There were signs of increasing confidence – and more visitors – at this year’s MIPIM. It provided an opportunity to get direct feedback from other property professionals both on their experience of English Heritage and also their awareness of imminent changes to the organisation.
Many UK exhibitors, particularly those active in partnership with the public sector, are aware of English Heritage and our work, but in conversation with many, primarily private sector, professionals, the picture appeared very different.
Comments varied, but one, from the commercial director of a leading international firm, was particularly telling. He said: “Your organisation is impenetrable and perceived at times to be arbitrary.”
This view from a well-informed and experienced professional gave me pause for thought. English Heritage has spent the past eight years or more promoting a consistent approach to the identification of what is important in the historic environment through our conservation principles, alongside a proactive approach to adaptation and change under our constructive conservation banner. We have provided expert advice for more than 30 years and done so under the banner of a now well-recognised brand.
The English Heritage brand will continue, but from 1 April it will be owned by the English Heritage Trust, a charity operating under licence.
It means the charity will come out from under government with an endowment of £80m to begin to address the backlog of repairs to the national collection of 420 sites and to invest in improving the experience of visitors. This greater financial autonomy allows for longer-term investment, all of which was easily understood by those we talked to at MIPIM.
Less well understood was the establishment of Historic England as the body responsible for fulfilling the role of expert adviser.
Part of the preparation for the launch of the new Historic England brand has been making sure partners are aware that it will carry on delivering the expert and impartial advice provided by English Heritage. However, if those key messages have not reached all of our potential partners then the scale of the challenge we are facing becomes clear.
To put that challenge very simply, Historic England will have to build a reputation for the provision of expert, impartial, accessible and transparent advice. It will have to build it quickly and do so by focusing clearly on understanding how its actions are perceived by others, be they individual owners, their agents or other property professionals.
The commercial director I was discussing this with was again very clear. Recounting his experience of MIPIM and the property profession more generally, he indicated that it works on trust. Trust that the partner is truly professional and experienced, and trust that the advice provided is well-informed. The professional approach and expertise already exist within the public body that will be called Historic England, but I will be visiting MIPIM again to find out how far we have progressed with building that reputation one year on.
Nigel Barker is planning & conservation director, London, at English Heritage
