Creative Heritage brings together expertise in historic building conservation, heritage-led regeneration, architecture, project management, community engagement, funding support and the creative reuse of heritage assets. The team supports clients with listed buildings, conservation areas, buildings at risk, heritage impact assessments, conservation management plans, feasibility studies, grant-funded projects and long-term sustainable use strategies.
Creative Heritage is a multi-disciplinary practice, established by Kate Dickson in 2011. The consultancy forms teams to respond to particular opportunities, taking a lead or support role as required. The Directors are Kate Dickson and Roddie MacLean, who also runs an architectural practice.
Kate, who is a registered architect (IHBC member) and an urban designer by training, established the Creative Heritage multi-disciplinary consultancy practice in 2011. She had previously specialised in the conservation and creative re-use of challenging historic buildings for over twelve years as the Director of Heritage Works, one of the UK’s flagship Building Preservation Trusts. Kate is committed to unlocking the added value that historic buildings can bring to heritage environments and to communities. She has considerable understanding of the development processes required to bring redundant buildings into beneficial use, including options appraisal, business planning and delivery mechanisms. She has particular skills of design review and heritage impact assessment and is held in high regard by the historic environment authorities.
Kate has enormous respect for the voluntary sector and is a strong believer in capacity building to enable local people and organisations to deliver projects that meet community needs, with knowledge of asset transfer mechanisms and legal structures for facilitating social enterprise, and governance models. A Support Services Consultant (mentor and monitor) for the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and former Trustee of the Architectural Heritage Fund, Kate has a detailed knowledge of the priorities and criteria of funding bodies and partners in the heritage and regeneration sectors. She has first-hand experience of project management for historic building projects, taking pride in delivering ‘to plan, to programme and within budget’.
Kate is a membership assessor for the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and a Governor of her former school, Manchester High School for Girls.
Roddie’s expertise lies in adding value to property through a proper analysis of the use of space, exploiting light and volume to create liveable environments to meet modern lifestyles and the multi-functionality of contemporary business use.
Alongside being a Director of Creative Heritage Consultants, Roddie runs an architectural practice, based in the High Peak, which has considerable experience of work in sensitive rural environments, the Peak National Park and green belts.
Many of its projects involve historic buildings, often listed and / or in conservation areas. Roddie is also a developer, and manages a portfolio of retained property – residential, commercial and holiday accommodation.
Roddie is particularly involved in Creative Heritage’s townscape projects. He has undertaken condition surveys and supported the development of the detailed scheme plan for Carrington Street, Nottingham and Leeming Street, Mansfield, Townscape Heritage schemes, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. He provided architectural advice to the Historic England-funded High Street Heritage Action Zone in Tyldesley, and is supporting Project Manager Kate Mitchell on the delivery of town centre building grant schemes in Ashton-in-Makerfield and Leigh through design advice and project cost assessment.
Roddie has contributed to feasibility studies for London Mill, Leek; Sheffield Old Town Hall; Hardwick Hall, Buxton and Ashton Town Hall. Contact Roddie MacLean
Kate began her journey into the world of heritage some way into her career, after 17 years’ working in the construction industry as a safety consultant. Kate brings a wealth of experience of liaising with design team consultants and safety/CDM expertise, as well as other skills that transfer well into the heritage sector. Having been raised in the distinctive industrial landscape of Stoke-on-Trent and the Potteries, she decided to pursue her passion for historic buildings by studying at the renowned Ironbridge Institute at Birmingham University.
Kate completed her MA in Historic Environment Conservation in 2012 and has since undertaken a variety of volunteer roles and placements including at the Churches Conservation Trust, the Canal and River Trust (Heritage team), BB Heritage Studio, Historic England and Shropshire Council (Conservation team), before joining Creative Heritage in 2018. Kate has been an affiliate member of the IHBC since 2014, and is working towards full membership.
Kate was the project manager for capital projects in the delivery of Tyldesley High Street Heritage Action Zone, a 4 year grant funded scheme, supporting For Tyldesley CIC. She is currently project manager for Ashton-in-Makerfield and Leigh Building Grant Schemes in Greater Manchester, on behalf of Wigan Council.
Kate lives in Leeds and is a Trustee and Director of Leeds Building Preservation Trust Limited.
Anna graduated from Lancaster University in 2022 achieving a BA (Hons) degree in History. She has a keen interest in the historic built environment and the process of preserving the heritage of old buildings, using web -based resources and archives to research their past purposes and appearances to unlock their stories.
Anna joined Creative Heritage in August 2022, initially on a work placement before being invited to join the company full time from January 2023. Her work involves research, preparation and writing of reports including Heritage Impact Assessments, Project Viability Studies and Conservation Management Plans, project management and a general supporting role on projects.
Anna has recently completed an MSc in Building Conservation and Adaptation at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) achieving a Distinction. She is an affiliate member of the IHBC and a member of the Heritage Network Youth Forum.
Pete has worked with and for museums, galleries and historic houses for over 20 years, interpreting science, nature, art, history and human cultures for a wide range of audiences through learning activities, outreach, exhibition making and gallery development. He has worked with collections as varied as stingrays and steam engines.
He gained his MA in Interpretive Studies from the University of Leicester in 2009.
Pete has many years’ experience of audience development work, often aligning with and contributing to local and regional agendas such as community cohesion and regeneration and including visitors and users as advisers and co-producers, sounding boards and partners for piloting ideas.
His expertise also includes content development (research, writing and editing, liaison with designers and contractors); community and collaboration (outreach coordination, partnership brokerage and volunteer development); learning and engagement (programme development, delivery, evaluation and reporting), and strategy and management (planning and policy, workforce development and grant applications). Contact Pete Brown
Andy has widespread experience supporting community organisations, including seven years working for Burslem Community Development Trust, co-ordinating a range of arts, community, heritage and environmental projects. With the Civic Trust Regeneration Unit, he supported projects to create and develop civic societies, and help design and deliver the Pathfinder Civic Societies residential courses.
With the Development Trusts Association and Locality, (the membership organisation for social enterprises), he supported self-sustaining community organisations, helped deliver the DCLG-funded Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning programme and was instrumental in designing and delivering five Planning Camps.
As a consultant for Burslem School of Art Trust he designed and delivered the Building Futures training programme for Stoke-on-Trent City Council covering urban design, planning, heritage protection and sustainable buildings, and co-wrote Locality’s Community-led Development Roadmap with Dave Chetwyn of Urban Vision Enterprise. Contact Andy Perkin
