With a view to ensuring that the legacy of Europe’s Age of
Industry is safeguarded for future generations, the Assembly recommends
that the member States of the Council of Europe:
4.1 sign, ratify and implement the
European Landscape Convention (ETS No. 176) and the Council of Europe
Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society
(CETS No. 199, “Faro Convention”);
4.2 join the Council of Europe Enlarged Partial Agreement
on Cultural Routes and the European Route of Industrial Heritage
network (ERIH), which provide an excellent framework for concerted
action to promote and preserve European heritage at the national
and international level;
4.3 include in the legislation on protection of historic sites
specific criteria to be applied to industrial heritage, so that
a greater number of sites can be designated for protection;
4.4 create interdisciplinary research teams, with, inter alia, scientific and technical
expertise, to draw up and regularly update comprehensive inventories
of the industrial heritage at regional and national level;
4.5 ensure that advisory panels composed of experts and representatives
of official agencies work and take decisions in a transparent manner
when considering sites for protection;
4.6 value volunteer expertise and create co-operation mechanisms
to associate non-governmental organisations with various procedures
related to the protection and effective management of industrial heritage,
and, when necessary, nurture volunteer resources by providing capacity-building
initiatives;
4.7 value industrial heritage sites as part of a wider social
landscape interconnected with skills and local memory and identity,
and consider its potential as a key element of territorial development strategies;
4.8 encourage the establishment of a network of multidisciplinary
task forces – bringing together expertise in relevant domains such
as building history, monument protection, urban planning and financial
strategies, investment and partnerships – to facilitate knowledge
sharing in sustainable regeneration projects that are driven by
rehabilitation of industrial heritage sites;
4.9 introduce measures to safeguard relevant disused industrial
heritage sites from destruction, particularly in urban areas where
land values are high;
4.10 enter all sites of interest into official planning databases
or their equivalent, in order to enable constructive dialogue between
property developers and conservationists;
4.11 encourage community involvement, not only to preserve
local testimonies and identity, but also to define the scope of
regeneration projects;
4.12 when converting industrial buildings to new uses, introduce
measures to guarantee respect of the character and the integrity
of buildings, as well as the character of the community;
4.13 facilitate provision of resources through private–public
partnerships to ensure that funds are available for heritage conservation
within rehabilitation projects of industrial sites;
4.14 create partnerships with private and non-governmental
organisations to raise awareness and appreciation of the value of
industrial heritage and seek interaction with other cultural resources
and cultural heritage sites that are available locally, regionally
and internationally (for example through cultural walks, cultural
routes and networks, European Heritage Day events, theme activities,
etc.).
