The Revitalisation strategy for Vilnius contains:
1. Guiding principles – long term and nationally and internationally agreed. They are based on the Vision (that opens this report), adopted by Vilnius City Council. There is a number of guiding principles to be incorporated in all Old Town planning documents.
2. Strategic aims – medium term objectives for the revitalisation of the Old Town, derived from the principles. Progress towards their achievement will be monitored, and the objectives reviewed as some of them are achieved and/or circumstances change.
3. Desired short term (tactical) results – these form the basis of an annually updated action planning document for the Old Town, providing guidance for the implementation programme.
4. Preconditions and instruments – active, and passive measures to attain the desired results. These fall into three categories:
a) preconditions; the changes necessary in legal and heritage regulations, and in the economic and administrative systems currently in operation in Vilnius, if the Old Town is to be successfully revitalised;
b) the new institutions required to implement the revitalisation programme;
c) financial implementation mechanisms.
Guiding PrinciplesThe Vision is supported by guiding principles:
Balance and integration of preservation and development
Whilst it is crucial to protect and enhance the historic
buildings and urban pattern which gives Vilnius its character, there must also be new
development if the Old Town is to live. New uses to bring economic revitalisation will
require adaptations to old buildings and new buildings on infill sites. It is important
that new development is carefully managed to enhance its setting, and that it brings
sustainable economic growth.
The vitality of traditional town centres arises in part from their mix of functions – housing, workshops, commercial, cultural and spiritual buildings all intermingled – serving the needs of all citizens and of visitors. All development in the Old Town must intensify this mix, not reduce it. It is particularly important to maintain a substantial residential population, balanced in social mix and family structure. The monitoring and sensitive management of such mixed use areas is essential for their success.
Public-private partnershipPublic and private sectors must work in partnership to revitalise the Old Town. The public authorities must provide leadership, a supportive legislative framework and financial pump-priming; the private sector, entrepreneurial skills and capital. Mechanisms will have to be created to facilitate productive partnership working. In the initial stage it may be necessary for the authorities to consider finding ways to diminish investment risks by active involvement of the public sector.
The following strategic aims are suggested to implement the principles and incorporate the conclusions of the analysis:
1. Improve the planning and organisational capacity of the Municipality to take a leading role in managing the revitalisation process in the Old Town:
a) identify, safeguard and promote heritage values through their integration into the cultural, economic and social life of the community;
b) urgently create a supportive legal and administrative framework for property development and public resource management in the Old Town;
c) determine infrastructure investment priorities;
d) reorganise the internal structure of the Municipality to integrate all departments dealing with physical planning in the Old Town.
2. Use scarce public resources to lever substantial private investment to achieve the common goal of the sustainable development of the Old Town; create climate of support for citizen initiatives and allocate financing for supporting them to build confidence with local community.
3. Establish organisations dedicated to managing the Old Town revitalisation programme, and to enlisting public support for it.
Achieving Desired Results by Action Planning
In addition to the statutory plans and preconditions outlined above, a more proactive Action Plan for the Old Town is needed to lead the implementation of the strategy.
An action plan is a document which encourages and directs the redevelopment of an area. It is essentially a proactive rather than a reactive or regulatory document. It has the following functions:
1) it brings together and summarises in one document all adopted and proposed statutory local plans and heritage management regulations for the area;
2) it should take account of the available resources and set a realistic time scale for renewal;
3) it provides the information needed by private investors on which to base investment decisions;
4) it provides a basis for building a public consensus on the future development of the area;
5) it assists in co-ordinating public investment programmes in the area.
The Action Plan should contain the following information:
1. A statement of the general principles guiding the future development of the area.
2. It should apply these principles to a range of development issues such as:
a) environment and urban fabric;
b) traffic and transport;
c) shopping;
d) housing;
e) employment, training and business development;
f) tourism and leisure.
3. It should review progress to date in renewing the area.
This will range from major redevelopment projects, street improvements, area improvement schemes, together with a range of special topics such as street lighting, sign posting, etc.
4. It will identify redevelopment opportunities, which may be derelict or unused buildings or cleared sites, and will provide a development brief for each site which should include such information as:
Preconditions and Instrumentsa) site or building area;
b) existing ownership (and if in public ownership, proposed method of privatisation or lease);
c) former or existing use;
d) preferred use;
e) description of site/building;
f) access and parking arrangements;
g) planning history (previous abortive proposals etc);
h) general development conditions – priority, plans for adjacent areas etc.;
i) urban design/heritage constraints – building envelope, permitted heights and volume, plot ratio, special historic features etc.;
j) contact points for owner, planner, local agency staff etc.
Changes to the legal and administrative procedures of
the State and Municipality will have to be made if the revitalisation strategy is to
succeed in its aim to attract more private investment. They can be briefly summarised as:
1. Municipal Restructuring:
a) there is a need for a comprehensive register for
the Old Town, recording property details and ownership, and a condition survey focusing
initially on residential buildings. Such a register should be cross-referenced to the
inventory of heritage values that will be a result of InterSAVE registration;
b) one administrative unit must be responsible for all physical planning
and heritage management in the Old Town. Assuming that the responsibility for the
protection of heritage monuments and urban patterns rests with the State and the
Municipality, the present municipal department of heritage protection with its statutory
territorial planning and heritage functions should be merged with the department of
architecture and building;
c) the administrative process of heritage management and building permits
must be integrated and simplified. Ideally developers should be able to make a single
application and have a response within a set timescale;
d) the powers to dispose of public property in the Old Town must be
rapidly resolved, and divided between State and Municipality;
e) income from the Old Town (property rents, parking fees etc.) should be
retained for reinvestment in the area as a temporary measure;
f) a programme of improvements to streets, open spaces and other key
elements of the infrastructure, should be initiated – to give confidence to investors
and the Old Town community, and to attract visitors.
2. Planning:
a) there should be a comprehensive development plan
for infrastructure improvements, integrated with the Old Town Action Plan;
b) the co-ordination of the different service infrastructure operations and renewal must
be improved, preferably under Municipal control;
c) a detailed heritage protection policy and management guidelines must
be established, based on international standards. Officials must operate within this
policy and guidelines;
d) small and relatively inexpensive projects involving local residents
and responding to their initiatives should be developed. This will help to build local
confidence and facilitate community involvement.
3. Housing:
Apartment owners must be made aware of their responsibility for the upkeep of the communal parts of their buildings, and the establishment of Home Owner Associations must be a priority. In the short term the Municipality should be given more statutory power to intervene when historic properties are deteriorating and it should have possibility to provide fiscal incentives, such as tax reliefs, subsidies and loans on preferential conditions.