Figure 15 Aerial view of Stanley Dock warehouses

Figure 15Aerial view of Stanley Dock warehouses(Historic England, 2017)

3.1.2 Transition over time

As an example, it was observed that the Tobacco Warehouse could hold up-to 70,000 hogsheads of tobacco, each weighing about 453 kg. Therefore, the docks served an important economic role in the transport of tobacco and rum that was imported from Americas (Bond, 2011). In the WWII, however, Liverpool was bombed heavily and the docks damaged as a result (Collard, 2016). The author reports that some of the structures destroyed during the war included part of the North Warehouse at Stanley Dock and majority of the dock buildings located at Salisbury and Collingwood docks. Subsequently, the economic fortunes of the docks declined drastically due to the devastation in the 1970s and 80s (Historic England, 2017).

Notable decline was also observed in the economic activities undertaken at the Stanley Docks for a period of more than 30 years as warehouses were mostly unused and remained empty (Stratton, 2000). Within the period, the builds deteriorated and their fabric decayed as original building materials were entirely lost and failed to complement the character of the surrounding area. As a result, the Stanley Docks warehouses were placed on the heritage risk register by the Historic England and Liverpool’s local council which led to emergency repairs to avoid total collapse of the buildings (Historic England, 2017). The downside with the regeneration actions was that it led to increased costs of repair due to the expansive size of the dock buildings. Additionally, the location of the port in northern section of the city made it difficult to obtain the needed funding. However, the site is still ranked as a popular World Heritage site (Bond, 2011).

In 2010, the Stanley Dock was purchased by Harcourt Developments as part of the conservation efforts to enhance the buildings and the potential of the area (Collard, 2016). By January 2013, work had begun on site

which resulted in the transformation of the North and Rum warehouses into hotels and events establishments and later opened for business in June 2014 (Historic England, 2017). In this context, the adaptive reuse strategy adopted in the Stanley Dock involved entire reconstruction of the built heritage into buildings serving new functionalities as docks and warehouses were now functional as hotels and event establishments.

However, it is important to highlight that in the implementation of the adaptive reuse strategy, a significant amount of historic fabric was retained. This aspect ensured that the original look and feel of the warehouse structures was still maintained while the surrounding areas were reconstructed, an aspect that was reiterated by El Namara (2013). The reliance on the original building materials also ensured its genuineness of the building was retained.The successful completion of the project was highly beneficial to the conservation efforts in the area as it fronted a positive future for the area (Bond, 2011).

3.1.3 Advantages of adaptive reuse of the Stanley Dock

Various benefits have emerged from the refurbishment of Stanley Dock. First, regards the increase in tourism activities and investments in the region as the location is ranked as a Heritage site (Bond, 2011). Directly, this has led to improved planning processes as the adjacent Tobacco Warehouse has been renovated into 538 apartments. Likewise, an increase in marketing campaigns and sales has also been associated with the regeneration of the docks into a hotel and conference centre (Collard, 2016).

Secondly, the success of the regeneration has further encouraged the local city council in Liverpool to consider formulation of wider strategic refurbishment plans for the region. In this manner, the dock’s restoration acts as a catalyst to improve regeneration efforts for the wider neighbouring area, thereby, enabling the are to re-join the city centre (Historic England, 2017). To achieve this, the Liverpool city council leverages the listing of the area as a conservation site in order to deliver more sustainable solutions for ‘Building at Risk’. In turn, this will improve regeneration of damaged buildings in the entire Liverpool region (Bond, 2011).

A third benefit is that, the Stanley Dock region has been listed as a conservation area and has been inscribed in the 2004 World Heritage Site listings (Bond, 2011). Directly, this has led to an increase in the profile of the docks as an important heritage site. In the same vein, the reuse of the heritage buildings and their particular setup is a key characteristic of the on-site development work (Collard, 2016). This makes it unique and provides a sense of identity and place for the Titanic hotel, conference centre and proposed apartments.