Creative Industries Quarter – Townscape Heritage Initiative

About

In the 1800s, Sheffield grew famous for its cutlery and steel production. The current Cultural Industries Quarter contributed significantly to the reputation of Sheffield as a thriving industrial city. The quarter had developed a community of many small scale, thriving businesses. It was densely populated, with many buildings and courtyards used both as workshops and dwellings. From 1850 onwards, larger-scale single-use industrial buildings became more common, in contrast to the original Georgian grid. The area suffered from a reclining business population in more recent years, influencing its physical character. The physical character was changed even more due to road programmes in the 1960s and 1980s, which led to the clearance of houses and buildings, specifically along the edge of the area, leaving significant gaps in the urban fabric. Some of the layouts of the Georgian streets remains. Yet, many historical buildings were lost and others were left in derelict or poor condition. [1;2]

The Cultural Industries Quarter (CIQ) in Sheffield was set up in 1981 as a local government initiative. It was zoned in 1988 for businesses in cultural production. [3;4] Despite publicly-led efforts to establish cultural organisations in the quarter, the area did not yet become a bustling neighbourhood. According to some, because the area knew little diversification and was mainly focused mainly on cultural production, with little space for consumption or interaction with the public. [3] In an attempt to turn the tide of continuing decay of the historical fabric of the quarter, it was marked as a Conservation Area in 2001. On the 59 acres, nine listed heritage buildings can be found and many buildings of historical and architectural significance. [1;2] Between 2002 and 2007, the ‘Townscape Heritage Initiative’, a national funding programme, was utilised to regenerate the area’s historic character. [2]

Through this programme, seven projects were conducted that enabled repair and reuse of historic buildings in the quarter. This includes Scotia Works, a former cutlery work from the late nineteenth century that now operates as a vibrant (co-)working space for social organisations, including charities, non-profits, social enterprises, ethical businesses and local community organisations. Butcher Works, a Victorian monument once home to a cutlery factory, also was renovated. It now provides living accommodation, workshops for artisans and retail units, which house, among others, a volunteer-run gallery shop. As part of the seven project, Sterling Works, another heritage building, was also renovated. Now, it is home to the Freeman College, that provides education for youth with special learning needs, as well as residential places. Here, the youngsters work alongside established craftspeople to learn traditional metal crafts, like spoon forging and copper works.[2]

Governance

The Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) was a national funding programme managed by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The fund put heritage conservation at the heart of the urban regeneration of towns and cities throughout the UK. Five-year schemes were run in cities and towns, led by local partnerships. These local partners matched the funding of HLF to create a common fund. From this common fund, smaller grants were distributed to the owners of historic properties to assist them with refurbishment and regeneration. In Sheffield, the Townscape Heritage Initiative was executed through a partnership between Sheffield City Council and the Cultural Industries Quarter Agency. [2]

Business Model

In 2002, the Sheffield City Council and the Cultural Industries Quarter Agency received just under £2 million from Heritage Lottery Fund. The partnership matched this by public funding from the Single Regeneration Budget, and the Local Transport Plan, leading to a budget of approximately £4 million. A Project Team set up to administer the fund was led by Sheffield City Council. The funding was focused on facilitating the repair and conservation of heritage buildings. Depending on the project, additional funds were provided by cooperating partners.[2]

In total, £3.000.000 (appr. €3.583.000) of common fund has been invested into the regeneration of historic buildings within the Cultural Industries Quarter. The remainder of the fund was utilised to enable new developments. The part invested in historic buildings has levered over £15.000.000 (appr. € 17.916.000) of private sector investment, coming from private for-profit and non-profit actors. [2].

For Scotia Works, the Townscape Heritage Initiative Grant amounted to £410.960 (appr. €491.000) with private sector investment equalling £595.584 (appr. €711.361). For Butcher Works, £1.292.891 (appr. € 1.544.219) was allocated through the grant scheme, with private sector investment amounting to £5.973.962 (appr. €7.135.256). For the renovation of Sterling Works, the Townscape Heritage Initiative Grant provided £395.000 (appr. €471.785), with the private sector contributing £1.728.220 (appr. €2.064.173). [2]