Conservation
Buildings at Risk programme
Since its nomination, Liverpool has made great strides to protect its World Heritage Site.
The council’s Buildings at Risk programme continues to be the most successful project of its type in England with a 75% reduction in its ‘at risk’ buildings in the past decade and 37 listed buildings upgraded within the World Heritage Site.
RopeWalks Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI)
In 2005 the World Heritage Site Townscape Heritage Initiative grant-aid scheme (THI) targeted the regeneration of the RopeWalks maritime suburb. The area straddles the boundary of the World Heritage Site and its buffer zone, and contains many heritage assets and historic areas reflecting the Outstanding Universal Value.
Where the cost of repairs exceeded the end value of a property, the THI stepped in to bridge the gap. Grant funding was used for structural repairs, architectural reinstatement and conversion of properties for new uses.
The THI brought a combined £4.1 million of grants into the area, from sources including the Heritage Lottery Fund, North West Development Agency, Liverpool City Council, Single Regeneration Budget, and Historic England. The partnership enabled eighteen restoration projects at thirty-three separate addresses.
Public funding has been joined by over £18 million in private sector investment, leading to the regeneration of historic buildings and the Duke Street Conservation Area. The quality of architecture in the area demonstrates the property’s Outstanding Universal Value as evidence of Liverpool’s central role in the development of the British Empire and global trade.
