A report highlighting the achievements and key successes of the Reading Abbey Revealed project since 2016.

The Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report that highlighted the achievements and key successes of Reading Abbey Revealed project since the start of its delivery phase in 2016.  The report explained that over the past eight years the project team, volunteers, and partners had worked closely and flexibly with stakeholders and the funders, to develop, and to successfully deliver this major heritage and culture placemaking project.  The report added that the project and the creation of the Abbey Quarter had been Reading’s most ambitious heritage project for a decade.  The Reading Abbey Quarter had been created to bring together the unique, cultural heritage that existed within the former grounds of Reading Abbey through interpretation, wayfinding, conservation, and community engagement.  Notably the Quarter included Reading Museum, the Town Hall, Reading Gaol, St. James' Church, St Laurence's Church, the Forbury Gardens, and the remains of Reading Abbey.  The Abbey Ruins and Gateway were both Grade I listed buildings and Scheduled Ancient Monuments.  The conservation project had been a catalyst for positive change, putting this internationally important monastic and royal heritage site firmly on the map and having an impact beyond the Abbey Quarter across Reading’s wider community, galvanising a step-change in the town’s attitude to its distinctive past and providing a sense of place, ongoing community engagement, cohesion and pride for its diverse and expanding population.  The full Reading Abbey Revealed project evaluation report was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

The report also set out the next steps that would form the legacy of the project, which included:

·     To ensure that the key learnings and recommendations of this project were disseminated for good practice to colleagues and the wider heritage and placemaking sector;

·     To continue to work with conservation specialists to ensure the Scheduled site was protected and preserved for the future, through the production and delivery of a new Conservation and Management Plan;

·     To work with specialist consultants Bowles Green to finalise the outline Business and Marketing Plan to sustainably optimise potential income generation and increased promotion and awareness of the Abbey Quarter heritage site;

·     To work closely with finance partners and colleagues to explore the Abbey Quarter management and ensure that the ongoing conservation plan was integrated in the Council’s S106 funding programme;

·     To work closely with internal and external partners to develop the public activities programme, promote the site, and investigate tourism opportunities;

·     To work closely with funding bodies to investigate future funding opportunities and to work towards the financial and environmental sustainability of this heritage site;

·     To ensure the Abbey Quarter continued to integrate with current projects such as the High Street Heritage Action Zone and the large scale developments in the town centre area;

·     To ensure the vision for the Reading Gaol site was integrated with the wider Abbey Quarter vision and interpretation;

·     To ensure that the Abbey Quarter and its sustainability was part of the wider emerging Cultural and Council strategies and plans.

Resolved:

(1)      That the successes of the Reading Abbey Revealed placemaking project be noted;

(2)      That the next steps for the Abbey Quarter vision and plans to ensure the legacy of the Reading Abbey Revealed project, set out in paragraph 4.7 of the report, be agreed.