Stockport MBC Conservation Office

On Wednesday of this week, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC) Conservation Office. Paul and Steve provided me with a nice introduction to the British preservation process in preparation for a meeting with English Heritage regarding a potential planning application.

After the introductory meeting with Paul and Steve, I went on a very nice walk-about in Stockport with Fionna and Melissa who showed me various redevelopment projects – or as they say here in England, “regeneration schemes”. Seeing the “after” of various slides I viewed in theoffice was amazing. Stockport has accomplished great things in revitalizing its city center, from refurbishing historic buildings with residential units in the heart of town to bringing life back into the Market Hall.

Market Hall - Refurbished as Part of Regeneration of Stockport City Center

And of course one of the highlights of our walking tour was standing at the bottom of the Crowther Street stairs, which were made famous by L. S. Lowry with one of his paintings.

Crowther Street Stairs - Painted by L.S. Lowry

Observing the meeting between the Stockport MBC Conservation Office, town planner and English Heritage was interesting and took back to my role as the preservation contact for Gainesville. While the British system is somewhat reversed of ours, meaning that design review is governed on a national level and not at the local level as with Gainesville, I still felt as though I could easily jump in the conversation. After that meeting and lunch, I traveled with Crispin to visit with the owner of a “listed” building (which is a building that is historically significant structure for which most any exterior – and in some cases interior – work requires prior approval) to discuss a roof problem. As I listened to Crispin talk with the owner, I heard myself speaking with owners of property in the Green Street and Ridgewood Neighborhood Local Historic Districts regarding their respective projects.

Stockport, England - Robinson's Brewery

With all this being said, my match-up with the Conservation Office of Stockport was just perfect. Thank you to Paul, Steve, Fionna, Melissa and Crispin. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with you all!