The Conservation of European cities: The Sack of Bath

Submitted by Shyne U, UD 559, 3rd semester, Urban Design, SPA

The book first published in 1979 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a compilation of articles on the conservation scenarios in various cities of Europe, put together in the context of rising concern for neighborhood conservation in the American cities during the end of 1970s. The book is broadly divided into two parts, the first part describe the struggles in various European cities following redevelopment moves and the second part describe various conservation strategies adopted in some European cities. The essay The Sack of Bath falls into the first part in which the author Adam Fergusson protest against the redevelopment projects initiated by the Bath City Council and the merciless attitude shown towards the Georgian neighborhoods. Author starts by describing Bath as one of the complete period cities in the world. Bath consisted of the tiny core of Roman architecture surrounded by eighteenth century Georgian development and continued to remain intact without decay till the 1950s. But contrary to the expected survival due to the growing awareness in Britain regarding heritage conservation, author laments that the artisan Bath is largely rubble by 1970s. He goes onto critically analyse the steps taken by the Council and its Architects from time to time and use of laws in the procedure by which the deterioration had happened. Only the most important buildings with touristic value were protected while the Georgian neighborhoods, rather the homes of the working class were being swept away in the redevelopment attitude of the City Council. The listing and grading of the buildings through the 1947 Act into Grade 1,2 & 3 were used by the Council to target Grade 3 buildings as well as unlisted buildings for demolition. According to the author specific tactics were employed to reduce the relevance of an area by separating it from the centre before removing it. A no: of examples are given by the author to substantiate this argument. Moreover the local regulations meant to bring harmony to the facades like the use of reconstituted Bath stone did more harm than good by juxtaposing it over modern elevations. From 1960s to the beginning of 1970s the contempt against Corporations moves turned into open battles between the preservationists and the Corporation. Abbey Church Yard, Kingsmead square, cottages at Church road, Weston etc are a few case examples given by the author of the victories of conservationists against the Corporation. Georgian group, the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings, the Council for British Archaeology, the Bath Preservation Trust etc were a few organizations putting up a fight against the corporation. The case of Ballance street scheme is elaborated in which the new apartment blocks came up couldnt match the challenges posed by the hill side site and as per the author in 1972, they were perhaps the most detested new addition to the Bath scene. Moreover he emphasize that the apartment development was unreasonable as there was no true demand for

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housing in Bath. Also the heritage buildings relevance due to their contextual response to site is brought to discussion, the essence of which is still to be learned by us, Architects of modern times. By 1972 redevelopment was in full swing in the city and the public opinion against it was also on the rising. The tunnel road scheme by Colin Buchanan and partners is discussed in this context. The scheme itself was prepared according to the terms of reference governed by City Councils development intentions. Amendments were done to suit Corporations interests to such extent as to even against Buchanans recommendations. Under the section The Drive to Redevelop, Author advocates that both the Council and City Architects Department were looking for opportunities to redevelop as per designs rather than preserving what can be preserved. This disinterest has been revealed in the projects taken up or the extent of grants used in preservation. By intentionally reducing extent of conservation areas in the city of Bath, the City Architect reduced the effectiveness of the grants under the Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act 1972. Also the economics behind redevelopment is questioned as it would have been cheaper to restore than to redevelop. Some laws which helped to conserve listed buildings like Town and Country Planning Act of 1962 and the Civic Amenities Act of 1967 are mentioned as they obliged Planning Authorities to designate conservation areas as well as consult local amenity societies before intervening in them. What can be understood is that even when Britain as a country was progressive in conservation, the local governing body of Bath City Council didnt take up the cause and resorted to developmental urge. Author analyse the City Development Plan of 1960 to find how the plan recognize the Baths heritage and propose to conserve it. The plan refer to the heritage only as a viable tourism consumable and the stress is on the redevelopment projects like shopping centers, residential city etc. By exposing the failures of the City Architect, the enormous responsibility of a Local Authoritys Architecture and Planning Dept in up keeping the heritage value of a city is brought to light. As the elected representatives are ignorant regarding the built heritage and the possibilities, the local body is dependent on its technical wing for professional advice regarding the subject as well as judging the recommendations provided by external consultants. The essay ends with a positive postscript in which Author explains how the attitude of the council changed with new men taking office and with new legislations and generous finance. Many of the contested projects like the Tunnel road, New Law courts etc were scrapped but still the challenge of finding alternative uses for the old city fabric and their financial viability remain. Peoples determination emerging as an important aspect in the decision making of political leadership is hinted by the author through the discussions. The series of incidents described by the author find parallels in the conservation scenario of many cities worldwide, including in India. When the emphasis falls on a few heritage buildings having significance of aesthetic, cultural value etc the larger setting in which they are located tend to be ignored purposefully. Mostly these larger areas are linked with the middle class population and the redevelopment of these areas lead to gentrification and lead us to think about the significance of social conservation. Also the piece meal approach as that of the faade treatment may prove to be wrong if the contextual setting is not conserved. For eg in the old city of Shahjahanabad of Delhi, large scale exodus of residential population and the conversion of their residential premises into commercial premises and godowns is a Page | 2

live example. The emerging importance of Local Area Planning procedure in our country and the recommendations to take heritage conservation measures also to root level can be related to the discussions on the Plan approach. The incompetence of ASI regulations regarding Shahjahanabad can be considered as an example of gap between the law and the plan. Through the various missions like JNNURM, renewal projects are tried to be identified on the other hand. As the author advocates for better technical advisory for the local bodies in terms of conservation issues, Master Plan of Delhi is suffering to implement its recommendations regarding the Walled city. Also bodies like SRDC are being formed as a single responsible agency for coordination of the multiple authorities working on the Walled city. But the activism exhibited by the various sections of the society as described by the author is absent in India unlike the then Europe. Even though our local bodies at this time dont show the redevelopment urge of the Bath Council, they tend to be directionless in coordinating between the law, plan and project.

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