Following recent high-profile campaigns and decisions, including Marks and Spencer’s store on London’s Oxford Street and that case of Birmingham’s Smallbrook Ringway, the second talk of our second series looks at how decisions are made when it comes to protecting historic buildings.

With a particular focus on the listing of post-war structures and landscapes, the event will first consider the general picture and then the specific case of Manchester’s former UMIST Campus.

Speaking from the perspective of the statutory consultee , Coco Whittaker (Senior Caseworker, Twentieth Century Society) will talk about the work of the Twentieth Century Society, their major successes and how they decide where to focus their energy when considering buildings at risk.

We also welcome Professor Richard Brook (Director of Research, Lancaster School of Architecture) will disclose his long affair with the UMIST Campus and, using listing and planning documentation, explain how statutory policy can be legally manipulated that appear to favour only those who stand to make profit from development.

Finally, we welcome Manchester and Cambridge alumnus, Benjamin Carter who now works with Gorr Scott in London. Benjamin came to appreciate the former UMIST campus as a student in the city and chose to focus on it for his Master's architecture thesis at Cambridge. Benjamin will present an alternative proposal to that outlined in the official and yet to be adopted Strategic Regeneration Framework.

We invite you to consider with us whether campaigning is worthwhile, whether preservation is paramount, or whether we should collectively embrace change in the built environment and simply celebrate what we have whilst we have it...