Denbigh Townscape Heritage Initiative Phase II Project has recently received a Commendation from the Royal Town Planning Institute at the 2013 Wales Planning Awards held in Cardiff.
The Wales Planning Awards recognise outstanding examples of good planning practice in Wales
The Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) is a conservation led regeneration grants scheme, funded by the Heritage Lottery fund and other partners. Denbigh has a wealth of listed buildings – one of the most concentrated collections in Wales.
The THI scheme focuses on buildings and public spaces within conservation areas displaying particular social and economic need. Denbigh’s THI (Phase II) ran for 6 years from 2006 until 2012 and included funding from Cadw, Denbighshire County Council, Welsh Government, Denbigh Town Council and The Wales Tourist Board.
Denbigh THI was a successful collaborative project working closely with various Denbighshire County Council services including Development Control, Building Control, Housing Renewal and Highways. Housing Renewal was particularly involved contributing funding towards a number of schemes including the reinstatement & repair of railings, gates and boundary walls.
The restoration and re-use of some of Denbighshire’s finest and more humble historic buildings has resulted in preserving the historic townscape of Denbigh for years to come. It has transformed the area in terms of its sense of place.
The innovative combination of housing and other funding with the THI has brought empty homes back into use. European funding administered by Cadwyn Clwyd resulted in training courses in Traditional Building Skills, where people could trained for example in the use of lime mortar in traditional buildings , rather than cement mortar used in modern construction.
Denbigh THI (Phase II) has provided grants for the repair to and improvement of 41 buildings, including environmental projects. The overall scheme has given in excess of £3,100,000 in grant aid and an approximate value of work of £4,471,500.
Importantly it has helped to understand and appreciate Denbigh’s marvellous and significant past.
The scheme has already received a number of awards for it’s for its contribution to conservation, regeneration and sustainability. One of its projects, Mostyn House in Vale Street, recently won a national Georgian Group Award.
