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 Key
purpose: 'to preserve for the benefit of
the townspeople of the City of Manchester and
of the nation at large, whatever of the historical,
architectural and constructional heritage that
may exist in and around the Ancoats area of
Manchester in the form of buildings of particular
beauty or historical, architectural or constructional
interest.'
(Extract from ABPT Articles of Association and
Memorandum of Agreement 1995)
Ancoats Buildings Preservation
Trust (ABPT) was established as a Company Limited
by Guarantee (Number 3139324) in 1995 and as
a Registered Charity (Number 1052163) in 1996.
Its constitution was based on the model Memorandum
of Agreement & Articles of Association developed
by the Architectural Heritage Fund. That is,
ABPT was able to operate as a developer, often
of last resort, by acquiring historic properties
for repair and refurbishment for which no commercial
developer could find an economically viable,
sympathetic solution and for which there was
no other hope for the building's rescue and
retention.
On account of its charitable status
as a Buildings Preservation Trust, ABPT was
able to attract grant funding and 'soft' loans
for capital projects from a number of sources.
ABPT received funding and project management
fees for its office operations and staff from
the Northwest Development Agency, the Heritage
Lottery Fund and the Architectural Heritage
Fund. In recent years, supporters have included
the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, The Pilgrim
Trust, Lloyds TSB and the Bernard Sunley Charitable
Trust.
In the 1990s, ABPT
operated mainly in raising public awareness
of the plight of historic buildings in Ancoats
and in defensive action to ensure that urgent
repairs were undertaken to prevent loss of buildings
at risk. Such emergency works (including the
provision of temporary roofing and the boarding-up
of windows to deter unauthorised entry) were
carried out by owners with grant assistance
from English Heritage and Manchester City Council,
as part of the Ancoats Conservation Area Partnership
(CAP) scheme. ABPT was instrumental in establishing
the CAP scheme for Ancoats, in surveying the
buildings in need of attention and in persuading
owners to take advantage of grant incentives
rather than risk statutory protection action.
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Derros Building on
Great Ancoats Street, before and after
emergency works.
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Summary of ABPT's
key successes:
ABPT has a reputation
for the successful development and delivery
of complex urban regeneration projects. Key
achievements since the establishment of ABPT
in December 1995 until its change of name and
remit to Heritage Works, include:
- Acquisition in 1998 of St Peter's
Church on a 125-year peppercorn lease.
- Implementation of an enveloping
project at St Peter's with grant funding exceeding
£450k in 1998-99. The works included
the full repair of the nave roof and high
level masonry but because of the funding constraints
left the moth-balled building as a completely
empty shell, with no internal finishes or
windows and only temporary roofs at the lower
levels.
- Securing over £1.5m for
the full restoration of St Peter's, from HLF
and NWDA. The second, major phase started
on site in July 2004, and included the completion
of the external fabric repairs, the provision
of new windows to the original design and
the reinstatement of internal surface finishes,
including the spectacular coved and coffered
plaster ceiling to the nave. All works were
undertaken in accordance with strict conservation
criteria, using traditional materials and
craftsmanship. Work on St Peter's was completed
in June 2006.
- Liaison with New East Manchester
and the NWDA regarding future uses for St
Peter's, including drafting a Development
Brief to assist in marketing the development
opportunity.
- Find out more
about St Peter's
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St Peter's tower
before and after renovation.
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- In January 2003, after a four-year
project development and bidding process, ABPT
secured a £7.164 million grant from
the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out the
permanent repair of the Murrays' Mill complex.
- A further £4.724 million
was subsequently secured from the Northwest
Development Agency, who also granted ABPT
a lease of the property.
- Eighteen months later, following
the completion of an archaeological survey
and building record, works started on site
under a £10 million construction contract.
- The programme of works, completed
in August 2006, involved the repair and strengthening
of all the buildings, working essentially
from the bottom up.
- As much of the original
building fabric as possible has been retained
and repaired, including 200-year old floor
beams, joist and boards and hollow cast
iron columns.
- The buildings, which
had little or no foundations, have been
reinforced through the addition of concrete
floor beams and rafts in the basements,
and supplementary steel beams and secondary
columns have enabled the existing floor
and column structures to take additional
floor loads.
- Defective roof coverings
have been removed, the 18th-century roof
trusses repaired and traditional slating
reinstated, under the protection of a full
temporary roof and structural scaffold.
- The external brickwork
walls have been repaired and re-pointed
as necessary.
- New high-performance
metal windows to an authentic multi-paned
pattern have been installed on the sides
of the complex facing the street.
- Finally, the canal
basin that filled the mill courtyard has
been excavated and refilled with water.
- Now that shell repairs are
complete, the complex is in the guardianship
of the NWDA, pending handover to the 'preferred
developer' - a consortium comprising Inpartnership
and the Burrell Company. The developer's
proposals include 130 apartments, as well
as live/work units and a hotel.
- Find out more
about Murrays' Mills
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Murrays' Mills 1996
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Restoration in progress
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June 2006
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 Developing
and delivering an innovative community outreach
and education programme providing physical
and intellectual access to the major conservation
project at Murrays' Mills. Find out more
about Skills, Schools, Stories.
- Supporting the Friends of Ancoats
BPT in their programme of walks, talks, open
days and production of a quarterly journal.
The Friends organisation has now been wound
up.
- Bringing both St Peter's the
Murrays' Mills projects to site and successfully
managing their delivery in parallel through
the construction phase, involving drawing
down grants to manage a cash flow of approximately
£500k per month, managing contract changes
through change control procedures and resolving
end use issues.
- Attraction of funding for a
Trust Director in 1999 and subsequently for
the development of office accommodation and
to cover the costs of a team of five staff.
- Developing robust policies
and procedures, decision making and project
management structures appropriate for the
management of a portfolio of projects exceeding
£12m
- Its experienced and committed
voluntary Board, whose skills encompass a
wide range of professional backgrounds.
- Its highly qualified, dedicated
and competent staff.
- Its abilities to develop
partnerships and to work within the strategic
parameters of its stakeholders and funders
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