:00:30. > :00:37.The Regal Cinema in Evesham. I used to come here as a small boy and
:00:38. > :00:43.watch films with my sister on a Saturday morning. We would never
:00:44. > :00:52.know how the film would end, would the guy get the girl? Would the good
:00:53. > :00:57.guy get the bad guy? And could we watch it until the end before
:00:58. > :01:03.needing the toilet? Fast forward 30 years, and the cinema was in danger.
:01:04. > :01:08.No`one knew how it would end. Would the cavalry come to the rescue,
:01:09. > :01:12.would the baddies get their way? Tearing it down with a block of
:01:13. > :01:16.flats and a bowling alley? Ten years ago, the BBC's Restoration series
:01:17. > :01:21.put the nations of listed buildings into the public conscious.
:01:22. > :01:25.How much money are we talking about? Upwards of ?2. 5 million.
:01:26. > :01:31.The programme visited structures on the heritage at risk register. The
:01:32. > :01:35.critical list. You voted for the buildings you felt needed help.
:01:36. > :01:41.Funding groups gave out millions of pounds in an effort to restore them
:01:42. > :01:45.to their former glory. There were more and more winners and
:01:46. > :01:49.losers each time that Restoration was shown it really demonstrated how
:01:50. > :01:58.much we care bad what happens to our heritage.
:01:59. > :02:03.Join me, Alistair McGowan, for . As I journey through the West Midlands
:02:04. > :02:08.to see which of the buildings in this region are being lovingly
:02:09. > :02:14.restored like this cinema in Evesham and which are on the critical list.
:02:15. > :02:20.We are in South Birmingham to see why this Lewis "Scooter" Libby is on
:02:21. > :02:31.the top ten danger list. It was a beauty, can it ever be as beautiful
:02:32. > :02:35.again? And a 19th century direct likt blacksmith's, we popped back to
:02:36. > :02:42.Chedham's Yard to see how a 2006 winner spent the prize money and we
:02:43. > :02:46.go to Birmingham to see how # 13 years of funding and volunteers have
:02:47. > :02:51.succeeded in bringing a coffin factory back to life.
:02:52. > :02:56.We are looking in on the medieval buildings of Kings Norton to see
:02:57. > :03:01.what happens since the old grammar school won the big prize in 2004. I
:03:02. > :03:05.will take a trip down my own family's memory lane to investigate
:03:06. > :03:11.further delays in the evening nearing works to be carried out on
:03:12. > :03:15.the beautiful waiting room at the beautiful Worcestershire Shrubhill
:03:16. > :03:20.Station. And in Staffordshire, a tour of a tea pot factory, already
:03:21. > :03:23.at the top of the list before vandals made things worse by
:03:24. > :03:28.stealing the roof. Is there hope for this potteries gem? But before that,
:03:29. > :03:33.I caught up with the person leading the project in the West Midlands and
:03:34. > :03:38.asked how the region has fared in the annual heritage health check.
:03:39. > :03:45.So what is the critical list? We call it the Heritage Health Risk. We
:03:46. > :03:51.publish it every year. It is not just building but grade one and two
:03:52. > :03:55.star listed building, shedded areas, registered parks and gardens and
:03:56. > :04:03.battlefields. How does the West Midlands fare in
:04:04. > :04:08.the numbers of those buildings that are doing well and those on the
:04:09. > :04:11.list? Probably slightly more it is slightly higher than the national
:04:12. > :04:17.average, but if you were to characterise the type of heritage at
:04:18. > :04:20.risk in the West Midlands, then industrial heritage is one of the
:04:21. > :04:26.things that we have a particular issue with because of the decline of
:04:27. > :04:31.the industrial Black Country and Stoke and the potteries, so forth.
:04:32. > :04:35.These things are irreplaceable. They are part of our heritage. They are a
:04:36. > :04:39.very small percentage of the buildings, the monuments and
:04:40. > :04:45.landscapes that we have. They tell our national story. So if we lose
:04:46. > :04:49.them, we have lost that part of that story forever.
:04:50. > :04:54.But it need not be the case. That's why I chose to become a patron of my
:04:55. > :04:58.childhood picture house and to play my part in helping to restore it
:04:59. > :05:06.back to its rightful glory and place at the heart of the community. As
:05:07. > :05:13.Jonathan Ross might say: The story of how a classic 1930s thriller
:05:14. > :05:18.became a movie house of horror. In 2003, the place closed its doors for
:05:19. > :05:25.the last time, seemingly. Over the next six years, the only people to
:05:26. > :05:31.come in here were vandals. Then enter the The Wiper Family. They
:05:32. > :05:38.turned the local embarrassment into a palace of dreams.
:05:39. > :05:43.Tell us a bit about the state of the building when you took it over? Sure
:05:44. > :05:47.it was pretty bad. There were holes in the roof. There were leaks
:05:48. > :05:52.everywhere. The raid airs had been left with
:05:53. > :05:56.water in. They had blown up. No electricity. In five years, the
:05:57. > :06:01.building would have been a total wreck. It was really on its last
:06:02. > :06:05.legs. It was a consequence of never having money spent on it over 40
:06:06. > :06:10.years. You are lucky that the building was
:06:11. > :06:14.built in the 19 '30s, so there were beautiful lights to draw out? The
:06:15. > :06:17.beautiful is beautiful. The buildings were built up and down the
:06:18. > :06:21.country, but Regal Cinema is even more special. There are oedz to the
:06:22. > :06:26.market town it is built in, everywhere. So the beautiful lights,
:06:27. > :06:30.there are five of them on the ceiling, if you look at them, they
:06:31. > :06:35.are definitely impressionistic flowers. Evesham is a market town
:06:36. > :06:39.growing flowers. There are freezes running along the wall to show the
:06:40. > :06:42.four seasons in bloom. It is extraordinary.
:06:43. > :06:47.There is an environmental side to all of this, even the coat hooks,
:06:48. > :06:54.they were the originals? Yes. We went to every length to reuse
:06:55. > :06:59.anything we could. That was for two reasons, one for financial savings
:07:00. > :07:02.and two to retain the character of the building. Everything that has
:07:03. > :07:05.gone before us, as much as humanly possible.
:07:06. > :07:11.What do you think of the future for the Regal Cinema? Is it bright? I
:07:12. > :07:14.think it is really bright. We are doing films, alternative content.
:07:15. > :07:22.Live events it is going really well. I think it will be stronger as
:07:23. > :07:27.opposed to struggling. Well, as you can see, the story had
:07:28. > :07:31.a happy ending. What happened here at Regal Cinema is an important less
:07:32. > :07:38.op in why restoration matters. Why it is a wonderful recipe if you
:07:39. > :07:44.like, as Nigel Slater may say, take something from the past, throw in
:07:45. > :07:47.money and care, wait for it to rise, hopefully you have created something
:07:48. > :07:54.tasty to keep people happy for generations to come! Keeping our
:07:55. > :08:01.heritage alive can be an uphill struggle. A former arts school has
:08:02. > :08:13.been on the register since 1982. I wondered if those championing its
:08:14. > :08:16.cause had given up hope? This is an extraordinary Birmingham suburb with
:08:17. > :08:24.an extraordinary number of listed buildings. On run road there are 16
:08:25. > :08:29.buildings, it is known as the string of pearls. This school sool school
:08:30. > :08:35.has been known as the community association and the years have not
:08:36. > :08:39.been kind to the place. `` School of Art. I met with the
:08:40. > :08:44.custodian who told me about the realities of taking on a listed
:08:45. > :08:50.building in need of restoration. How he inherited the building it was in
:08:51. > :08:55.truly dire straits. When we took the building over it
:08:56. > :08:59.was in a disastrous state. Water was flooding in. The baft was flooded.
:09:00. > :09:05.Obviously it created tremendous problems. So when we started working
:09:06. > :09:11.on the roof, it was a big task. It is a grade two star listed building.
:09:12. > :09:16.Of course, the slat had to come from a particular quarry in Wales. Of
:09:17. > :09:20.course that suddenly hit us, quite badly. We got the building
:09:21. > :09:26.watertight. We started repairing the inside. Once the heating had been
:09:27. > :09:31.operating for a while the building started to dry up and of course we
:09:32. > :09:39.suddenly found that there was a huge outbreak of dry rot.
:09:40. > :09:44.Dry rot travels like wild fire. We set up a community organisation
:09:45. > :09:50.and it is used as a community centre. We have a number of
:09:51. > :09:58.activities going on. Children's activities, youth activities,
:09:59. > :10:03.scout's groups, women's activities. An elderly group. We have to
:10:04. > :10:09.recognise that this is one of the most deprived areas in Birmingham,
:10:10. > :10:14.if not in the Midlands. And we wanted a facility for the local area
:10:15. > :10:20.and the local community, that they can afford and feel comfortable
:10:21. > :10:23.going to. There is a lot going for us but we need help.
:10:24. > :10:29.It is wonderful what you have done, but were there times when you were
:10:30. > :10:33.tempted to walk away? For some members that thought has been there,
:10:34. > :10:47.but we are totally committed and want to make sure that there is an
:10:48. > :10:50.building and to go ahead and with much positivity.
:10:51. > :10:54.You have done a great job. Well, it is a big challenge but we
:10:55. > :11:01.hope we can do it. I'm sure you can. It seems that help
:11:02. > :11:04.is at hand. The Moseley Muslim Association is helping to try to
:11:05. > :11:08.raise the funds to enable them to continue their good work on the
:11:09. > :11:16.building. I really hope that they succeed.
:11:17. > :11:25.I grew up here in Worcestershire. Although sadly, I never met him, my
:11:26. > :11:29.grandfather was a train guard on the local line. He would have taken many
:11:30. > :11:36.a train from this station, Worcester Shrubhill Station. As a teenager I
:11:37. > :11:41.used to change trains here myself on the way to football matches.
:11:42. > :11:47.Whenever I came through, I always noticed this waiting room on
:11:48. > :11:51.platform 2 a. When I noticed it was on the critical list, I wanted to
:11:52. > :11:56.find out why. The outside may look striking but the inside to put it
:11:57. > :12:02.mildly, disappoints. It could not be used. That is a pity. Thank this
:12:03. > :12:06.waiting room is something of an original with a heritage that the
:12:07. > :12:11.whole country can be proud of. It is of national significance. The
:12:12. > :12:15.reason it is on the register, there are no examples of this similar,
:12:16. > :12:20.with the facade of tiles and cast iron, but this is the one unique
:12:21. > :12:24.example of it. Is it well loved? I think that the
:12:25. > :12:27.people of Worcester love to see it and want to see it put back into
:12:28. > :12:32.use. That has been taking place? There
:12:33. > :12:38.was a Restoration group came here two or three years ago to underpin
:12:39. > :12:44.the southern end of the building. That was completed, but there were
:12:45. > :12:48.problems because of water coming in over the years. That has had to wait
:12:49. > :12:52.while work has been done to put together the correct procedures and
:12:53. > :12:55.the speakscations for that. I know that Network Rail are moving forward
:12:56. > :12:59.with the contract for that. If the work was not being done or
:13:00. > :13:03.not started, what would have happened to this building? It would
:13:04. > :13:08.not move anywhere. A building is only viable with life. It preserves
:13:09. > :13:12.itself and pays its way by having use and life.
:13:13. > :13:17.The construction was built as a display piece. Showcasing the skills
:13:18. > :13:22.of the local workforce. Then transported here to use as a ladies'
:13:23. > :13:27.waiting room. Now it is only used by the local pigeons. If campaigners
:13:28. > :13:32.keep on track with the work, that wait could soon be over. A complete
:13:33. > :13:38.building recovery is hoped for by 2014, when the people of Worcester
:13:39. > :13:45.will be able to wait in grandure on platform 2 a.
:13:46. > :13:51.The BBC's Restoration project has been running since 2003. Offering
:13:52. > :13:56.grants to one winning building every year. Let's have a look at some of
:13:57. > :14:02.this region's winners. Firstly, Chedham's Yard near Stratford on
:14:03. > :14:03.Avon. It scooped a big prize in 2006, but was the money enough to
:14:04. > :14:23.stop them from going under? This yard in the area was owned and
:14:24. > :14:29.run by Fife generations of the Chedham family. The father then had
:14:30. > :14:35.to shut up shop in 2005. Restoring the yard has been a labour of love.
:14:36. > :14:39.We opened in June, 2012, this has been the second season. When we won
:14:40. > :14:44.Restoration in 2006, we won the right to apply for ?1 million. A lot
:14:45. > :14:49.of people think we were give an cheque but we were not. We had to
:14:50. > :14:54.apply for it. So each way along in those five or six years we had to
:14:55. > :14:59.ask for the money. We have had over 5,000 artefacts to
:15:00. > :15:02.clean. That we have had to catalogue. We have had to number
:15:03. > :15:06.them and photograph them and try to put them back in exactly the same
:15:07. > :15:10.place as they came from. That has been a hard job, but without the
:15:11. > :15:14.friends and the volunteers, we would not have succeeded.
:15:15. > :15:18.The restoration work has been done to such a standard that when people
:15:19. > :15:23.look at it, they cannot see it has been done. What we want people to
:15:24. > :15:28.say is, well, what have you been doing? What did you spend the money
:15:29. > :15:33.on? That's what we want to hear. The grand opening played host it a
:15:34. > :15:39.special guest. The man who had to close the yard, reluctantly, almost
:15:40. > :15:43.50 years before. In 2012 Bill was not a well man. He
:15:44. > :15:46.had been in hospital, but we got permission to get him out of
:15:47. > :15:54.hospital on the day that we opened for him to be here to see it all
:15:55. > :15:58.happen. It really was wolf and he was bemused by the fact that people
:15:59. > :16:03.were so interested in the place where he worked all of his life. We
:16:04. > :16:08.were thrilled he was able to come and see it finished.
:16:09. > :16:12.Sadly, Bill passed away later that year. Thanks to the commitment of
:16:13. > :16:14.Heather and the team, his legacy will live on for generations to
:16:15. > :16:35.come. We go back to 2004 now. A winner
:16:36. > :16:40.from Frank Skinner's Birmingham. The School of Art was part of the
:16:41. > :16:45.largest collection of medieval rooms in the city, but in 2004 neglect and
:16:46. > :16:53.decay had taken its toll. The buildings were genuinely at risk.
:16:54. > :17:00.Let's see how they look now, Frank. Well, much has changed. Even the
:17:01. > :17:04.name it is now known as Saint Nicolas Place. And the canon says
:17:05. > :17:09.that is not all that has altered. From the opening in 2008 we have had
:17:10. > :17:13.a collection of medieval buildings with modern extensions that are
:17:14. > :17:18.warm, bright, lively and useful and well used. We have also, because we
:17:19. > :17:22.opened in the middle of an economic crisis, we had to change the
:17:23. > :17:26.business plans, the expectations, hopes. What we do day`to`day to
:17:27. > :17:35.secure the future of the buildings and the continued use. We have
:17:36. > :17:40.always been committed to Saint Nicolas Place being accessible to
:17:41. > :17:44.all. And as Kings Norton is a place with some pockets of affluence but
:17:45. > :17:49.also deprivation, we always rested on the history of the church and the
:17:50. > :17:54.green area where this is, to draw in to be a focus for people wherever
:17:55. > :17:59.they live and whatever they do. So work very hard on ensuring that
:18:00. > :18:04.inclusion is not just a lip service word it is a reality.
:18:05. > :18:09.If you are thinking of championing a building in your area, Rob has this
:18:10. > :18:13.advice. Look to the story you want to tell,
:18:14. > :18:20.to hand on. What you want to make viable, useful, alive. Buildings
:18:21. > :18:24.like this, in an area like this, of multiple deprivation can make a huge
:18:25. > :18:28.difference. We underestimate the significance of the story of the
:18:29. > :18:34.buildings and the lives of people and how to draw others in. Also, be
:18:35. > :18:39.prepare to work with over a friend. These buildings do not belong to us,
:18:40. > :18:42.they belong to those that built them hundreds of years ago and those who
:18:43. > :18:49.come after us. That is why it is essential to do
:18:50. > :18:52.our utmost to preserve our heritage. The final update comes from a
:18:53. > :18:56.factory that 14 years ago was laid to rest when the staff were forced
:18:57. > :19:04.to close the doors for the last time. Let's see if they have managed
:19:05. > :19:11.to resurrect the place. Here in Birmingham's historic
:19:12. > :19:17.jewellery quarter is the Newman Brothers Coffin Works.
:19:18. > :19:23.The factory here closed in 1999. This place was the runner up in the
:19:24. > :19:27.first Restoration series in 2003. Since then, conservationists have
:19:28. > :19:28.been campaigning to bring this incredible building back from the
:19:29. > :19:45.dead! So, what stage are we at the moment
:19:46. > :19:50.on the site? From the way we have had to dress, this is an active
:19:51. > :19:55.building site. It is in the possession of the contractors. They
:19:56. > :20:00.will hand it back to us but it has taken ages to get here. Ten years
:20:01. > :20:06.since the last film. Ten years of up and down battles, try uchs and
:20:07. > :20:09.disasters but `` triumphs and disasters but then the exciting
:20:10. > :20:15.moment when the contractors came in and got started. We never felt we
:20:16. > :20:19.would get there at times. So a real triumph for the Trust.
:20:20. > :20:24.What made your care so much about this place? What is your personal
:20:25. > :20:29.connection with it? It is a building that is extraordinary. It is made
:20:30. > :20:34.extraordinary with the passage of time. Touching of real lives. That
:20:35. > :20:38.connection. That appeals. Not just the unusualness of what
:20:39. > :20:43.happened here? That does add to it. Let's be honest, making coffin
:20:44. > :20:48.fittings and of course the kids love it, we all do. It is gulish, but the
:20:49. > :20:52.way that it represents itself as a business. It is self`contained. The
:20:53. > :20:56.people doing different task, the machinery, the ins and outs of the
:20:57. > :21:02.details of the place and the character of it. It is just oozing
:21:03. > :21:06.character! By cleaning a building, repairing it, you have a chance of
:21:07. > :21:10.losing all of the little bits that give it character. The scare is when
:21:11. > :21:15.you put it back as it was, to bring it to life, that somehow the
:21:16. > :21:19.mystery, the character may be lost. We are working very hard not to let
:21:20. > :21:24.that happen. It will benefit the people of Birmingham as being an
:21:25. > :21:29.important part of Birmingham's industrial heritage preserved. That
:21:30. > :21:34.is what industry and Birmingham are synonymous with each other. To step
:21:35. > :21:38.back in time, to go around and see the factory as it was, to experience
:21:39. > :21:43.the lives and the stories of the people that worked here.
:21:44. > :21:47.But Simon knows that this is about more than just bringing a place back
:21:48. > :21:55.to life. It is about ensuring that it lives on into the future. To do
:21:56. > :22:00.that, what you need is a strategy. You can spend a fortune repairing a
:22:01. > :22:05.building to bring it back. If there is no plan as to how to maintain it
:22:06. > :22:09.in the future, the buzzword is sustainability, without that, you
:22:10. > :22:16.may as well not bother. We have mixed a heritage attraction as the
:22:17. > :22:21.Newman Brooters to generate a funding and also let out part of the
:22:22. > :22:26.factory as units, looking at Taj businesses and creative business,
:22:27. > :22:44.the mix of funding to make the project work, the building work into
:22:45. > :22:48.the future as far as we can go. My last port of call was
:22:49. > :22:53.Staffordshire. A building that has declined to such an extent, I worry
:22:54. > :23:00.it could be beyond salvation. In the 19th century, the Price and
:23:01. > :23:05.Kensington Tea pot Factory in Longport was the heart of the
:23:06. > :23:09.community. Today that heart has stopped beating and the lifeblood
:23:10. > :23:13.drained from the whole area. The West Midlands was known as the
:23:14. > :23:20.workshop of the world. Stoke`on`Trent was the beating heart
:23:21. > :23:26.of its industry, but tooz, the glaze has gone. This part of Staffordshire
:23:27. > :23:29.is painting a different picture. Once a proud industrial building, it
:23:30. > :23:35.is now at the top of the critical list. Let's have a look inside. I
:23:36. > :23:39.met up with a man whose links to the place span several decades. He
:23:40. > :23:44.shared memories of the past and his hopes for its future.
:23:45. > :23:49.Phil, you used to work here in your youth? Yes.
:23:50. > :23:54.What was it like, Price and Kensington, when it was thriving?
:23:55. > :23:59.Very busy. Lots of people worked here. About 3,000.
:24:00. > :24:02.3,000? What is your role now? Caretaker. Caretaker for the place
:24:03. > :24:09.for 14 years. It is a paid job? No. I don't get a
:24:10. > :24:13.penny. There are eight of us. One is a bricklayer, one is a joiner. We
:24:14. > :24:18.all volunteer. We work here patching things up. We have done for years.
:24:19. > :24:23.We have never had a penny from no`one.
:24:24. > :24:29.So all on a voluntary basis? Yes. Why? I love the place. My wife
:24:30. > :24:33.worked here. Her mother worked here. A lot of her relatives worked here.
:24:34. > :24:39.We just like the place. How would you describe it now? Terms
:24:40. > :24:44.of the state of disrepair? It is just so collapsing. I have patched
:24:45. > :24:48.up here and there. I am not allowed to up the boards. With it being a
:24:49. > :24:52.listed grade two star, we cannot do anything to the place.
:24:53. > :24:56.What would you like to see happen here? I would like to see it all to
:24:57. > :25:01.be restored. When you say restored, obviously it
:25:02. > :25:07.could not become a tea pot factory again, could it? It could be. It
:25:08. > :25:10.could be restored or rented as units.
:25:11. > :25:13.Would it make a good museum? Yes, it would.
:25:14. > :25:20.It would make a very good tourist attraction. We get calling in here.
:25:21. > :25:24.I have had people from Canada, America, where they found out that
:25:25. > :25:34.their families used to work here, and could they look around.
:25:35. > :25:39.This is one of the oldest pot banks in Staffordshire! You would lose a
:25:40. > :25:47.lot of history. A lot of history, a lot... Phil and his committed band
:25:48. > :25:52.of brothers desperately want to save the site, but are they simply
:25:53. > :25:59.holding back the tied? One local group has joined the fight? We set
:26:00. > :26:07.up a preservation trust to take the lease of ten bottle ovens and get
:26:08. > :26:11.Restoration funds for that. About ?600,000. Pottery's heritage
:26:12. > :26:17.societies have been around for almost 25 years now. We have been
:26:18. > :26:20.looking out for other buildings around Stoke`on`Trent, trying to
:26:21. > :26:25.ensure that buildings are kept in use.
:26:26. > :26:33.But this building has not been used. I wonder if it ever will be again.
:26:34. > :26:36.It was not built with 21st century standards in mind. Could
:26:37. > :26:41.well`meaning bureaucracy get in the way of its survival? Is the listing
:26:42. > :26:47.helping to preserve the building or hindering it? Again we are talking
:26:48. > :26:54.about uses. Buildings must be used to survive. So adaptation has to
:26:55. > :26:59.happen. So this would be built with external staircases, no lives, no
:27:00. > :27:02.disabled access, so now we have to build it in in order for it to
:27:03. > :27:06.survive. If it were to be raised to the
:27:07. > :27:12.ground or falling in as it looks likely, what do we lose? An identity
:27:13. > :27:16.that we have in the potteries, really.
:27:17. > :27:22.That is 250 years of history. We are a city of six towns. Each town has
:27:23. > :27:26.its own charm and the places between. We have a great situation
:27:27. > :27:34.where we are on the canal it is a place where we get visit o thousands
:27:35. > :27:39.of visitors that come past or stop here to see the building or are
:27:40. > :27:42.interested in the heritage. There is a great opportunity, as well as an
:27:43. > :27:47.issue and a prob level. Is there hope for Phil and his team
:27:48. > :27:52.of volunteers? Absolutely it is about making sure that the new uses
:27:53. > :28:09.are appropriate and making sure that people use them and appreciate them
:28:10. > :28:12.for what they are. Restoration is not just about
:28:13. > :28:16.putting things back the way they were. Nice though that would be. For
:28:17. > :28:21.buildings like this to have a future, we need to find new ways of
:28:22. > :28:26.using them. First they have to hope that someone cares enough to save
:28:27. > :28:31.them. If not, we run the risk of losing yet another link with our
:28:32. > :28:36.regions and nations past. By getting involved with time, energy or money,
:28:37. > :28:37.you can help ensure that structures like these continue to tell their
:28:38. > :29:13.tales for generations to come. Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your
:29:14. > :29:16.90 second update. Large parts of the UK are being
:29:17. > :29:18.battered by a powerful storm. Two people have died, thousands are
:29:19. > :29:20.without power. Dozens of severe flood warnings are in force with
:29:21. > :29:25.homes being evacuated. Your forecast in a moment and get the latest on
:29:26. > :29:27.your local BBC radio station. Millions of us are going to have to
:29:28. > :29:28.work longer. The Chancellor is