34 YEARBOOK 2024 Derry/Londonderry, the historic walled city in Northern Ireland where the Inner City Trust has restored a large number of properties since its formation in the 1970s; Haverfordwest, the Pembrokeshire market town where Haverfordwest Heritage, a start-up with big ambitions to tackle the significant heritage at risk, has just secured a Community Ownership Fund grant to acquire its first property; and Dunfermline, the ancient capital of Scotland, was awarded modern city status in 2022 and is now the focus for the activities of Fife Historic Buildings Trust, a long-established building preservation trust. ROSS WILLIAMS, REDRUTH REVIVAL CIC, CORNWALL Choose your building projects very carefully. There are usually valid reasons why owners (whether private or public sector) neglect their building assets so research those before plunging in, even if the purchase price seems a bargain. Think hard about the potential end uses before committing to a project. You may be able to raise the capital costs, but will it have a viable and sustainable future without needing revenue funding? Make sure you’ve got good advice from experienced professionals who will help you understand the physical condition of your building and enable you to make realistic assessments on timescales and costs. If it’s listed, then appreciate that this slows planning processes and increases your costs, although it may make the project more attractive to some funders and to some types of tenants. Build a good team with a range of appropriate skills and get incorporated – you’ll need the protection of a limited liability legal structure, most commonly a charitable incorporated organisation or a community interest company. Redruth Revival CIC was set up by a group of activists who shared a common vision three years before we bought our first building. This meant there was time to get to know and trust each other by developing ideas and options for town centre regeneration before buying the very dilapidated, early 19th-century Buttermarket and Mining Exchange. Timing can be crucial and can also be a matter of luck; Redruth was awarded High Street Heritage Action Zone status not long after we bought the Buttermarket, so we had an early funding win and that then unlocked much bigger funding from other sources. This has had a positive cascading impact on confidence so other partner projects have emerged across the town, building a sense of momentum and excitement. HELEN QUIGLEY, INNER CITY TRUST, DERRY/LONDONDERRY Our top tip for developing a business case is to be realistic from the outset in terms of defining the project objectives, outputs and outcomes, and not to over-predict these. It is important to factor in all of the risks to the project, both at construction and post-construction phase, and have robust mitigations in place to deal with unforeseen issues. It is key to be aware Rita Harkin, AHF Support Officer, Helen Quigley from Inner City Trust and Matthew Mckeague, AHF Chief Executive on site with the contractors working to save 17–20 Magazine Street in Derry (Photo: Tony Monaghan)
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