AN CHOMHAIRLE OIDHREACHTA THE HERITAGE COUNCIL
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AN CHOMHAIRLE OIDHREACHTA
THE HERITAGE COUNCIL
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing Local
Government and Heritage
Introductory Statement
18th January 2022
Virginia Teehan, CEO, The Heritage Council
Alison Harvey, Planning Officer, The Heritage Council
Introduction
Thank you Cathaoirleach and committee members for inviting the Heritage Council to present
today. My name is Virginia Teehan, I am CEO of the Heritage Council. It is a pleasure for me
to meet with the Committee again. Dr Martina Moloney, Chairperson of the Heritage Council
and I met with the Committee just two months ago in late November. Today I am
accompanied by my colleague Alison Harvey, Planning Officer, at the Heritage Council.
As outlined at the November meeting, the Heritage Council’s remit is very broad. Today’s topic
is of particular interest to us, as we have, over many years, demonstrated an authentic
commitment to addressing the many issues which impact our towns and villages. We
welcome the fact that Committee shares our concerns about an evident pattern of
deterioration of the heritage, historic fabric and economic health of towns and villages.
The Heritage Council1, which was established in 19952, is a prescribed body for the purposes
of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2021. The Heritage Council has specific
responsibilities under Section 6 of the Heritage Act which states that: ‘The functions of the
Council shall be to propose policies and priorities for the identification, protection,
preservation and enhancement of the national heritage, including monuments,
archaeological objects, heritage objects, architectural heritage, flora, fauna, wildlife habitats,
landscapes3, seascapes, wrecks, geology, heritage gardens, parks and inland waterways…’
Since its foundation in 1995, the Heritage Council has undertaken extensive research, policy
development, delivery and evaluation to support the planning, and management of Ireland’s
unique national heritage. Our commitment to supporting historic town centres, is evident by
our initiation and management of the following key strategic programmes.
1. Irish Walled Towns Network4 (IWTN). The IWTN was formed by the Heritage Council
in 2005 to unite and co-ordinate the strategic efforts of local authorities and other
stakeholders involved in the management, conservation and enhancement of historic
walled towns in Ireland, both north and south5; The Heritage Council offers annual
grants to the towns that participate in the IWTN.
2. Historic Towns Initiative (HTI) is a programme that was established in 2017. This capital
grant scheme for heritage-led regeneration is managed in collaboration with the
Heritage Unit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In 2021
10 towns benefitted from grants from the project. The average value of each grant
1
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/
2
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1995/act/4/enacted/en/html
3
‘Landscapes’ in Ireland are taken to mean ALL landscapes, i.e., town centres, in accordance with the European
Landscape Convention (ELC), as per Section 4 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, 2010:
- https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2010/act/30/enacted/en/print#sec4
4
https://irishwalledtownsnetwork.ie/
5
There are currently 29 member towns in the Irish Walled Towns Network (IWTN).
1
was €150,000. This year, 2022 the budget for the Historic Towns Initiative was
increased to €2m and is currently open for applications.
3. The Collaborative Town Centre Health Check (CTCHC) Programme. The CTCHC was set
up in 2016 as a pilot programme, in response to an overwhelming level of demand,
initially from the private sector, to support the regeneration of historic town centres.
Furthermore, the Heritage Council has produced several policy documents and guidance
notes to support local authorities and communities in their efforts to protect and revitalise
Irish towns.
Today we are here to talk about the CTCHC.
The CHTCH programme sets out to collect data about economic, social and cultural activities
in each individual town – it is a health check for the town. The programme is based on a
collaborative approach which includes local and national stakeholders. This collaborative
approach guides the design, delivery, and evaluation of economic development, regeneration,
and investment programmes in each town. The Programme strongly supports the
implementation of national polices as follows:
• National Planning Framework;
• National Development Plan 2018-2027: Project Ireland 2040;
• Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland;
• Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025; and • Climate Action Plan
2021.
Operational details
Surveying, data collection and data verification to create digital mapping is at the heart of the
programme. A 15-Step assessment process is conducted at the outset. Multiple surveys are
undertaken in town centres on land use, footfall, business sector confidence, consumer
behaviour and patterns 6 , land/building ownership, air and noise quality, etc. Once these
location-based, data baselines are in place (see Sligo CTCHC Report 2020 7 ), the overall
intelligence gathered enables the business 8 and civic leaders to create a roadmap for
regeneration and targeted investment. This serves to bring about the renewal of their shared
historic environment.
6
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Tipperary-Town-Consumer-Surveys.pdf
7
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Sligo-Collaborative-Town-Centre-Health-Check.pdf
8
There are only three town centre Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Ireland: Drogheda, Dundalk and
Sligo.
2
The Programme’s participatory approach enables a comparative analysis of the results from
the towns within the programme. The same types of data collected and assessment processes
are used for all towns. The collective nature of the programme and the uniform nature of data
that is collected across all towns adds to its value. Operating collectively within a combined
‘programme’ with multiple participants who operate at ‘project’ level strengthens its impact
nationally.
This unique value generation, including the creation of social capital, is recognised by
international partners and the Programme has recently been selected as one of five best
practice case studies by the EU funded EPSON Heriwell Programme. The Heriwell Programme
promotes cultural heritage and heritage-led regeneration as a source of societal well-being.
The value of the CTCHC Programme can be summarised as follows:
• It is a data driven programme, which is evidence based and creates scientific baseline
datasets capturing economic, spatial, commercial, social and cultural activities.
• The process creates spatial data, a GeoHive, which in turn supports the
implementation of UN Sustainable Development Gaols (3,7,11,12 and 13)
• It supports creation of data for EU funding streams for Regeneration of Town Centres
• It creates social capital and public value, and facilitates social cost benefit analyses
• It results in the creation of local regeneration ‘engines’
• The enhanced collaborative process facilitates increases participative democracy
• The regeneration of historic town centres creates a focus for local communities
• This process results in an enhanced sense of place, civic pride and a sense of citizen
belonging.
Success
The CTCHC Programme is extremely successful. It has grown exponentially since its inception
in 2016 and was included in the Programme for Government, published, June 2020. The
commitment was expressed as follows:
“we will prioritise a Town Centre First collaborative and strategic approach to
regeneration of our villages and towns, using the CTCHC framework to gather data and
lead actions…”
Programme for Government, 2020, pg., 12-13
Our work demonstrates that there is a clear need and demand to operate the CTCHC
Programme nationally. Currently there are fifteen town participating in the programme,
which, it must be remembered, is a pilot programme. There are forty-five towns on the
waiting list.
3
Heritage Council’s Call for Town Centres First (TCF) – November 2019
The Heritage Council’s submission to Louth County Council’s Louth County Development Plan
2021-20279 recommended a ‘Town Centres First Policy’. This proposal arose from the findings
of the Dundalk CTCHC Programme which was established in 201810. This revealed that the
ground floor commercial vacancy rate in Dundalk was 24%. It should be noted that the normal
vacancy rate target in Europe is 5%11 (pre-Covid).
National CHCHC Unit
At the Heritage Council we incubate ideas and provide advice and solutions to the key issues
which impact heritage and its protection. That is our key function as set out in our founding
legislation, the Heritage Act. It is not the role of the Heritage Council to operate programmes
such as the CTCHC Programme on a national level. As I have stated the evidence emerging
from our work demonstrates a clear need to adopt a national and collaborative approach to
seek to resolve the issues facing Irish towns. We very much welcome the work of the Towns
Centre First Committee under the leadership of Minister Burke. It is our hope that the pending
Towns Centre First Policy will adopt the valuable learnings from the CTCHC Programme and
recommend that a unit is established at government level, within the Department of Housing,
Local Government and Heritage which will be responsible for the roll out the CTCHC
programme across Ireland.
Thank you again Cathaoirleach and Committee members for your attention. The delivery of
the CTCHC Programme is detailed and complex. I have done my best, in the time allocated
today, to summarise the key points, outline the Programme’s value and impact and convey to
you our recommendation that the Programme it is rolled out as nationally by Government.
We have submitted to the Clerk of the Committee a detailed document outlining the
operation of programme to accompany our presentation today. Alison and I are very happy
to answer your queries and provide further information as required. Go raibh mile maith
agaibh go leir.
9
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Submission-to-Louth-County-Development-Plan-2021-2027.pdf
10
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Dundalk-Collaborative-Town-Centre-Health-Check-
Report2019.pdf
4
Virginia Teehan Chief Executive Officer The Heritage Council 18 th January 2022
11
A rule of thumb in urban economics is that an acceptable range of vacancy (ground floor commercial) is 511%
- see also Heritage Council’s submission, November 2021 re. emerging Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
Guidelines:
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Section-28-SEA-Guidelines-for-RA-LA-Heritage-
Councilsubmission.pdf. This submission confirmed that the CTCHC Programme has recorded vacancy of circa.
80% in the upper floors of historic town centres.
AN CHOMHLAIRE OIDHREACHTA
5
THE HERITAGE COUNCIL
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing Local Government and Heritage
Addendum to Opening Statement
18th January 2022
Virginia Teehan, CEO
Alison Harvey, Planning
Officer
Addendum to Opening Statement by Heritage Council, 18 th January 2022
Demand for the Collaborative Town Centre Health Check (CTCHC) Programme – 2016 to Date
The CTCHC Programme has grown exponentially since its inception in 2016 and is now
included in Ireland’s Programme for Government (PfG) published in June 2020. The
Programme for Government includes a commitment that the emerging Town Centres First
(TCF) Policy from government, as championed by the CTCHC Programme since 2019, which
will support a scaling up of the hugely popular collaborative and heritage-led regeneration
programme.
As noted in the opening statement, overall demand for the CTCHC Programme has
outstripped resources and there are currently 15 towns enrolled in the programme along
with a further 45 no. towns waiting to join. The enrolled towns and waiting list of towns
are illustrated in the maps below and overleaf:
67
Four Phases to the CTCHC Programme
The shared Vision for the CTCHC Programme is illustrated overleaf. The programme is
currently still in Phase 1.
8Phase 1 of the CTCHC Programme – Establishing the CTCHC Baselines
As noted in the opening statement, surveying, [primary] data collection and data
verification to create detailed digital mapping is at the heart of Phase 1 of the programme
using a 15-Step assessment process designed by the CTCHC Programme Co-ordinator at
the outset of the programme, e.g. multiple surveys are undertaken in town centres on
landuse, footfall, business sector confidence, consumer behaviour and patterns 10 ,
land/building ownership, air and noise quality, etc. Once these collaborative location-
based data baselines are in place (see Sligo CTCHC Report 202011), the overall intelligence
gathered enables the business12 and civic leaders in Ireland’s historic town centres to work
collaboratively together to create a winning pathway for regeneration and targeted
investment to bring about the renewal of their shared historic environment.
The collaborative approach, which has been created by the CTCHC Programme, is
illustrated below involving the public, private and civic sectors. At present there are 70+
partners involved in the programme.
10
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Tipperary-Town-Consumer-Surveys.pdf
11
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Sligo-Collaborative-Town-Centre-Health-Check.pdf
12
There are three town centre Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Ireland: Drogheda, Dundalk and Sligo.
9CTCHC Programme Outputs in 2021
The CTCHC Programme is a huge collaboration and undertaking on many levels and
involves over 70+ partners all working together to regenerate Ireland’s historic town
centres. Online events delivered by the CTCHC Programme in 2021 include:
1. February 2021: Historic Town Centres, the EU Green Deal and creation of Strategic
Environmental Assessment (SEA) Indicators13,14;
2. May 2021: Town Centres, Land/Building Management and Compulsory Sales Orders
(CSOs) in Europe;
13
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Historic-Town-Centres-The-EU-Green-Deal-and-Creation-ofSEA-
Indicators-Briefing-Pack-feb-2021.pdf
14
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/SEA-Workshop-Feedback-slides.pdf
103. September 2021: University College Cork (UCC) Young Planners Forum (inaugural
event) – How the Digital Transformation of our Historic Town Centres can lead to a
Society for All?;
4. October 2021: Meanwhile Use – The temporary use of vacant buildings for a socially-
beneficial purpose;
5. November 2021: Reeling in the Year 202115 - highlights the benefits of the CTCHC
Programme’s ongoing operations, deliverables, impacts and outcomes.
Systemic Problems and Macro-Data Gaps
Macro systemic problems and data gaps are a significant barrier to progress in the
regeneration of historic town centres. Four major data gaps have been identified by the
CTCHC Programme, as illustrated below:
Given these major systemic data gaps, it is important that the Town Centres First (TCF)
policy from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage supports the
establishment of a data-driven public sector and system 16 to support and guide the
strategic regeneration and transformation of Ireland’s historic town centres. Ultimately, a
15
CTCHCP Reeling in the Year 2021 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6isLpmYTR_I&t=24s
16
See https://www.oecd.org/ireland/the-path-to-becoming-a-data-driven-public-sector-059814a7-en.htm
11robust and innovative TCF policy should deliver on the overall vitality, vibrancy and viability
of these historic places in the short, medium and long term in partnership with local
communities and the public and business sectors.
Potential of Phase 2 CTCHC Programme in 2022?
In early 2022, the CTCHC Programme Co-ordinator envisages that three historic towns will
move from Phase 1 into Phase 2 of the CTCHC Programme – Ballina, Dundalk and Sligo – it
should be highlighted that this could be a higher number of towns if resources were made
available. CTCHC Phase 2 is entitled, ‘Historic Town Centres & Buildings Renewal and
Investment Plans’ and a methodology has been created by the CTCHC Programme Co-
ordinator working in partnership with members of the Society of Chartered Surveyors
Ireland (SCSI) and the Heritage Unit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and
Heritage. This methodology was prepared in autumn 2020 in anticipation of the TCF policy.
The programme partners plan that the methodology for CTCHC Phase 2 will be piloted in
these three towns during Q1/Q2 2022 and that key lessons learned will be fed back into
the programme operations including workshops for all interested stakeholders/partners.
This collaborative approach to building reuse and renewal follows on from the first-ever
workshop held in Dundalk Town Centre in December 2019 with owners of vacant
properties8 to identify key blockages in the system, in order to make recommendations to
the government in relation to the Town Centres First (TCF) Policy, which the CTCHC
Programme has been championing since 2019.
Role of the Irish Diaspora – the Irish Towns Diaspora Network
Finally, based on the analytics from and the diaspora’s response to, the Heritage Council’s
first-ever podcast series entitled ‘Putting Town Centres First’9, the CTCHC Programme is
now in the embryonic stage of creating an Irish Towns Diaspora Network (ITDN) to enable
Ireland’s dynamic diaspora to engage and participate in the drive to regenerate and
transform Irish towns and their historic town centres. This new initiative is in accordance
with the EU Green Deal, the new European Bauhaus Movement and the European Year of
Youth 2022.
The ITDN held its first online meeting in October 2021 and a second online meeting took
place in December 2021. A detailed funding application for the ITDN will be prepared in
2022 in relation to the delivery of a three-year action plan for the network to inform and
support the aims and objectives of the CTCHC Programme. Information on the ITDN is
provided at Appendix A.
Historic Town Centres in Ireland - What is needed in 2022?
12Based on the ongoing operations of the CTCHC Programme, a summary of what is needed
to support historic town centre regeneration in the short, medium and long term is set as
follows:
• The establishment of a national unit, within Government, to deliver the CTCHC
Programme nationally as part of the Town Centre First Policy.
• Town Centre First (TCF) and support needed for CTCHC Programme: 45 towns on
the waiting
list;
• Ireland’s Towns Partnership to be established to drive the TCF;
• Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and Compulsory Sale Orders (CSOs) – see
Denmark and Scotland10;
• Support Business Improvement District (BIDs) and/or Community Improvement
Districts (CIDS) – see the Netherlands re. CIDs;
• Establish a National Building Stock Management Programme – see Heritage
Council’s detailed submission for the National Planning Framework from 2017 11;
• Establish Community Development Trusts and Town/City Development Trusts;
• Conservation Area Regeneration Schemes (CARSs)- see Scotland’s model;
• Heritage Action Zones (HAZs) – see England’s model; and
• Explore and introduce a Community Empowerment Act, as per Scotland’s Act in
201512; and
• Spatial data and digital dashboards – as per UCECEC Aarhus Convention.
8
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Workshop-for-Owners-and-Leaseholders-of-Vacant-
Propertyin-Dundalk-Feedback-for-agreement.pdf
9
See https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/ga/projects/podcast-series-putting-town-centres-first
10
https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/downloads/5dd6a16d88752_CSO-Proposal-final.pdf
11
https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/images/National_Planning_Framework_Submission_Nov17_2MB.p
df 12 https://www.gov.scot/publications/community-empowerment-scotland-act-summary/
In relation to the need for digital dashboards, it should be highlighted that the CTCHC
Programme will be working with the Central Statistics Office Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) Unit and GeoHive in 2022 to pivot the programme outputs to a digital
platform, in accordance with the UNECE Aarhus Convention, the ELC, Shaping Europe’s
Digital Future and the OECD’s Report (2019) on a Data-driven public sector in Ireland
(#DDPS). Given the overwhelming need for progress at a macro and micro level, this
project is only one action in a suite of actions required to ensure that our historic town
centres survive and thrive for the benefit of existing and future generations.
Conclusion
13As a nation of towns with our citizens at both home and abroad, we should be introducing
innovative solutions to the complex issue of town centre regeneration at both a macro and
micro level. Key to all this is leadership and data collection and analysis – the Heritage
Council aims to support both with limited resources. It is further recommended that
opportunities are presented by the EU Green Deal, the New European Bauhaus Movement
along with Europe’s Year of the Youth 2022 and that the CTCHC Programme is well-
positioned in this regard. The solutions are there and are attainable if we work collectively
in partnership and collaboration.
Alison Harvey CTCHC Programme Co-ordinator 18th January 2022
Appendix A: Irish Towns Diaspora Network (ITDN)
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