The draft Conservation Management Plan for Darlington’s Rail Heritage Quarter is out for consultation until Tuesday 19th July.
Conservation Management Plans (CMPs) are based on the idea of values-based heritage management where the significance of various aspects of heritage, both built and natural, are used to inform good decision making for cultural heritage places. Such plans are widely adopted as a management tool in the UK by organisations such as the National Trust, Historic England and many others, and their use is supported by major funders such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It is a good time to revisit the management of the RHQ as it is embarking on a £25 million investment to upgrade the site as a world class visitor attraction in time for the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. This report is designed to inform future development and maintenance so that the investment of public funds and the significance of the buildings is protected long after 2025. It also pulls together and summarises the substantial amount of research that has taken place there in the last ten years.
This consultation phase is an opportunity for the key partners in the RHQ to make comments on the report so that they feel that the policies and actions are something they can support. Key partners are organisations that own or occupy parts of the RHQ (or who may do so in the near future) or who are responsible for devising or implementing policy there. That includes the Friends of the S&DR.
The report can be found here: https://www.aenvironment.co.uk/download/darlington-rail-heritage-quarter-conservation-management-plan-consultation-draft/
Please send comments to caroline@aenvironment.co.uk