Jess Barrow, our Heritage Director, recently attended UKREiiF. Here are some of her thoughts from her time at the event.
UKREiiF brought together real estate professionals from across the nation, and while the weather might have been drizzly in Leeds, the buzz and excitement certainly carried everyone through.
I spent three days meeting up with faces old and new, in between attending panels, with my biggest challenge being choosing which pavilion to frequent, given the delivery of the most overwhelming event calendar I have ever experienced. The key message from the event was clear: everyone has the ambition to deliver.
No matter what sector, no matter what profession. It was also abundantly clear that delivery means nothing without people. People mean activation. People bring meaning. People deliver that feeling and experience that you can’t specify or plan for. People are crucial for long-term success.
We discussed how projects need to be able to flex to make sure they stay relevant, and we heard how scope goes far beyond “completion”, truly giving places longevity and roles for generations to come.
This means we need to be patient, especially when we are regenerating heritage assets, to give people and places the opportunity to come along on the journey. Sure, there are a number of hurdles to be overcome, and the existing planning system can often be difficult to manage when you need flexibility.
But by investing in communities and giving them the tools to control the buildings and environment around them, we can also give them the tools to be agile.
Meeting up with people from across the heritage sector specifically reiterated how truly wonderful this industry is. Everyone wants to share knowledge and understanding, and everyone wants to learn.
The message from everyone was clear too. Historic buildings can be sustainable and can help us, as a nation, work towards reducing carbon consumption, ultimately lowering costs and creating healthy spaces.
Our heritage assets create rich, diverse environments for people to work, play and live. They bring unparalleled health and well-being benefits for communities, giving people a sense of place.
I left UKREiiF pondering several topics and conversations which I can’t wait to continue, but the main thing that has played on my mind ever since the event is this:
How do we meaningfully articulate qualitative outcomes in a way that makes investors want to be part of a regeneration project, particularly when conservation deficits can be eye-watering?