Built heritage on conference agenda

The debate about the co-existence of the seemingly conflicting demands of conservation and development is poised to open a new chapter next month, when some of the leading experts in both fields come together at a major conference being organised by Belfast City Council.

'Look Up Belfast: A New Perspective On The City', Belfast’s first international built heritage conference, will bring together 36 specialist speakers in the fields of architecture, built heritage and culture, who will be sharing their expertise with delegates at the three-day conference.

The conference will be staged jointly at the City Hall and the Belfast Waterfront Hall from October 1 to 3.

The move comes a time when the demolition of Seamus Heaney’s house is fresh in people’s minds, and when the house in which CS Lewis wrote 'Pilgrim’s Regress, Red Hall', is under threat of destruction – and when the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan will soon establish the city’s future physical shape.

At the same time, the conference will examine what can be learned from both international and local best practice case studies. Case studies will include the redevelopment of the Gasworks and restoration of the Albert Clock and the conservation of such buildings as St. Patrick’s School, the old Belmont School, Conway Mill and the merchants’ houses at College Square for economically viable uses that benefit the whole community.

Doug Elliot, managing director of a string of successful development companies, including Ormeau Gasworks Ltd and Twenty Two Over Seven, who is chairing a conference session, said: ““It is wake-up time for Belfast. We must turn the tide before we drown in a sea of debilitating mediocrity.

"We must support creative and determined people who are capable of once again making Belfast a world-class city. This conference will advance debate, ring the alarm bells, and deliver the right messages loud and clear”.

The Belfast Regeneration Office also sees the conference as an opportunity to consider the importance of bringing back into beneficial commercial use vacant and under-used historic buildings in the City.

(GMcG)