Number 1 in the series of The Prince's Regeneration Trust's How to: Guides.
The Prince's Regeneration Trust works to support community groups that value their historic buildings. Energy and good intentions go a long way, but bringing a well-loved historic building back into use is technical and often confusing. The How to: series of guides is designed to help non-professionals through this tricky process.
How to: Write Conservation Reports uses non-technical language to explain how to identify and document what is significant about a historic building and how this significance will be retained while the building is converted to a new use.
Available online from November: www.princes-regeneration.org
Margate wins funding for historic amusement park
 We are delighted that The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has given the green light to work up plans to create the world's first amusement park of thrilling historic rides in Margate. It was announced recently that the HLF awarded development funding of £384,500 to the project to help progress the ground-breaking plans.
This is the first step in a scheme which aims to see the former Dreamland site - 16 acres at the heart of Margate - transformed into an amusement park of rides and attractions, some of which are the last surviving examples of their kind in the world. The Trust has been involved with the project since 2008, we produced a scoping report showing the way forward to bring Dreamland back into commercial use.
This report secured feasibility funding from Sea Change, Thanet DC, the landowners and other sources for architects' design work, a funding strategy, business plan and audience development work. The Trust also co-ordinated the funding bids for phase 1 of the project. The HLF also awarded a Stage One pass for £2.9M, including projected scheme implementation costs. A decision is still awaited from Sea Change on an application for a further £4M match funding.
Last Georgian lido gets urgent repair and project development money
 Led by The Prince's Regeneration Trust, the Cleveland Pools Trust has successfully raised £71,000 from English Heritage, The Osborne Group and The Duke of Cornwall's Benevolent Fund towards the cost of urgent repairs and developing the full project to restore the Cleveland Pools. We are working with The Osborne Group and the Cleveland Pools Trust to restore the only Georgian lido in the country.
Once reinstated, the Cleveland Pools will full fill a key role in Bath, providing a focus on leisure, healthy living, ecology and education for the local community. The Cleveland Pools Alliance comprising The Prince's Regeneration Trust, The Osborne Group and the Cleveland Pools Trust, has recently agreed to acquire the site from the local council, and heads of terms have been signed.
However, all works will require planning, listed building consent and further funding is still to be raised. Several hundred visitors were allowed a rare glimpse of the pools during the national heritage open days in September.
Partnership approach unlocks vision for setting of Grade I listed Priory
 The Prince's Regeneration Trust is working with the local community and the vicar of Worksop Priory, Revd Nicholas Spicer, to develop ideas for the restoration and reuse of the Worksop Priory Gatehouse, a Grade I listed medieval building, in Worksop, north Nottinghamshire. At the invitation of the Revd Spicer, we organised a Round Table discussion on 28th September to explore the issues and opportunities effecting the open area surrounding the Priory Church – the historic Worksop Priory Precincts – which although is largely open to the public as recreation space, suffers from a lack of an overarching management strategy.
The meeting, chaired by Roland Jeffery, Project Adviser at The Trust, brought together all the key stakeholders for the first time, including senior representatives from English Heritage, British Waterways, the Environment Agency, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Nottingham County Council, Bassetlaw District Council and Southwell & Nottingham Diocese. After a working site tour, there was a round table discussion in which the participants agreed to do more to work together to better manage and improve the areas around the Priory.
The Round Table proved a fruitful first step towards developing a coordinated vision for the site and to maximising the area's potential as a place of historic importance, a place for local people to enjoy and as a potential visitor magnet. A further meeting has been scheduled for next spring to assess progress in moving towards a seamless approach.
Grant award for longest surviving cotton mill in Scotland
 The Prince's Regeneration Trust was delighted to receive an Options Appraisal Grant from The Architectural Heritage Fund to enable us to consider options for the re-use of Paton's Mill, a fine Category ‘A' listed building at risk in Johnstone. Renfrewshire Council which is providing the rest of the funding for the cost of the appraisal, invited the Trust to become involved following the restoration of Anchor Mill and the Seedhill Footbridge in Paisley where The Prince's Regeneration Trust and Renfrewshire Council worked closely together to deliver these two highly successful projects.
Paton's Mill is the earliest surviving cotton mill in Scotland and one of the earliest in Britain; at the time of its construction in 1782 it was fully integrated with the formation of the town and remains of great significance. The Options Appraisal is an important first step towards the sympathetic and sensitive refurbishment of a fine complex of buildings that would not only provide a mix of new uses but that would also generate much needed and renewed confidence in the area.
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