C O N T E X T 1 3 3 : M A R C H 2 0 1 4 27 VALUING HERITAGE residential property prices; and as a driver of tourism. In research on regeneration in England6 over 90 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that investment in their local historic environment made the area a better place in which to live, work, visit or operate a business. Case studies in five areas indicated that 25 per cent of businesses agreed or strongly agreed that heritage was important factor affecting the decisions of businesses to locate in the area. In terms of influence, heritage ranked equal with road access as a determinant of business location7. The attractiveness to business of locating in a historic building is indicated by the relative returns to investing in historic commercial buildings compared to other commercial buildings. Research by Colliers International8 indicated that over five, 10 and 30 years the annualised total return on listed offices has been higher than for offices overall. For industrial property, the total return for listed buildings has been higher than for industrial property overall over 30 years and marginally higher over five and 10 years. For retail property the total return for listed buildings has been marginally lower than for retail property overall over five and 10 years, but the same over 30 years. In short, the total return on listed commercial buildings has been the same as, or higher than, commercial property overall over the short, medium and long term. The presence of historic buildings, by enhancing the local environment, and so individuals’ quality of life, has an important indirect impact on business location.The supply of suitably qualified labour is a very important factor driving business location decisions and is in turn impacted by the quality of life in different locations. The value individuals place on heritage is reflected in residential property prices: being located in a conservation area adds around nine per cent to property prices, controlling for other factors9. Heritage is an important driver of overseas tourism. In 2011, 35 per cent of overseas visitors to the UK visited castles, churches, and historic houses.This was one of the most popular activities after shopping (58 per cent), going to a pub (46 per cent), and visiting parks and gardens (36 per cent). For those whose visit to the UK was for a holiday rather than other reasons, 54 per cent visited historic buildings (the same as for parks and gardens), 50 per cent went to a pub and 71 per cent went shopping10. Britain is ranked four out of 50 countries for the attractiveness of its built heritage11. References 6 Amion-Locum (2010), ‘Impact of historic environment regeneration’ 7 Heritage Lottery Fund (2013), ‘New ideas need old buildings’ 8 Colliers International (2011), ‘Encouraging Investment in Industrial Heritage at Risk: Investment Performance of Listed Properties’ 9 GM Ahlfeldt, N Holman and N Wendland (2012), ‘An assessment of the effects of conservation areas on value’, London School of Economics, a report for English Heritage 10 2011 International Passenger Survey 11 Visit Britain (2010), ‘Culture and Heritage Topic Profile’ Duncan Melville is an economist with English Heritage.
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