Historic Towns Forum

Historic Towns Forum
Name	Historic Towns Forum
Formation	1980s
Type	Charity
Purpose	Conservation, urban conservation, heritage advocacy
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Region served	England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

Historic Towns Forum The Historic Towns Forum is a British charitable organisation focused on the conservation and sustainable management of historic urban places. It operates across the United Kingdom engaging with local authorities, national agencies, heritage bodies and professional practitioners to influence policy on urban conservation. The Forum convenes stakeholders from municipal authorities, conservation officers, heritage trusts and academic institutions to promote best practice in managing historic towns and cities.

History

The Forum was established in the late 20th century in response to debates arising from post-war reconstruction in London, Bristol, Bath, York and Edinburgh. Early influences included campaigns associated with The Georgian Group, The Victorian Society, National Trust, English Heritage (now Historic England), and pressure from civic societies such as the Civic Trust. International precedents and instruments such as the Venice Charter, the Athens Charter (1933), and later the UNESCO World Heritage Convention shaped the Forum’s formation. Prominent conservationists and urbanists linked to the Forum’s early years drew on experiences from commissions like the Wright Committee and inquiries into regeneration schemes in Covent Garden and King's Cross. The Forum’s evolution tracked policy shifts under governments led by Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and later administrations that enacted legislation including reforms to planning overseen by the Department for Communities and Local Government and its successors.

Purpose and Activities

The Forum’s remit covers advocacy, advisory work and dissemination of technical guidance across contexts such as town centre management in Manchester, streetscape policy in Newcastle upon Tyne, and conservation area appraisals in Canterbury. It promotes integration of heritage considerations in schemes related to transport projects like Crossrail, regeneration projects in Glasgow, and housing developments in Birmingham. Activities include convening conferences with contributors from institutions such as Royal Institute of British Architects, Institute of Historic Building Conservation, Royal Town Planning Institute, and universities including University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of York, and University of Glasgow. The Forum influences guidance produced by agencies like Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw, and Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Governance and Membership

Governance has involved trustees and a steering group drawn from local government conservation officers in counties such as Somerset, Dorset, Kent, and Cumbria and representatives from national bodies including Historic England, Heritage Lottery Fund (now The National Lottery Heritage Fund), and professional bodies like the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in partnership settings. Membership spans municipal boroughs such as Brighton and Hove, unitary authorities like Cornwall Council, and city councils including Leeds and Nottingham. Corporate and institutional members have included conservation consultancies and heritage charities such as English Heritage Trust, Heritage Alliance, and university departments in Bristol, Leicester, Newcastle University, and Queen's University Belfast.

Projects and Initiatives

The Forum has run pilots on characterisation studies in market towns such as Bridport, place-making initiatives in port towns like Liverpool, and heritage-led regeneration programmes in former industrial centres such as Sheffield and Leeds. It contributed to regeneration dialogues around the London Docklands and urban renewal strategies applicable to post-industrial cities impacted by closures of industries associated with Coal Mines and shipbuilding in Swansea. Initiatives include conservation area management plans, streetscape toolkits used in Bath and North East Somerset, and seminars addressing retrofit of historic buildings promoted to retrofit projects in Oxford colleges and municipal estates in Cardiff.

Publications and Resources

The Forum produces guidance notes, case studies and briefing papers referenced alongside manuals from Historic England, technical reports from English Heritage, and research from university centres like the Centre for Urban History at University of Leicester and the Institute of Historical Research at University of London. It has published studies on shopfront conservation in towns like Chester and Lincoln, urban morphology analyses used in coursework at University of Sheffield and University of Manchester, and conservation area appraisal templates adopted by councils such as Norwich and Exeter. Outputs often complement international texts including the ICOMOS charters and regional strategies by bodies such as Europa Nostra.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Forum collaborates with a wide range of partners: statutory agencies including Historic England, Cadw, and Historic Environment Scotland; funding bodies such as The National Lottery Heritage Fund and trusts like the Wolfson Foundation; professional institutes including Royal Town Planning Institute and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; and civic organisations such as the Civic Voice. It has worked on cross-border projects with European networks like European Heritage Heads and engaged with UNESCO advisory networks and academic consortia at University of Copenhagen and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Impact and Criticism

Supporters cite the Forum’s role in shaping conservation area practice in England, influencing policy debates in Westminster, and supporting local authorities in delivering place-sensitive regeneration in towns such as St Albans and Faversham. Critiques have come from commentators aligned with large-scale development interests in Canary Wharf-style schemes and some developers active in Birmingham and Manchester who argue heritage constraints can impede economic growth. Scholars from institutions such as LSE, King's College London, and University of Strathclyde have debated the balance the Forum seeks between preservation and adaptive reuse in contexts like inner-city renewal and transport infrastructure expansion exemplified by HS2.

Category:Charities based in the United Kingdom Category:Heritage organizations