Conservation Deficit​

 

There are approximately 11,000 conservation areas and 460,000 listed buildings currently registered in the UK. We place value on this historic environment in a variety of ways. The presence of historic buildings and sites engenders a sense of pride, identity, belonging and wellbeing. They hold significant economic power through tourism and property premiums. They offer environmental advantages by retaining embodied carbon instead of generating new construction waste. They act like history books, preserving architectural styles and cultural milestones. However, despite their considerable cultural, social, economic, environmental, educational and aesthetic virtues they come up against equally considerable challenges. These include sustainability, fire safety, accessibility, inclusivity, cumbersome legal frameworks, skills shortages, and the Conservation Deficit: The financial shortfall that occurs if the cost of developing a historic building or site is greater than the market value of the asset once all work is complete. In these ways, much of the historic environment is not fulfilling its potential, or worse, its buildings become abandoned and are left to deteriorate.

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TJA's Response

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Working with heritage is challenging but TJA's response is to show how to unlock its potential. The specialist toolset that this requires revolves around judgements in design, planning strategy, energy efficiency, phased works, heritage grants, preservation trusts, community engagement, optimum viable use, and enabling development. Enabling Development involves securing planning permission for new, often otherwise restricted, development on or near the heritage site, from which the profits go directly towards the conservation project, closing the Conservation Deficit.

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Specialising in this field is not just about being a custodian of the built past: Our built past must also be custodian of our present. TJA understand this relationship and enjoy the research that underpins designing within sites of historic significance. It requires care and confidence and the result should be a celebration of both old and new. It's a quietly radical type of architectural practice that believes the best form of conservation is Use.

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Credentials

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TJA's heritage design services are lead by Tommy Jay. Tommy has been working with Listed buildings, Conservation Areas and sites of historic interest for the past 12 years and he is a RIBA Conservation Registrant. He regularly takes part in conservation symposiums, such as SPAB's 'Repair Of Old Buildings' and the LSA's 'Working With Heritage'.

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Heritage For You​

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Whether your heritage asset is private or public, TJA emphasise that heritage is fundamentally an inheritance: Who does it come from? Who is it for now? Who could it be for in the future? In this way we work closely with our clients, building users, stakeholders, and local planning authorities, promoting a collaborative design process. Early engagement with the local planning authority is advised, and build team procurement is key to successful delivery.

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TJA's services provide you with design knowledge and tactical knowledge. That means understanding the legal framework, conservation discourse, viable uses, funding opportunities, building regulations, technical characteristics of traditional materials and building systems, and build team procurement. The project programme structures this knowledge into the right pathway which enables you to:

• Understand the layered heritage value of your asset, (existing and potential).

• Explore what is viable.

• Secure statutory consents.

• Access available heritage grants.

• Assemble the right team and instruct things authoritatively.

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Whether you are considering maintenance, repairs, upgrades or additions to your historic building or site, the plan of work will follow a similar process. ​RIBA’s Plan Of Work sets out six milestones, where each provides an opportunity to pause and review the evolving picture of cost, time and quality. TJA’s full architectural services deliver each of these milestones as shown in the heritage project example below. To suit different needs the work can cover a range of requirements or be trimmed to a lite programme.​

 

Heritage Project Example​

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RIBA Stage 1: Preparation & Briefing​​

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• Ask the right questions to understand your needs and ambitions.

• Help you procure a measured building survey and produce a set of existing drawings.

• Produce photo survey of all areas relevant to the project. 

• Define strategy for pricing the works. Identify project costs and resources required at different work stages.

• Assess the heritage asset, its setting, planning considerations and planning precedent. Define strategy for securing statutory consents.

• Define key milestones and plan of work. ​

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RIBA Stage 2: Concept Design​

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• Appraise site constraints and opportunities. Reviews with you to define ‘Client Requirements’ and vision.

• Produce design options and conclude with a set of general arrangement drawings at 1:100 with key measurements and key materials described. 

• Create moodboard of reference imagery for key areas.

• Produce schedule with which to seek outline cost advice by others. 

• Advise on available funding that your project may be eligible for.

• Identify and arrange any site investigations that may be required. 

• Seek pre-app advice from the local planning authority, ahead of submitting a planning application.  

• Advise you about duties under BR & CDM (health and safety). 

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RIBA Stage 3: Design to Planning

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• Develop concept drawings into full set of general arrangement drawings at 1:100 with key measurements and materials described.

• Prepare a Design & Access Statement to explain the design thinking to the planners. 

• Prepare a Heritage Statement document analysing the significance of heritage assets affected by proposed development and include an impact assessment. 

• Prepare a planning application form and submit planning documents. 

• Support you in securing additional assessments or documentation if required e.g daylight assessment, tree survey, ecology survey, etc.

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RIBA Stage 4: Design To Tender

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• Develop the planning-approved drawings into tender drawings that can be priced by builders. 

• Develop a design specification, outlining building materials, systems and components.

• Support you in arranging a party wall survey if required.

• Discharge any planning conditions as required.

• Support you in providing documentation for any funding applications.

• Prepare pre-construction information as required under BR & CDM (health and safety). 

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RIBA Stages 5 & 6: Construction & Handover

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• Support you in the process of choosing a builder.

• Support you in choosing and administering a building contract.

• Develop the pricing drawings into a construction drawing set.

• Depending on the building contract, fulfil the role of Principal Designer and provide builder and homeowner with information as appropriate under CDM regulations.

• Depending on the building contract, follow on-site progress and respond to any queries the builder might have regarding the drawings or specification.

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