The Borough Council is the official representative member of the Walled Towns Friendship Circle (WTFC) for Berwick town. The WTFC designates a “World Walled Town Award” every three years and it is proposed that a Berwick town partnership led by the Berwick community with the support of the Borough Council and other partners, should submit a bid for 2011. This Committee is requested to approve the Borough Council’s participation over the next 18 months in preparing for a 2011 bid.
2
Recommendations
2.1
That the Borough Council should agree to support this bid for World Walled Town Award for 2011 through working in partnership with the community and all other relevant partners on this over the remaining life of the Council.
2.2
That the Borough Council should agree in principle to the allocation of staff and financial resources towards achieving a World Walled Town Award.
2.3
That the Borough Council should lobby for any successor council to continue this work and provide the appropriate level of resources to achieve this.
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Report
3.1
The Walled Towns Friendship Circle (WTFC), founded in 1989 is the international association for the sustainable development of walled towns, walled cities and fortified historic towns. It was established partly in response to the European Year of Tourism as a forum to consider the many mutual interests shared by walled towns. Membership currently includes 152 historic walled towns, walled cities and fortified towns in Europe and beyond, including Berwick-upon-Tweed. The WTFC’s website can be visited at www.walledtowns.com
The WTFC’s constitution recognises that “walled tows are unique inheritances from times long past which should be treasured, maintained and safeguarded from neglect, damage and destruction and passed on into perpetuity as irreplaceable 'Timestones of History'”.
The Circle operates under the law of England and Wales as an ‘Unincorporated Association’ and a not for profit Association.
3.2
The website offers comprehensive details but the aims of the Walled Towns Friendship Circle include the following;
• To encourage friendship between the inhabitants of all ages in walled town communities and to encourage and to foster the interchange of visits by individuals, associations, schools and colleges.
• To enrich each other’s lives through appreciation of each other’s historical, traditional, cultural and artistic inheritance.
• To promote tourism whilst considering the challenges of motor vehicles, pedestrianisation, access to homes and businesses, building and road maintenance, grants and assistance for the preservation and conservation work.
• To establish links with other walled towns and to develop joint marketing strategies to increase world-wide awareness of walled towns as historic treasures and tourism attractions.
• To convene regular symposia in member towns to address topics of key importance and to organise study tours.
• To support the conservation and the protection of the walled towns and their environmental context.
• To develop common strategies for proper methods of planning and conserving ancient towns and their environmental context.
3.3
The WTFC gives the “World Walled Town Award” every three years. There are four award categories with awards being given for;
1) Innovative approaches to the management, conservation and repair of historic walled structures
2) Promoting walls as key drivers for tourism and/or regeneration
3) Promoting enjoyment and understanding of walls through education, interpretation and outreach programmes
4) Creative approaches to urban design and public realm enhancement within the walled town setting
The Walled Towns Friendship Circle holds annual Symposia or conference at which a range of topics are discussed. UK member towns that have hosted the annual symposium include Londonderry/Derry, Chester, Tenby and Chichester. For members’ information discussions are currently taking place with the WTFC to determine whether
Berwick town might be suitable location to host a future Symposium, but it is stressed this is a separate issue from the World Walled Town Award.
Details of the award, criteria and the process for bidding for it are attached. There is no monetary reward for winning this but the benefits of the prestige, particularly in terms of tourism and attracting investment, are highly desirable.
Category 1, Management, conservation and repair of the walls, are essentially issues for English Heritage and discussions with EH have been opened.
Categories 2 and 3 effectively offer a basic “good practice” template for the Borough’s Tourism, Town Centres and Museum and Archives services to follow in relation to the Berwick Town Walls and it is proposed that these be incorporated within the Borough Council’s Service Plans for each of these sections.
3.4
The Berwick Town Walls are a centrepiece of the heritage and visitor offer in the town; essentially they are our “Hadrian’s Wall” or “York Minster”. They are a major asset to the town but are underutilised and undersold as a focus for heritage, tourism and town centre purposes. Whether or not a bid was successful, bidding for World Walled Town status would provide the impetus and best practice framework for a major improvement in the way we all promote and utilise the walls.
Members are reminded that Berwick town has recently been awarded the renowned “Cittaslow” status and the World Walled Town Award is a logical next target in enhancing the reputation of the town. It may also enable the creation of a “Heritage Highway” around the town, creating a more structured tourism and history offer.
Fulfilling the criteria for a bid for a World Walled Town Award in 2011 should not place substantial additional workloads onto Borough Council or partners’ staff as many of the works identified within the criteria will probably be delivered as part of the “Future of Berwick” Masterplan.
Any bid for World Walled Town Award would be a partnership between all interested parties including the Borough Council and English Heritage but it is stressed that the community and the business community of Berwick-upon-Tweed town should be the lead partner.
English Heritage indicate that while a bid for an Award in 2008 is unrealistic they would welcome investigation of partnership working towards a possible bid for 2011.
Berwick Development Trust are interested but current staffing issues prevent a full commitment at this stage. The Development Trust also wish to see the town’s heritage and visitor offer substantially improved over the next three years to enable a high quality bid to be submitted in 2011
3.5
The award does not seek substantial additional resource commitments or additional work programmes in the walled town by the Borough Council or any other partners, rather it is looking for evidence of best and innovative practice which will enhance the walls as a resource; in short this is something we should all be moving towards anyway.
Similarly it is stressed that the World Walled Town Award is not financial but is simply a plaque in recognition of the Award, however the prestige associated with the Award in terms of tourism, heritage and the enhancement and reputation of the visitor offer, is considerable.
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Implications
4.1
Comments from the Council’s Section 151 Officer
No comments.
4.2
Comments from the Council’s Monitoring Officer
No comments.
4.3
Comments from the Head of Paid Service
The work involved here can be accommodated within the existing staffing resource.
4.4
Local Agenda 21
No comments.
4.5
Equality
No comments.
4.6
Crime and Disorder
No comments.
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Report Author
5.1
Tim Kirton, Head of Regeneration Service, tel: 01289 301760. email: tk@berwick-upon-tweed.gov.uk
6
Service Head
6.1
Tim Kirton, Head of Regeneration Service, tel: 01289 301760. email: tk@berwick-upon-tweed.gov.uk
