CHAPTER 7: GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE VALUE OF URBAN HERITAGE REGENERATION PROJECTS (R02)
7.2 Codebook of Extracted Data from Semi-Structured Interviews with Senior Practicing Professionals for RO2.
The findings of the interview transcript relating to the research objective have been collated into one table divided into the columns that identify the interviewee, interview text, identifies the underlying meaning of the text according to the author and the descriptive parent and child codes. This facilitates systematic codification of the relevant text extract into explicit knowledge. The process of qualitative data analysis has followed the same qualitative analysis process for research objective one described in section 4.9.2. Table 15 shows the codebook of extracted data collected from senior practicing professionals for research objective two.
Table 15: Qualitative Content Analysis of Semi-Structured Interviews with Senior Practicing Professionals for Research Objective Two RO2 Gain an understanding of the value of urban heritage regeneration projects.
ID RESPONDENT RESPONSE INTERPRETATION /
NARRATIVE. PARENT CODE CHILD CODE I01 v1(8)
There is a variety of different way of answering that question if you are talking about me as an employee of a developer then the key area and output has to be profitability and occupancy.
If you want my answer as a human being then it is the social aspects of saving something for future generations to enjoy historic buildings and to create place and visual interest. That is not really about money albeit it has to be about money if you are going to take that project.
Claim that financial values relating to profit and occupancy.
Comment that indirect social values of heritage regeneration are of a concern as an individual VAL2 VAL2 FIN2 SOC2 I01 v1(22)
How do you measure value within the question you are right. You have covered all bases in terms of bringing a heritage asset back into use. It has a variety of positive benefits and some of those cannot be measured or there is not a tool to measure it. Certainly the human aspects of just enjoying visually the building from the outside that has just been regenerated, you cannot quantify that.
Acknowledgement of difficulty or lack of ability to measure indirect value. Value tension
VAL2 VTE2
I01 v1(4)
I think that by using or incorporating heritage assets make the final solution a much richer one visually, well just on all levels but primarily visually.
Claim that heritage regeneration may possess amenity value.
VAL2 AME2
v1(4) heritage assets tend to be more in demand by the market because they are so unique and they tend to sell better.
value for development companies.
I02 v1(21)
Banks wouldn’t be interested in the social and economic value but the local authority might be interested in the wider non-fiscal value benefit.
Comment on different emphasis on value for different stakeholders. Note public sector best placed to consider holistic value.
VAL2 VTE2
IO2 v1(4)
It’s a slightly emotive reason and I think it is the fact that, in regeneration projects, people need some reference points and touchstones when regeneration inevitably means change. Historic fabric is often invaluable as regeneration involves new build projects to have heritage assets to bring familiarity to the project.
Comment that heritage regeneration may possess societal value; it brings familiarity to a project.
VAL2 SOC2
I02 v1(22)
I do not think that there is enough sophistication about the interpretation of value. It is inevitable that the definition that a commercial operator will concentrate on is defined by the valuer; albeit there are many different interpretations of value that you have identified.
Claim relating to lack of sophistication relating to measurement of holistic concept of value. VAL2 VTE2 I02 v1(28)
One of the crucial ones is one of the ones that you have identified and it is around the concept of value and how do you define value and the benefits of a project. The problem is it always come back to the fiscal, if you talk about the non-fiscal quantification of value which might be significant if you cannot get some means to make that scheme commercially viable by
Statement that direct and fiscal values are key considerations of heritage regeneration for private sector development
VAL2 VAL2
FIN2 VTE2
whatever means that is the scheme will not be delivered. companies. I02
v1(28)
I think you would have to have a look at it that in days gone by you could proceed with the restoration of heritage just for the sake of restoration of heritage. Somebody might have been able to justify going in there just because it needs saving whereas now you cannot. But there may or may not be some other form of value for doing that kind of thing but it is not recognised. It is not given any weight.
Note regarding the apparent lack of recognition for non- financial value elements of heritage projects.
VAL2 VTE2
I03 v1(21)
From English Heritage point of view the word is significance rather than value, which is now enshrined in the NPPF. When someone proposes a level of harm or loss English Heritage are looking at the level of harm or loss to significance. Significance is all of those things you mentioned before (social, cultural, environmental and economic).
Statement that English Heritage denotes the term significance rather than value. Note different definition of value.
VAL2 VTE2
I03 v1(21)
My personal feeling is that it is so difficult to measure the things we know that heritage funding is going to contribute to by way of those values. How can you value how much pleasure somebody gets from walking around something that is a wonderful place to be and enjoy being there.
Claim relating to the difficulty of measurement of indirect value
VAL2 VTE2
I03 v1(4)
I am going to cheat and refer to the document I have just given you because I think it is a very good quote and it states:
Historic buildings create a focal point that people relate to and are familiar with giving a sense of place.
They may be loved local landmarks with which the local community
Note interviewee references English heritage document claiming:
Heritage regeneration has value to community
identify and will rally round to support or save them.
The historic fabric and design can add a distinctive identity to the new build part of a regeneration scheme - enhancing townscape and lifting the overall quality of the built environment.
They may have interesting historical or cultural associations that can be interpreted and developed through the wider regeneration area.
They can assist in achieving sustainable development objectives.
They may attract tenants or occupiers who would not be interested in a less distinctive building and they feed peoples interest in the past.
Therefore there is every reason to invest in historic places for social cultural, environmental and economic reasons.
Heritage regeneration has Design and aesthetic value Heritage regeneration has historic and sustainable Value
Heritage regeneration has Commercial Value for developer.
Heritage regeneration has Social and economic value. Prolonged involvement may produce lack of critical detachment. VAL2 VAL2 VAL2 VAL2 VAL2 AME2 HIS2 SUS2 FIN2 SOC2 I04 v1(21)
Yes very much so. One of the areas of my work as part of the strategic investment framework is around distinctive neighbourhoods and that brings all of those values into play. I am less sure how you evaluate all of those values but at least we recognise how important they are to how an area develops.
Recognition of indirect values by local authority
Acknowledgement of difficulty of measurement of
value. Value tension
SUC1 VTE2
I04 v1(4)
Mainly it is about distinctiveness of the place and it is about the places relationship with the community who live around and visit it. Immediately you can associate a building to a city and a place and associates it with
Claim that heritage regeneration possesses community and amenity
VAL2 VAL2
SOC2 AME2
time as well, which makes it far easier for communities to associate with it and visitors to want to be attracted to it.
value, adding to the distinctiveness of a location. I05
v1(21)
I think it does yes. I think the whole reason why people would look to do a projects involving in heritage asset into a proposal is because they think that is has a huge amount of added value to offer. If you look at things like the Radisson Hotel or the Great John Street hotel. Why are those people going in there? It is because they have a huge amount of added value of being able to leverage that sense of environment and history from the building. People love historic buildings and we have a love of historic buildings in this country and that’s where the value of these things lies.
Claim that heritage regeneration possesses added value from leverage of sense of historic environment. Claim that Heritage regeneration possesses commercial and tourism value. VAL2 VAL2 HIS2 TOU2 I05 v1(22)
I think you would see it in a sort of public enquiry, it is more of a planning thing I mean if you are trying to put forward a difficult planning case for a heritage asset say you are in a public enquiry situation. Those things are exactly the type of things that determine whether a scheme gets granted. I think it does get measured but it doesn’t get followed up after the project has actually been delivered.
Statement regarding measurement of regeneration projects in
planning process. Note claim regarding lack of post completion evaluation.
VAL2 VTE2
I05 v1(22)
It would be quite interesting to do some kind of analysis of the added value from an economic social cultural perspective that certain projects deliver. I have never seen anyone do some sort of follow up but I wonder whether English Heritage have done something as a means of justifying their approach.
Comment regarding the requirement for effective evaluation of heritage regeneration.
IO5 v1(4)
I think the starting point should be to use heritage assets positively because they make a contribution to place. If they can be brought to life in an effective way they can create a lot of commercial value because they create interesting places and spaces which people will pay a premium to visit.
Claim that heritage regeneration has place
making value and
commercial value. Note no direct evidence of commercial value. VAL2 VAL2 AME2 FIN2 I06 v1(22)
All our schemes I think have been measured successfully that said we have not gone back and looked at all of our schemes following completion. All of our measurements are done upfront, the day we make the offer is the where the calculation is.
Acknowledgement of lack of post completion measurement of heritage regeneration. VAL2 VTE2 I06 v1(4)
I think it creates places that people love and want to locate in and want to visit and it gives places a unique selling point. The simplest market solution sometimes would be to knock them down however there is a social pressure to maintain these places as they become part of what people identify as being in a town and as being important to where they live.
Heritage regeneration has tourism, place making and commercial value.
Note on the perception of social value of heritage can create value tension.
VAL2 VAL2 VAL2 AME2 TOU2 VTE2 I07 v1(4)
I think it is important how you but I don’t know how you can put together an equation, a methodology or a route map that would secure that because it is one of those where everybody will reap it in different ways.
The council is well placed to have a view on what value is because these buildings have been in a city centre and wider context are part and parcel
Comment on different expectations of how to record value.
Claim that public sector is potentially best placed to
VAL2
VAL2
VTE2
of what makes your city what it is, they are often the landmark buildings that people associate with whether it is route finding or whatever.
conduct measurements of value
I07 v1(21)
That whole tourism angle, where Bath and Edinburgh is synonymous with architecture it’s all part of that mix.
Claim of tourism value of heritage regeneration.
VAL2 TOU2
IO7 v1(4)
Quite often you will find that if you can get two or three heritage regeneration projects away in a particular area then you can build up a critical mass, which can create an additional interest in a particular.
Claim that heritage regeneration can have place making, amenity value.
VAL2 AME2
I08 v1(21)
That’s a good question, it goes without saying that first and foremost the answer has to be for us market value. I think that if there are other spin off benefits then good fine, that is a bonus. I do not think we necessarily want to be involved in a project that makes money and is ill regarded.
It comes back to value anyway in that there is a circular argument in that if it has a lot of social value and outputs it might mean that you can secure grants but that just feeds into the value and the appraisal so it is just a numbers exercise really.
Claim that heritage regeneration must possess financial value for private
sector development companies. Note indicating
development company does consider other types of value.
VAL2 FIN2
I010A v2(5)
For this town they are part of the fabric of the town an in important part that relates to the people of the town they are much appreciated.
Heritage regeneration possesses social value.
VAL2 SOC2
IO11 v2(22)
When you are transforming an area you need to keep some anchors to the past and that is psychological and community lead. It gives you an instant urban landscape you are not replacing what is usually a set of buildings or an area of mixed all at what which again is good for psychological and
Claim that heritage regeneration possesses historical, social and amenity value. VAL2 VAL2 VAL2 HIS2 SOC2 AME2
also in terms of future maintenance and renewal. I011
v2(22)
I think the other value that you can place on it if you talk about places like Salford that has had a population influx, is that you can say that they are putting population back, so this is demographic value.
Claim that heritage regeneration can contribute to demographic / economic value.
VAL2 ECO2
I011 v2(23)
Yes I think you are right I think that there is the problem of the public sector is increasingly is valuing things in the same way as the private sector. They don’t say that they are going to do something because it generates this much of income / profit for the developer but there is the argument that it generates business rates, generates council tax.
I think the trouble with regeneration is that you are a bit too close to actually step back and say these are the values that we want to capture. You can set out a set of principles and a vision and you could then go back and test it. You never ever do as the project takes 15 years you have moved on, retired and the project changes. It is difficult to measure and nobody does it because of the timescale that are involved which would be another interesting doctorate project.
Note that public sector may prioritise the economic and financial value of projects
Acknowledgement of difficulty of measurement of
concept of value due to long term nature of regeneration and inability to measure post project completion. Confirmation of lack of critical detachment.
VAL2 VTE2
IO11 v2(5)
Quite often they provide spaces that modern buildings don’t provide and they can be useful for all sorts of quirky uses that make complete townscapes and make places liveable in. I think that they can produce financial value.
Claim that heritage regeneration may possess financial value for development companies.
I012 v2(23)
It is difficult to measure isn’t it? We use people like Amion on the social and economic side of things, such as gross value added and equivalent full time jobs measurements; we measure that. Can anybody truly go out and measure and see that, probably not although it does feel that conclusions that they reach are broadly right. I do think that we certainly try and measure it but you have to accept that it is not a perfect thing that you are trying to measure. But once you have measured a few of them then you get a feel for whether the outcome that you have got is right or not.
Statement acknowledging difficulty of measurement of concept of value.
Acknowledgement that measurement is an inexact process. Value tension
VAL2 VAL2 VTE2 VTE2 I012 v2(5)
To be honest you don’t have much choice because they are there. It is usually what goes on that drives the project but having them in there is a benefit. It adds to the streetscape, somewhere like Chapel Street where on one side of the street lost a lot of the historic fabric.
I guess we need to be careful about the definition of heritage assets whether you define them being listed or of age. In Chapel Street we have lost a lot of buildings of age on one side of the street having things like the cathedral, St Phillips Church, the Old Town Hall, the education offices, the Royal hospital. Having those sorts of assets there is a plus otherwise you could end up with everything new and you don’t want that.
Claim that development companies have to deal with heritage as part of traditional development project. Note relating to heritage asset definition. Claim that Heritage regeneration possesses amenity value due to the additions to streetscapes.
VAL2 AME2
I014 v2(22)
From my point of view if I am trying to place a value on a building or opportunity to bring it to the market I probably have to look at what as the best value. When I say the best value, I mean the most valuable use for
Claim that private sector