Running an Industrial Site

They range from preserved ruins to sites that contain important and sometimes working historic machinery. Examples include the Bowes Railway in Gateshead; Wortley Top Forge in South Yorkshire; Queen Street Mill in Burnley; Magpie Mine in Derbyshire; Kew Bridge Steam Museum in London; Fakenham Gas Museum in Norfolk and Coldharbour Mill in Devon.

Many of these sites are managed or run by charitable trusts, local authorities and committed volunteers whose efforts have ensured their preservation and survival. 

Research commissioned by English Heritage (now Historic England) and published in 2011 highlighted a number of underlying problems threatening their long-term viability.

What is the outlook for industrial attractions?

The research focused on issues such as volunteer recruitment, training and succession planning, audience development and fund-raising, as well as the longer-term business planning, maintenance and governance of industrial sites.

Key findings revealed:

• Difficulties in attracting new volunteers and the loss of skills
• Many sites do not generate adequate funds to cover basic maintenance and have an increasing backlog of repairs
• The challenge of making sure that the visitor offer would continue to attract new and existing audiences
• The need to adopt modern conservation standards
• An absence of business plans, interpretation and marketing strategies
• Few opportunities for networking, capacity building and the sharing of best practice

The report, 'Sustaining England's Industrial Heritage: A future for preserved industrial sites', is linked to at the bottom of this page.

Earlier research into industrial visitor attractions carried out in 1998 revealed similar findings and issue 67 of Conservation Bulletin, which you can also download below, includes an article by one of the authors of this report.

Industrial support officer

In response to some of these concerns and to help build capacity within the sector Historic England has part-funded an Industrial Heritage Support Officer since 2011. 

The post sits within an existing body in the sector and the role includes the following:

• Assessing the needs of the sector
• Developing a national strategy for historic industrial sites that are open or accessible to the general public so they are sustainable in the long-term
• Identifying support mechanisms and sources of funding for both existing sites and those community groups who are looking at taking them on
• Identifying gaps in existing information and advice, and seeing how these can be addressed
• Setting up a training programme and establishing a network to make sure that the strategy is continued, developed and maintained at the end of the grant programme

Making changes to your site

Where a site is protected as a scheduled monument, permission must first be obtained from the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for any work that affects that monument. Further advice on what it means when a monument is scheduled and guidance on how to manage your monument can be obtained from Historic England.

For those sites that contain listed buildings, any alterations or extensions that affect its character as a building of special interest will require Listed Building Consent from your local authority. We strongly recommend that you consult your local authority conservation officer at an early stage in the process to discuss any proposed changes and to gain a better understanding of what the listing status will mean for you.  

You can find further practical advice on the steps you need to take if you want to make changes to a listed building or scheduled monument on the website. This also explains the role of Historic England and the service we provide.

Further advice and information

The Association for Independent Museums has prepared a range of advice notes that may be helpful in running your site. These cover various topics such as governance, fundraising, and recruiting and retaining volunteers.

Although aimed at potential grant applicants, the guidance prepared by the National Lottery Heritage Fund may also be useful. This covers subjects such as conservation, interpretation, learning, training, volunteers, and management.

For those who are responsible for wind and watermills the SPAB website is particularly useful.

We have also produced an edition of the Conservation Bulletin which focuses on the industrial heritage. This includes articles on preserved sites and from some of the key grant providers. It is available on the right-hand side of the page. 

Grants

Various organisations provide grants including:

• The Association for Independent Museums run a conservation and sustainability grant scheme. The website also contains details of other possible grant providers
• National Lottery Heritage Fund provides grants for various heritage programmes
• Historic England provides grants for the repair and conservation of England's most significant historic buildings and monuments
• Check current Arts Council open funds
• SPAB gives grants for wind and watermills
• Association for Industrial Archaeology provides restoration grants