PROJECT REPORT: HERITAGE & HISTORIC 35


one to tackle locally, so the council had to reach out to Historic England, the Lottery Heritage Fund and others, to help them crack the problem of the last brownfield site in Shrewsbury.”


He says that Historic England “realised right from the start this was not an artefact, not a museum, and needed to be put back to work.” It needed to be a “catalyst for heritage-led regeneration,” as well as an exemplar of sustainable refurbishment, including renewable technologies. He adds however that Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings was a “one-off, so the solutions might not be applicable to all mill conversions.” Another unusual aspect was Historic England working as both client and advising the local statutory authority scrutinising the planned interventions, albeit “totally separately,” says Tim. Being a 9000 m2 building in an out of the way ‘sub-urban’ site, it was recognised from the outset that it would need to offer a mix of uses, to minimise its commercial risk, rather than being a speculative office scheme. The 2008 credit crunch was the


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end of hopes for a developer to grasp the nettle, but Historic England and their architects maintained the momentum, entreating the local authority to pursue the project.


However after local authority


cuts, Historic England was the only organisation capable of taking it forward, and fortunately had a “great, and very experienced” project manager embedded in the project, says Greensmith, to help make it a viable proposition. “They understood historic buildings, but they also understood risk and how to manage it.” The contractor Croft Building Conservation (based in Cannock) was added as the third of a triumvirate that could deliver a cost- effective, pragmatic project that “wasn’t glorified preservation for the sake of it.” The mix of uses soaked up design skills from various specialisms in FCBStudios’ architectural workforce, including conservation and other areas of client advice. They acted as strategic advisors to Historic England, writing the Conservation Management Plan, and developing the


“Historic England realised right from the start this was not an artefact, not a museum, and needed to be put back to work” Tim Greensmith, architect, FCBStudios


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