S7. Ep 2. In conversation with Charlotte Tomlinson, Development and Outreach Officer for England at the Heritage Network.

“I love historic buildings, but without people, they don't mean anything.”

Charlotte Tomlinson, Heritage Network.

In this episode I am joined by Charlotte Tomlinson,  Development and Outreach Officer for England at the Heritage Network. Charlotte oversees a national programme of sector support and peer learning events, empoweringcommunity heritage initiatives with the rescue and reuse of schemes, and heritage-led regeneration. 

Charlotte shares how her love of history influenced heracademic choices and exposed her to the meaning of heritage. We talk about her early roles after completing a Masters and PHD and the importance of communitygroups and how integral they are to looking after buildings and community benefits it brings.

We chat about what heritage means practically and when itcomes to a building that isn’t being used and what this means for the building, the community and the environment. Challenges often come from the people involved not understanding the value and thinking it is more complicated than it is rather than the condition of the building being too challenging to keep and it is this perception of heritage that prevents buildings from being saved.

We also discuss the usual challenges, common themes andmisconceptions working in the heritage sector along with top tips when working with an older property.

It will be an interesting listen for anyone embarking on aproject and is looking for some guidance and anyone generally interested in older properties.

If you liked what you heard it would be great if you canshare Our Built Heritage with anyone else you think will find it interesting and also subscribe so that you know when the next episode has been released. It would be amazing if we between us can raise awareness on our built heritage.