary Table
Number of
Date Attendees
11-Oct Victorian Peterborough, Brian White 43
Heritage, History and Regeneration, Steve
18-Oct Bowyer 29
Why is Peterborough City Centre a
25-Oct Conservation Area? Jo Burton 29
01-Nov Georgian Peterborough, Stuart Orme 68
Peterborough Before and After the coming of
08-Nov the Railways, Brian White 58
16-Nov Peterborough Cathedral Archaeology 74
21-Feb-
12 Ghosts of Peterborough, Stuart Orme 92
28-Feb Boongate- A Hamlet to the East, Brian Jones 65
6-Mar A History of Broadway, Stephen Perry 73
Vernacular Architecture, David Grech, English
13-Mar Heritage 63
Peterborough in Architectural Detail, Toby
20-Mar Wood and David Jost 75
27-Mar Wildlife and Buildings, James Fisher 49
TOTAL 718
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Masterclasses
The Masterclasses also have a feedback element to them. Every attendee is
given a feedback form and asked to fill it out.
This has been overwhelmingly positive, with the content, pace and feedback
on the tutors coming in at 100 % good or excellent for every class. Where
feedback has been given on room layouts and lighting that is not up to
standard this has been taken into account for future Masterclasses and has
directly informed them. The attendance at Masterclasses has to be smaller
than the lectures and has been nearly100% full so far in terms of capacity.
Feedback has also been given through Twitter, as can be seen below from
two Masterclass attendees and the Quarry visit.
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Total number of Masterclasses run is 17 from the original 12 suggested
including one Heritage workshop run by SPAB out at Sacrewell Farm.
Total attendees of Masterclasses: 402
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Masterclass Summary Table
Date Title Attendees
Oct- Social Media and the Built Environment, James
1 26 Mott, Projectbook 24
Nov-
2 05 Archives Masterclass, Richard Hillier, Vivacity 23
Nov- Conservation Area Appraisal Masterclass, Jo
3 10 Burton, Beacon Planning 17
Architectural Drawing Masterclass, John
Nov- Biggadike, Peterborough City Council and self
4 17 employed 16
Dec- Architectural Drawing Masterclass 2, John
5 10 Biggadike 12
Historic Environment and Sustainable Futures
06- Masterclass, Shape East with Chris Baines, Peter
6 Feb Rawlings and Dr Andrew Turton 48
7-
7 March House History Masterclass with Dr Nick Barratt 47
Legislation and ‘At Risk’ Masterclass with Shape
20- East, with Nicholas Ray, Lucie Carayon and
8 April Bobby Open 28
28- Heritage Interpretation Masterclass, Stuart
9 April Orme, Vivacity 17
19-
May Researching People and Places with Local
10 2011 Studies Centre, Richard Hillier, Archivist 20
24 Maintaining Historic Buildings: Rot, Re-Use and
May Calling in the Professionals! Peter Rawlings and
11 Tony Ingram 33
25 Bats and Historic Buildings Masterclass, Antony
12 May Mould 43
8 An A-Z Introduction to Fundraising and Projects,
13 June Alice Kershaw 8
9
14 June SPAB Masterclass workshop at Sacrewell Farm 20
18 Dry Stone Walling Masterclass, Peterborough
15 June Regional College 16
19 Heritage Photography Masterclass Day 1 with
16 June University Centre Peterborough 15
20 Heritage Photography Masterclass Day 2 with
17 June University Centre Peterborough 15
TOTAL 402
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4) Building Surveys
Outcomes
Carry out a survey of at least 50 buildings 'in need' in Peterborough by
volunteer participants. Validate the results and obtain feedback from
professional architects and surveyors.
Update
Three main groups of volunteer surveyors have undertaken surveys. These are
the Peterborough Civic Society under the direction of Peter Sargeant, ex
Huntingdon Conservation Officer who undertook the entire original Buildings
at Risk survey for Huntingdon. Alongside the Civic Society are students from
University Centre Peterborough, who covered Broadway within the adjoining
Park Conservation Area, and Peterborough Regional College Construction
Students (Level 3) who covered the Park Road side of the Park Conservation
Area.
The Civic Society had the City Centre Conservation Area covered, splitting it
into 17 separate sections and dividing amongst themselves. The high levels of
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expertise found within the society meant they could really hit the ground
running on this and results were returned by the end of October.
A group of 10 University Centre Peterborough Students undertook training and
a tour of Broadway Cemetery and Central Park with the project officer and
their tutor Abi Hunt, on October 2nd. They spent the afternoon surveying in
pairs and in total surveyed 62 buildings on Broadway.
The Peterborough Regional College Construction students undertook training
and surveying in early November. They completed 17 surveys and are going
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to be visiting the city centre with the project officer to examine some of the
buildings considered at greater need by the Civic Society in depth.
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Total buildings surveyed is 247 (239 different buildings)
Number of volunteers: 40
Total amount of volunteer time for surveys and project support (excluding
time training in Masterclasses): 44 days.
Taking into account the differing skill levels required each day this works out
as a contribution of £4900 to the project.
A toolkit of the results has been created and circulated. This will remain on the
project website following the end of the project.
Jim Daley, Conservation Officer, speaks to a local agent in the City Centre.
Some of the volunteers had never taken part in such a project before, and
‘learning to look up’ and observe was as much of a project outcome as the
survey results. One of the surveyors in the City Centre said ‘it has changed my
whole attitude to Peterborough’ as it made her more aware of the built
environment.
Stuart Hobley, Development Manager at HLF East of England, said ”This
project has been an exciting and engaging way of giving people from across
the community the chance to explore and appreciate their local built
heritage. By providing volunteers with opportunities to learn new skills and
raising awareness of these buildings at need, local people have taken an
important role in championing their historic environment."
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Some of the buildings have been surveyed more than once, with the college
students comparing earlier results to their own. Once completed the forms
were added to an online map and discussed with the Steering Group for the
project, including the Conservation Officer.
Below, before (above) and after (below) of Greggs on Cathedral Square.
Because the survey had been done and an issue identified the gutters were
cleaned during the removal of the Christmas lights. The other actions
identified are listed on the Civic Society tables below.
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Civic Society City Centre Survey Results
Map of survey area showing results
Results
Total city centre surveys: 133
Total buildings surveyed 168
‘In Need’ or ‘On way to in Need’ 90 properties (54%)
Currently fine 78 properties. (46%)
‘In Need’
High Priority Properties (listed) Action
Poor/ Bad 8 surveys (11 properties)
Priestgate opposite Museum Pre application advice given to
developers
50 Cowgate (target PSICA phase 3)
Laurel Court EH already aware
32 -33 Long Causeway (all issues seem to stem from some
blocked gutters!) to get a letter from
JD also.
Lower priority (non listed) Action
North St Letter sent (x2) contact with tenants
Met Lounge and Sketchley (Bridge To be reviewed
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St),
Back entrance to JJB sports through
wheel yard
6/6a Cathedral Square NB we arranged to clean gutters
whilst removing Christmas
decorations
On way to ‘In Need’’
Need Number
Fair/ in some need 51 Surveys (69 properties)
Fair/ Good 10 surveys (10 properties)
Action: used as monitoring baseline, some listed properties picked out:
Minster Precincts properties have been highlighted to Cathedral.
Listed buildings outside of the precincts total 13 properties, all Grade II and
predominantly on Cowgate, Priestgate or Westgate. Exception is the
Grapevine pub which is II*. Several local list buildings are on the list as well.
Currently Fine
Need Number
Good condition 63 surveys (78 properties)
Action; celebration of good maintenance nearer the time.
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David Turnock Architects: Summary Report For Buildings in Need
BUILDINGS IN NEED SUMMARY REPORT
Over the period from October 2011 until February 2012 volunteers from
Peterborough Civic Society, Peterborough Regional College and University
Centre Peterborough undertook visual surveys of the external fabric of a total
of 239 buildings in Peterborough City Centre and the Park Conservation Area.
Of this total 168 were within the City Centre Conservation Area, including The
Cathedral Precincts, and 71 are located in the Park Conservation Area.
Buildings inspected included those on the Statutory List of Listed Buildings.
The spreadsheets within this report identify the condition of the external fabric
of each building and include a summary designation of the state of general
repair at the time of the survey. These are broken down into the following
categories:
Good/Fine condition
Fair/Good
Fair
Poor
This broad categorisation serves to provide a picture of the current state of
these 239 buildings, the summary for each area being as follows:
City Centre/Cathedral Precincts:
Poor 11 Properties 6.5%
Fair 69 Properties 41%
Fair/Good 10 Properties 6%
Good 78 Properties 46.5%
Total 168 100%
Park Conservation Area:
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Poor 10 Properties 15%
Fair 30 Properties 42%
Fair/Good 1 Property 1%
Good 30 Properties 42%
Total 71 Properties 100%
City Centre Conservation Area
If we look firstly at the City Centre area the analysis of these results gives these
main observations:
1. There are a relatively small number of buildings currently regarded as
poor but these, by the very nature of the issues identified in the survey,
are likely to deteriorate at a faster rate. Where water ingress or
structural faults are present then the consequent damage to the fabric
of the building will take longer to repair and will cost more to remedy..
2. The number of properties described as “Fair” forms 41% of the total.
These are the buildings on the way to being “in need” and form the
body of those properties where a regime of regular maintenance by
owners would avoid their condition worsening in future.
3. “Fair/Good” and “Good” form the majority of the stock surveyed.
Generally it is 1 or 2 items on each building where action is required in
order to maintain them in the current category or improve a greater
number to be designated as “good”. The conclusion is that regular
maintenance of minor problems on these buildings is the best way to
ensure that they are at least maintained in their current state and do
not deteriorate any further.
4. In some areas it is the rear of buildings that gives greater cause for
concern that the front elevations and this is very much the case for
Wheel Yard which leads into the Cathedral Precincts. This road is used
as the service access to shops fronting Long Causeway and given its
nature as a service road, there seems to be little care given to
elevation of these buildings. There are occurrences of boundary walls
deteriorating, graffiti on doors and seemingly little maintenance given
to the building fabric itself. Even where a rear elevation of a building
has been designed with some degree of thought such as the rear of
the Sports Direct Shop, there is little consideration given to storage of
bins and waste which makes the elevation unattractive.
Park Conservation Area
With respect to the properties within the Park Conservation Area the majority
of those surveyed are either Victorian houses converted to commercial use
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(lower Broadway and Park Road areas) or private houses. The main
exception to this is the Kings School on Park Road where the designation is
generally good. It is generally those commercial premises which are either
unoccupied or only occupied at ground floor where deterioration is occurring
at roof or first floor level. Of the ten properties identified as “poor” the
common items across all buildings is some missing brickwork/stonework to
walls, plant growth in rainwater goods and decoration to the original timber
windows. Buildings such as the Kings School (which is in continuing
occupation and where a programme of refurbishment works is ongoing) are
of a lesser immediate concern.
General outcomes and recommendations
a) Building owners who are keeping their properties in a good state of
repair should be contacted and praised accordingly and encouraged
to maintain a regular maintenance regime in the future.
b) Where buildings are categorised as being in a “Poor” state action
needs to be taken in bringing this to the attention of the building
owner. (This has already been done with respect to properties that
have visible defects that need remedying in the immediate future to
avoid future deterioration e.g. missing roof slates).
c) Encourage members of the public to notice the upper levels of
buildings within the Conservation Areas. If people can be encouraged
to look at the City Centre and Park Conservation Area buildings as
they are as a shared heritage then there is a greater likelihood that
essential repairs required to a building will be spotted sooner. There is
also the opportunity to “name and shame” those owners who do not
keep the fabric of their buildings in good repair.
d) Identify those building details/ features which can be targeted for
improvement e.g. inappropriate or poorly detailed shopfronts and
fascias where a replacement or repair might not cost a great deal to
carry out but the overall effect on the character of the Conservation
Area would be hugely beneficial. A current example of this might be
the Leeds Building Society fascia located in Queen Street Chambers
which now stands out since the demolition of the building on the Corn
Exchange site adjacent.
e) Realise the impact of a poorly maintained building on its neighbours; a
building that is allowed to deteriorate can “drag down” the visual
quality of a street.
About David Turnock Architects
David Turnock formed the company in 2001 to serve clients in Peterborough
and the surrounding Cambridgeshire area, having previously been a Director
36. 36
at Ruddle Wilkinson Architects. David succeeded in developing his Client
base and moved into new offices designed by the Company at Lynch Wood
in 2004.
The Company has since grown to a total of 12 staff with two Associates to
assist David with the day to day management and now offers a fully
independent design consultancy to deliver a high quality, creative and
professional, service in both architecture and interior design. A key current
interest is in low energy buildings where schemes are being designed to either
Very Good or Excellent standard.
Staff knowledge base is split approximately 50/50 between Architects and
Building Technologists. We feel that this gives us a good balance between
design and construction detailing for our projects where design proposals
follow good and efficient detailing practice. Our current projects generally
range from £250,000 to £10m in value.
With respect to the skills and experience of staff members, this is extremely
varied including everything from airports, hospitals, railway installations and
large retail environments to residential, student accommodation, medical
and laboratory developments, historic buildings and churches.
Our approach as a Practice is to provide a very thorough service to our
Clients throughout the British Isles and beyond.
37. 37
5) Promotion and Celebration
Outcomes
Promote the project and engage with interested local groups at a
minimum of six meetings/events e.g. amenity society meetings,
Heritage Open Days etc
Celebrate the project's achievements with a launch event for the
public, including walking tours led by volunteers, hands on workshops
and the publication of the survey results.
Update
This project has been promoted at the following 6 events (as well as many
more!). This promotion has allowed information on the project to reach a
wide audience of over 1100 people.
Promotion of project
at six events e.g.
Heritage Open Day,
Civic Soc
September 10 and
Event 1 Heritage Open Days 11
Event 2 Civic Society Meeting 5th September
Environment Network Meeting and Allotment
Event 3 Workshop Sept 22nd
Event 4 Heritage Attractions Group Meeting Sep-13
Event 5 Local History Forum Sep-19
Event 6 University Centre Peterborough Induction Sep-15
38. 38
Due to
insurance issues
it has not been
possible to have
volunteer
walking tours on
the night, but a
volunteer who is
also a guide for
the city will be
paid to do this
aspect of the
project.
39. 39
Below, a selection of the flyers and posters used to promote the project.
The final event took place on June 28th at 6pm in St John’s Church. This is the
week after the Peterborough Heritage Festival, and on the evening for late
night shopping in the city, and has been decided upon for maximum impact
and visibility.
Press coverage
For this project the project officer and the tutors have been on BBC Radio
Peterborough twice, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire three times and community
Radio Station ‘Radio Peterborough’ once.
40. 40
Antony Mould from the Cambridge Bat Group on Radio Peterborough.
Regular press releases have been sent to the local newspaper (Peterborough
Evening Telegraph), and eleven small articles and one larger article about
the project have been published. Local free magazine Scene has been
supportive.
Promotion has been done through PECT’s Greeniversity, RSA Citizen Power’s
online ‘Ning’ space, through the Civic Society, Local History Forum,
Environmental Network and the Destination Centre, as well as the Heritage
Regeneration Officer Bulletin, which reaches over 750 individuals in the area.
Local Libraries, coffee shops, Churches, the Town Hall and other public
buildings have had flyers left in them. Several different flyers have been
produced to target different audiences or for individual events. As well as this
a professional flyer and poster has been produced to cover the whole
project. These have been printed off ‘in house’ and distributed by hand, post
and email.
Online the project workshops have featured on Projectbook, Heritage HUB,
CBA, the Caravan Club website, Greeniversity, RIBA ‘Love Architecture’
page.
Support in Kind.
This project has been lucky to receive support in kind from a number of local
organisations including Railworld, Peterborough Cathedral, Paper Rhino
Design and local experts. This support has totalled over £2000.
Costs
The total Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the project was £24,200.
43. 43
Contents
03. Introduction
04. How to use the Toolkit
12. Sources of Information
13. Appendix A: Letter for Volunteers
14. Appendix B: Survey Form
15. Appendix C: Excel Spreadsheet of results and
Google Maps
With thanks to English Heritage, Natural England, Peterborough
City Council, Peterborough Civic Society, Peterborough Regional
College, University Centre Peterborough
Front cover images (top) Cowgate, Peterborough, (bottom left) Volunteer in Peterborough, (bottom right) City Centre
Building.
44. 43
Part I: Introduction details of which were turned into
online training modules on the project
This toolkit is designed to help create a website:
baseline of the condition of historic http://peterboroughbuildingsinneed.wo
buildings in a discrete area in order to rdpress.com/.
assess and monitor the scale of neglect
with a view to finding a solution, with Why Peterborough?
the overarching idea that prevention is
Predominantly the built environment
better than cure. This toolkit assists
of central Peterborough is of solidly
with the identification of interlinked
Edwardian and Victorian stock
issues, such as vacancy, and low
however some buildings date back to
maintenance levels, across larger areas
the Medieval period, and the street
as the first step in resolving such
patterns remain unchanged in the
problems.
majority for the last 900 years. The
main project work was undertaken by
groups of volunteers in the City Centre
Conservation Area and its setting with
a small comparison area surveyed in
the adjoining Park Conservation Area.
Peterborough Unitary Authority
contains within it over 1000 listed
buildings, which when surveyed in
2009 contained 9 ‘at risk’ structures as
designated by the Local Authority and
English Heritage, and 1 ‘at risk’
Conservation Area out of 29, the City
Centre.
Fig. 1 Cathedral Square, Peterborough
This toolkit is an outcome of the
Heritage Lottery Funded project
‘Peterborough Buildings in Need’,
which ran from October 2010 to June
2012. This project focused upon the
standing built heritage, both designated
and undesignated, of Peterborough
City Centre Conservation area. The
Buildings in Need project had two
strands, the first a survey of the City
Centre and comparison with a
neighbouring area. The second is a
Fig.2. Cowgate, Peterborough
series of training and capacity building
workshops, masterclasses and lectures
for volunteers and the general public,
45. 44
To avoid more heritage assets ending
up ‘at risk’ and to reduce the many Developed for use in Peterborough
factors which put the City Centre City Centre Conservation Area, which
Conservation Area into this category, is primarily commercial in nature, the
this project was designed to establish survey methodology can be used on
which assets are most likely to be just one property or using multiple
currently ‘in need’, to raise awareness streets it can be expanded to an entire
of what leads to areas and buildings conservation area.
being ‘in need’, and to identify
maintenance tasks can be done to It is completed on a building by
prevent them becoming ‘at risk’. building basis, with one sheet per
building.
What is the Buildings in Need
Toolkit For? What is ‘need’?
This tool kit is designed to establish This toolkit defines ‘need’ in a traffic
levels of ‘need’ within the built light system relating to the fabric of the
environment of a discrete area, using building an issues that lead to lack of
individual properties as the default unit maintenance, such as vacancy of some
to be surveyed with a picture becoming or all floors:
apparent on surveying a collection of
buildings. This is aggregated to Very Signs of structural
understand the pattern of need across Poor instability or structural
an area, and can ultimately enhance the failure
Conservation Area management plan. Poor Building with deteriorating
masonry, leaking roofs,
For this toolkit ‘need’ is defined as a usually accompanied by
requirement for maintenance or repair. general disrepair of most
It is defined in relation to the English elements of the building
Heritage ‘At Risk’ designations. fabric
Fair Structurally sound but in
Buildings that are suitable for the need of minor repairs or
national ‘at risk’ list may be showing signs of lack of
discovered through this process, general maintenance (e.g.
however lesser degrees of need can blocked gutter, vegetation
also be identified. The toolkit results growth)
can then be used to create Good Structurally sound and
specifications for targeted maintenance weather-tight and well
and discrete interventions such as maintained
repair, gutter cleaning and re-painting
that will address the identified issues,
thus preventing further deterioration. Why establish levels of need?
The toolkit is for both listed and non In the 2011 report ‘Reducing the risks’
listed properties of all ages and can be English Heritage highlight the
used in Conservation areas to establish importance of good maintenance to the
common issues for properties. historic environment:
46. 45
‘Maintenance of heritage assets A survey such as Buildings in Need
is essential if they are not to could be used to highlight areas where
become at risk, and to prevent changed policy, strategy or investment
those that are already at risk could benefit the built environment.
from decaying further and The baseline could form part of a
thereby escalating the cost of funding application as part of the
their repair and consolidation. ‘evidence of need’ or consultation if
Buildings, for instance, decay completed by a community group.
rapidly when left empty.’
Buildings in a degree of degradation Who is the Buildings in Need Toolkit
affect their setting, both aesthetically, for?
economically and also socially. This
ties into research done by Kelling and This toolkit provides a standard
Wilson in 1982 which resulted in ‘The process for establishing low level risk
broken windows theory’ which is a or ‘need’ in an area. It can be used by:
criminological theory of the signalling
effect of urban disorder and vandalism o Private owners and tenants,
on additional crime and anti-social residential and business
behaviour. The theory states that occupiers
monitoring and maintaining urban o Public amenity groups, Civic
environments in a well-ordered Societies, interest groups
condition may stop further vandalism o Students
and escalation into more serious crime. o Local Planning Authorities
This has been used effectively in New
York amongst other places. A well
presented urban environment is also a
catalyst for business investment in an
area.
Fig.4. Staff from Peterborough City Council use the
toolkit to survey buildings.
Fig.3. Student volunteer in the Park Area
47. 46
Part II: How to Use the answer in every section but do try to if
possible. Use your judgement for this.
Toolkit
You will need to enter the 1) date of
Before you start the survey and 2) your name and
contact details.
Speak to your local Conservation
Officer about a project of this nature if Name and/ or number of Building
it covers a larger area than one
property. In Peterborough we supplied
This should be evident from the
the volunteers with a letter on headed
building itself. If it is not obvious,
Council paper that explained what the
write the shop name or the last known
project was (see Appendix A).
shop name here.
Equipment
Is it listed?
Clipboard
Survey Forms (see Appendix At Peterborough use was made of
B) Peterborough Hawkeye online map for
Map volunteers to identify listed buildings
Pencil within the survey area. However, each
local planning authority will operate its
High Visibility Vest
own GIS system for recording listed
Camera
buildings in a map format. If the local
Binoculars (for looking at roof planning authority cannot provide
and chimneys etc) access to their GIS system, then the
English Heritage Listed Buildings On-
The survey is completed on a building line database should be used. Found
by building basis and you will need a online here: http://list.english-
separate form for each property. heritage.org.uk/ the list has a ‘Quick
Appendix B to this document includes Search’ function that should enable the
examples of the forms used at listing to be determined if the full
Peterborough. Electronic versions can name or part of the name of the
be downloaded from the Peterborough property is known. If the location is
Buildings in Need project website and known but the property name is not the
modified as for use elsewhere. ‘map search’ feature allows an area
http://peterboroughbuildingsinneed.wo based search.
rdpress.com/
Completing the forms
The forms are designed to be
completed whilst onsite so include
several tick boxes, with some areas for
building specific comments as
necessary. You do not need to put an
48. 47
wish to suggest which of these three
categories an unlisted building might
Listed buildings make up about 2% of be placed.
all buildings in England. There are
three grades of listing:
Grade I A building of exceptional
interest, only about 2.5%
of all listed buildings are
Grade I
Grade II* Very important and of
more than special interest,
approximately 5.5% of
listed buildings are of
Grade II*
Fig.5. Examples of Conservation Area Appraisals and
Guidance notes.
Grade II Buildings of special
interest - these make up Period of Building
around 92% of listed
buildings
At Peterborough most of the buildings
in Peterborough City Centre
Conservation Area date from the
Georgian Period or later. Only a few
early timber frame buildings survive
In addition to statutory listed buildings along with some Medieval buildings in
on the national list, some Local the Cathedral Precincts, being older.
Planning Authorities will also have Again a Conservation Area Appraisal
their own list of Locally Listed will be helpful in identifying the age of
Buildings. The Local Planning individual buildings. For listed
Authority will be able to provide buildings this information will be
information on their Locally Listed included in the list description (see EH
Buildings. listed buildings on line etc) If you
know the date or approximate period
Finally, there will be unlisted buildings of this building enter it here.
that are still identified as making either
a positive, neutral or negative Is the property occupied?
contribution to the character and
appearance of a Conservation Area. Answer either YES on all floors, NO if
These will be identified on maps it is unoccupied, UNKNOWN if you
within the relevant Conservation Area cannot tell EMPTY UPSTAIRS if it
Appraisal prepared by the Local seems to be unused on the upper
Planning Authority. Some floors. Tick FOR SALE if there is a
Conservation Areas do not have an sale board.
adopted Appraisal, in which case
volunteers undertaking a survey may
49. 48
Current Use
Is it a shop, cafe, estate agents? Please
fill in the main use and function of the
building here.
Fig.8. The Draper’s Arms, Peterborough
Is there any evidence it was used as
something else? For example at
Peterborough the Drapers Arms was
once a Drapers shop. If you do not
know leave this answer blank.
Fig.6 and Fig.7 Shop fascias in Peterborough City Centre
photographed by Buildings in Need Volunteer
Evidence of previous use?
Windows
Do they look sound? Are they
boarded? There may be unpainted
frames and signs of decaying or rotting
50. 49
woodwork, or signs of cracking to the roof1? Is the roof line straight or
glass. Do they look original or are bowing? Note this in the other section
they modern replacements? if this is the case. Also what are the
condition of the chimneys (if visible).
Tall chimneys will often bow towards
the south (due to salts being deposited
in the bed joints on the north side,
while the sun and wind dry out the
south side)
Fig 12, 13 and 14: A hole in a roof, bowing
roofline and bituminous covering on a roof,
potentially disguising issues.
What kind of condition are
the walls visible from the
public footpath in?
There may be evidence of damage
through spalling stonework/ bricks,
missing mortar, inappropriate repairs,
cracks of all sizes, bowing or bulging
in the wall (eye along the line of the
Fig 9. 10 and 11: Protected and boarded windows, and a wall), damp, staining, defective render,
smashed one in Peterborough City Centre.
1
The English Heritage Guidance note on thatch
contains the following sentence ‘Bear in mind that the
Roof Condition performance of thatch is not linked intimately to its
appearance, and like a much-repaired wall a roof can
present a motley appearance without being inferior to
a much neater looking new job’. (English Heritage,
Are there missing slates or tiles? Is Thatch and Thatching, 2000. Available online here:
there evidence of decay in a thatched http://www.english-
heritage.org.uk/content/publications/docs/thatchandth
atching.pdf )
51. 50
rot in exposed timber framing or
vandalism
Fig 15 and 16. Damaged paintwork and stone/brick work
Guttering and downpipes
Do they seem blocked, is there Fig 17 and 18. Growth in gutter hopper heads.
evidence for water running down the
sides of buildings, such as patches of Evidence of Missing Architectural
green or plaster damage? Is there Features?
evidence of plant growth in the tops of
gutters or hopper heads?
If there is any evidence of missing
architectural features which for this
toolkit is defined as anything original
to the building that has now
disappeared, perhaps leaving a gap or
differently coloured render or missing
decorative ridge tiles, door knockers,
boot scrapers etc, note this here.
52. 51
masonry, leaking roofs,
usually accompanied by
general disrepair of most
elements of the building
fabric
Fair Structurally sound but in
need of minor repairs or
showing signs of lack of
general maintenance
Good Structurally sound and
weather-tight
Any other comments
Add in anything else here.
For each property a digital photo will
also be required. For each building
take a picture of the front elevation
(the section of the building facing the
street) and any details you feel are of
particular interest, or defects you wish
to record. About 4 pictures per
building at a maximum should be
about right.
Fig 18 and 19:Missing features.
General Condition?
This section will create the traffic light
coding when put onto a map. You will
have to use the previous answers and
your own judgement for this rating.
Select one of the following:
Very Signs of structural
Poor instability or structural
failure
Poor Building with deteriorating
53. 52
Estimate of urgency of works?
If works seem urgent make a note here,
this is helpful for absentee landlords to
have an idea of urgency for the
maintenance required. The proviso is
obviously that this is the opinion of
one person.
What to do with your results
Fig 20, 21, 22 and 23 Examples of photos of one
property taken by volunteers for the Buildings in Need Once you have completed all the forms
project:
for an area it is a good idea to meet as
a group to first moderate your results
to ensure a degree of consistency, then
to meet with your Conservation Officer
to discuss your findings.
For Peterborough Buildings in Need
the findings were transferred into an
Excel spreadsheet that was then colour
coded and this data transferred onto a
Google Map so that the individual
blocks of colour established by the
traffic light system could be seen in an
aggregated overview. See Appendix C
for examples of the spreadsheets and
54. 53
maps and the project website for the The annual English Heritage register
complete set of outputs also includes Conservation Areas at Risk
http://peterboroughbuildingsinneed.wo and the results of Buildings in Needs
rdpress.com/. survey can help inform a Local Planning
Authority in providing up-to-date
Local authorities have a primary role in information to English Heritage on the
protecting the historic environment. state of their conservation areas,
They often have a local heritage at risk including those which may need to be
register for buildings that are Grade II or added to the ‘at risk’ register.
Locally Listed and are considered to be
‘at risk’. If you believe you have
identified a building that meets this
criteria, in that in the traffic light system
it is red and is also listed Grade II or
locally listed, then you should raise this
with your local Conservation Officer.
English Heritage publish an annual list
of Heritage at Risk, which includes
Grade I and II* buildings. If you believe
your survey had identified a Grade I or
II* building that needs to be added to the
English Heritage at risk register, then
this should again be raised with the local
Conservation Officer, who will pass it
on to English Heritage for their
consideration to add to the national ‘at
risk’ register.
Getting a building on one of these lists
can be the first step in tackling neglect,
and to assess and monitor the scale of
the problem and prioritise resources and
action. Local authorities can take action
to secure the preservation and
maintenance of historic buildings
through the use of statutory notices.
It is essential that local authorities make
best use of their powers to secure
buildings at risk, to ‘stop the rot’ and
prevent the costs escalating beyond the
point where it is economic to repair. To
assist in the process English Heritage
has recently published updated guidance
(Stopping the Rot) for local planning
authorities on taking action to save
historic buildings.
55. 54
Sources of Information: HELM website:
http://www.helm.org.uk/
Peterborough Buildings in Need
project website:
http://peterboroughbuildingsinneed.wo
rdpress.com/
Heritage at Risk: http://www.english-
heritage.org.uk/caring/heritage-at-risk/
Reducing Risk, 2011 available at
http://www.english-
heritage.org.uk/content/publications/do
cs/acc-reducing-risks-2011.pdf
Stopping the Rot guidance to
enforcement actions Local Authorities
can take for historic buildings:
http://www.english-
heritage.org.uk/publications/stoppingth
erot/
SPAB maintenance site:
http://www.maintainyourbuilding.org.
uk/pages/maintenance.html
Stitch in Time Guidance available
online here:
http://www.dlrcoco.ie/conservation/IHBC.pdf
56. 55
Appendix A – Letter for volunteers
Telephone: 01733 317480
Facsimile: 01733 453505
E-Mail: alice.kershaw@peterborough.gov.uk
Please ask for: Ms A Kershaw
Our Ref: AK/BinN Opportunity Peterborough
Stuart House East Wing
Your Ref: St John’s Street
Peterborough
PE1 5DD
Peterborough Direct Minicom 01733 452421
DX 12310 Peterborough 1
OPPORTUNITY PETERBOROUGH
LOCAL BUILDINGS IN NEED
To whom it may concern
The person carrying out this Buildings in Need survey is a volunteer from the
Peterborough Civic Society who is working on behalf of Opportunity
Peterborough and the Conservation Team at Peterborough City Council.
The aim of the project is to identify potential buildings ‘in need’ of maintenance
in the city centre. The initial survey is being carried out throughout the City
Centre Conservation Area during the autumn of 2011.
Should you require any additional information or confirmation of the above
work please call either Jim Daley (Principal Built Conservation Officer) on
Peterborough 453522 or Alice Kershaw (Heritage Regeneration Officer) on
Peterborough 317480.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Alice Kershaw
Heritage Regeneration Officer
57. 56
Appendix B – Survey Form
Buildings
in Buildings in Need
Need Survey Form
Www.PeterboroughBuildingsinNeed.Wordpress.com
1. Date…………………………………………
2. Surveyors Details
Name of surveyor
Email Address:
Phone Number:
3. Please enter the property details.
Please enter the property
details. Address of Property
Address 2:
Listed? (if known) Yes/No
List Grade? (if known)
4. Is the property occupied?
Yes
No
Unknown
Empt y upstairs
For Sale
Current Use and any evidence of Previous Use
58. 57
5. Condition of windows
Please tick or underline
Good - structurally sound, well maintained and painted
Fair - showing some lack of maintenance, poor decoration
Poor - in need of maintenance
Very bad - broken or boarded, rot
6. Condition of roof if visible
Please tick or underline
Good – well maintained, wind and weather tight
Fair – wind and weather tight, no visible deterioration
Poor – slipped slates
Very Bad – missing slates, holes
Is there evidence of previous repair eg mortar on the roof, different colour patches?
Describe:
Other (please specify)
7. Condition of visible walls? (Front or side walls visible from public footpath)
Many Some No evidence
Missing stonework/
bricks
Missing mortar
Inappropriate mortar
repairs
Small cracks
Major cracks
Evidence of wall
movement
Damp/ water
staining
Graffiti
Peeling plaster or
render
Other (please specify)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
59. 58
8. Do the rainwater goods appear sound?
Gutt ers with plant growth visible
Cracks
No obvious problem
9. Is there evidence of missing or damaged architectural features?
What?
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………
10. General condition of visible parts of the building?
very bad (st ructural failure or signs of st ructural instabilit y)
poor (building wit h det eriorat ing masonry, leaking roofs, usually accomp
det erioration of most element s of t he building fabric)
fair (st ructurally sound but in need of minor repairs or showing signs of lac
maint enance
good condit ion (st ruct urally sound and weather-tight)
11. Any further comments
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
12. Estimate of urgency of works?
In the next:
3 Months
6-9 Months
12 Months
Please include a shot of the building and any issues if possible.
Please make a note of the time you spent recording this building……………………….
Please return by post to Alice Kershaw, Opportunity Peterborough, Stuart House East, St
Johns Street, Peterborough, PE1 5DD or email to alice.kershaw@peterborough.gov.uk
60. 59
Notes
There is more information on Buildings in Need at:
www.Pet erboroughBuildingsinNeed.Wordpress.com
Is it listed?
To est ablish if the building is list ed and the grade use Peterborough Hawk-
eye.
http://hawkeye.peterborough.gov.uk/hawkeye/
To use Hawkeye simply zoom t o the location required, if you do not know t he
address, or enter the address in the search box (t op right , between 'layers'
and 'nearest').
Once you have a location in t he central box you can either see it as a St reet
View, Ordnance Survey map, or an aerial view. This would be good to have
as a print out to allow you to find t he propert y on t he ground.
To find out if the building is listed click on 'Built Environment ' on the right hand
side, and check the box for 'Listed Buildings' and 'Conservation Areas'.
Then click 'Display on Map'. This will show you if the property is in t he cit y cen-
tre conservat ion area or not , and if it is red and you hover the cursor over it it
will show you t he name and list ing grade. If the building is not listed it is st ill of
int erest in the cit y cent re, it does not mater for t his survey whether you survey
a listed building or not!
List ed buildings make up about 2% of all buildings in England. There are three
grades of list ing:
Grade I - a building of exceptional int erest , only about 2.5% of all listed build-
ings are Grade I
Grade II* - very important and of more than special int erest, 5.5% of list ed
buildings are of this grade
Grade II - buildings of special interest - t hese make up around 92% of listed
buildings
