34 by the nondescript structures in front of it. Like Saltaire, if the present legislation had been in operation, consent would probably not have been granted for a building like St. Pancras. It was so much taller than, and more particularly so different in design terms from, its neighbours. The protests may well have persuaded the Midland Railway to given up with its attempts to build a London terminus. These are just two examples of midl 9th century entrepreneurship which produced some of today's conservation areas and listed buildings. There are many more similar ones. Although the completion of the community of Saltaire took longer, it actually took only three years from Salt seeing the site in 1850 to the mill being opened in 1853. This simply could not happen today on a site of that sensitivity and with a building of that quality for a whole variety of reasons, many of which have little to do directly with the actual design of the buildings. A comparison between St Pancras and its neighbour nearing completion, the British Library, is interesting. I do not have the same detailed knowledge as I do about Saltaire. Whatever one's views about the building, it does not have the presence of the nearby railway station and has taken years and numerous committees to design and build. The main common ingredient is the fact that they were both over budget! Will the Library still exist in 2096? Will it raise the same level of debate as the station does today? If it does, will it be listed as an example of the way buildings of this type were designed and built in the 1990s and in contrast to the approach 100 years earlier? It is not so long ago that both Saltaire and St Pancras seemed to heading for a troubled future. Not many trains used the latter which had the air of a cathedral rather than a busy London railway terminal and the former Midland hotel was empty and neglected. At the same time, the mill at Saltaire was also empty and the village was not a popular place to live. They both needed a new lease of life. St Pancras is now the likely station for the channel tunnel rail services when (or if) they finally get to London and the hotel has been refurbished. Salt's mill is now occupied by the fastest growing 'high-tech' company in Bradford, making decoders for unscrambling satellite and cable television. What would Sir Titus make of it all? New lamps for old. They both needed a new lease of life and it is likely that the British Library will need something similar if it is to survive for 100 years. CONCLUSIONS Our present listed buildings and conservation areas -the Saltaires and St Pancras stations - were erected in a totally different economic and social climate to that which exists today. Most people were disenfranchised. There was no planning process and no public consultation. As previous articles have indicated, I strongly support the view that, when dealing with the conservation of buildings, we must look forward not backwards. It is important to recognise that the buildings we preserve today were products of their time. In the middle of the 19th century, the decision to build involved simply the owner and the architect. Today many additional agencies are involved or have an influence on the developments which may become the listed buildings and conservation areas of the 21st century. You may consider this a good or a bad thing as far as buildings and townscape is concerned, but it is one of the implications of a more open and democratic society Today, there is a growing willingness to accept that people have to be judged against the time in which they lived. We judge Salt the man against the conditions of his time. We even judge his ideas about Saltaire as a new town in this way. We are happy to accept that economic change, high technology etc have a significant and growing effect on the design of buildings and townscape and are therefore a major influence on what will be the historic built environment of the future. We are, however, much more reluctant to accept that democracy also has an influence on the design of individual buildings and townscape generally. The public wish for consultation and open government are obvious examples of the influence of greater enfranchisement on the design of buildings and areas. This is rarely considered seriously. Perhaps the listing descriptions and conservation area appraisals of the future should recognise this. TAILPIECE The alternative course is to accept that there is nothing new in the world as far as the design of buildings and areas is concerned. Follow the Greek approach. Sunshine, sand, ouzo, a modern Saltaire next to an excavated ancient settlement similar to Ephesus as an example of a future conservation area. Dave Morton APOLOGY Owing to a production error, the quality of reproduction of the drawings which accompanied David Wrightson's article in Context 51 (pages 22 and 23) was very poor. We are therefore reproducing part of the drawing here at the size it was supplied so that readers can gain a better idea of the appearance of the scheme and can be assured that the author's practice produces high quality drawings. Our apologies to Mr Wrightson for the erros and for any misunderstanding so caused. CONTEXT 52
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