People

Kate Dickson, Director, heritage-led regeneration consultant

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, where she chairs its Estates Committee.

Kate Mitchell, Project Manager

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.

She is currently supporting For Tyldesley CIC in the delivery of the High Street Heritage Action Zone for the town, as project manager for capital projects.

Anna Standring, Projects Officer

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, assistance with the preparation of reports including Heritage Impact Assessments and Project Viability Studies and a general supporting role on projects.

Anna is currently undertaking a part-time MSc in Building Conservation and Adaptation at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). She is an affiliate member of the IHBC and an active member of the Heritage Trust Network Youth Forum.