Press releases

There has been strong criticism from the media about the levels of public money spent on landmark projects. If there was suspicion before, the Millennium Dome made it official: the UK doesn’t need any more white elephants.

Landmark projects and public works of art provide an easy target because in most cost-benefit analyses, only the costs are transparent. The value of landmarks is usually subtle and long-term. Often they are not quantifiable in a short-term monetary sense – unless there is an entrance fee or toll attached to visiting them. And even in these cases such income would not necessarily represent the full benefits.

A few years ago, a local authority got in touch regarding its attempts to obtain European funding to create a large-scale chalk figure as a landmark for the South Downs. “How many additional visitors will be attracted to the area by this project?” they asked me – the question posed in the funding application form. It’s an impossible question for several reasons:

• it is difficult to gauge the wider public (rather than local resident) reaction that will be generated by a landmark. Some will love it and some will not. Many of those that love it will still choose not to visit for a variety of reasons.

• A landmark needs to become known to attract visitors. This depends largely upon levels of media coverage, marketing and public interest. The full economic benefits of a landmark may therefore not become clear until the long term i.e. once the landmark has become established in the public mind.

• A destination’s brand and its overall ability to attract visitors, depends upon the availability and interaction of hundreds of individual products such as bars, hotels, attractions and restaurants. It is not feasible to look at the impact of a specific landmark separately from these other components.

It doesn’t help that the idea of a “landmark” is in itself contentious. What turns a building or a piece of public art into a landmark? The dictionary describes one as “a prominent or well-known object or feature of a particular landscape or geographical area”. Such a definition seems fairly clear until one asks the question – well known by whom? For this reason it is worth distinguishing between four levels of landmark awareness – international, national, regional and local. For example, the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty landmarks are probably the three most powerful and well known in the world. To equate these with landmarks that have limited public recognition is to undervalue their potency.

Turning to the UK, examples of landmarks that fit these categories might be:

• International landmarks (well-known throughout the world), for example, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus/Eros, Stonehenge.

• National landmarks (well-known throughout the UK) – Blackpool Tower, Brighton Pier, Forth Bridge, Millennium Dome, Canterbury Cathedral, Hadrian’s Wall.

• Regional landmarks (well-known throughout the region in which sited)  – Angel of the North, Royal Liver Building, Burns Monument, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Metro Centre Gateshead, B of the Bang, Ashton Memorial.

• Local landmarks (well-known throughout the local area) – a myriad of local churches, statues, memorials, windmills, follies etc.

Making the transition from one level to another is quite possible. Paraphrasing a Shakespeare quote, some landmarks are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them - such as the William Wallace Monument in Stirling following the success of the Braveheart film.

Few of Britain’s landmarks outside of London achieve widespread international recognition. This is one of the reasons why London’s share of international visitors to the UK is consistently well above 50%. London’s share of the UK’s domestic tourism market,  however, is under 10% because British residents are more familiar with a different level of UK regional destinations and landmarks. It will be interesting see whether a large-scale project, such as the newly-built Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, is able to elevate itself above a local/regional level of interest to become a monument of national or even international importance. For while it stands much higher than Blackpool Tower, it does not have the history, image or profile that Blackpool Tower has had for well over 100 years, the resonance from being part of people’s everyday lives and memories.

There is more to landmarks than tourism. An overlooked but increasingly important role is their ability to provide a sense of local identity and pride, of the distinctiveness of a particular location, either as “home” or a place we have an association with, to give it a presence and meaning. A recent survey (1), in which 1,000 respondents were asked to name their favourite UK landmarks, indicates that most people chose a local landmark. While overall the UK's favourite landmarks were found to be Big Ben, the London Eye and Stonehenge, in the North East the majority of people pointed to the Tyne Bridge and the Angel of the North; in the South West the top answers were the Eden Project and the Clifton Suspension Bridge; in Scotland they were Edinburgh Castle and the Forth Road Bridge. 75% of those surveyed believed that landmarks were the most important factor in providing an identity for a region, compared with 44% who thought accent was significant, 51% regional food and drink and 60% regional events.

Landmarks can help bring together disparate communities in practical ways, for example through the planning and interaction at events based around the theme or physical presence of a landmark. In this way they help to create more of a coherent sense of shared community values and activities. The Angel of the North in Gateshead is one of the best examples of a landmark that is seen as a symbol of the whole of Northern England. Its whole look, texture and positioning is intended to be symbolic of an industrial past shared throughout the region. To capitalise, Angel-themed cycling events regularly tour many neighbouring local authority districts and help bring social and economic benefits to the shops, accommodation suppliers, restaurants and bars in these communities.

It seems fairly obvious therefore that landmark projects should reflect the cultural identity of the area/region where they are to be sited. If the current image is tired or negative it may be possible to help re-position the image through novel or contrasting landmarks. This can be a risky strategy. For example, the short-lived National Rock & Pop Museum in Sheffield failed partly because the area does not have the musical pedigree of, say, Liverpool or Manchester. It therefore did not sit well with public perceptions of what Sheffield has to offer the visitor. On the other hand, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao has helped change public perceptions of a run-down and dull city into a vibrant and attractive place to visit. The Tate Museum in St Ives has helped transform the image of Cornwall from beach-only holidays to one that will attract culture-seekers.

The task of reflecting a regional identity is a complex one. The East of England is an example of a recently created region which includes a highly disparate range of areas, types of community and history: from urban London satellites to the rural and coastal landscapes of Norfolk and Suffolk. Where’s the common thread, a point of reference that expresses the character of the East of England? It was with this challenge in mind that the landmark east international competition was created in 2003 by the East of England Development Agency. The winners Dunwich (a series of sculptures in the sea to mark the site of the lost Anglo-Saxon city of Dunwich, and offering important reminders of the threat of coastal erosion), East Reef (a man-made tropical reef that will act as coastal defence and provide opportunities for a waters sports and leisure area), Landscape East (a bridge of reeds spanning the A14 near Cambridge) and Watermarking the East of England (a movable bridge that will be a focal point for riverside festivals and events across the region) all offer the potential to raise the profile of this region.

There is evidence of how the distinctiveness of regions is critical to attracting inward investment and tourism. Landmarks that are generally well-regarded by both “locals” and the public at large can make a massive contribution to a destination’s image. Newcastle’s new Millennium Bridge, juxtaposed with the Tyne Bridge, sends out a strong message and imagery that Newcastle is a modern hi-tech city yet retains the particular culture, charm, architecture and accessibility for which it is famous. A successful business considering locating or expanding in an area will want to ensure that it can attract a workforce that wishes to work and live in that area. Areas with a strong cultural or economic identity often benefit directly in terms of attracting businesses/people to live and work. Wales in particular has reaped the rewards of a strong inward investment policy tied to its cultural difference to the rest of the UK. Landmark projects in Wales are now helping to consolidate that competitive image. The Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Bay Opera House send out a strong signal to investors and potential visitors that Wales is thriving economically (otherwise it could not have invested such huge sums in these projects) and culturally.

A well-conceived and executed landmark can also attract other investors who are keen to capitalise on its success: by developing near-by products, attractions and businesses which benefit from the proximity, image and name of the landmark. This in turn helps generate a critical mass of products, making a place even more attractive for potential investors and visitors. Indeed, whole districts can be transformed and re-branded based on landmarks alone. With some £55m of funding from the Lottery, the Eden Project is estimated to have generated around £462m for the South West regional economy. Birmingham too has been transformed in recent years with the renovation of its once derelict canal system and is now a “honeypot” for tourists both regionally and even nationally. This city is capitalising on its historic/cultural/industrial routes while bringing a new vigour and vibrancy to its centre – an area previously dominated by the dull and lifeless Bull Ring Centre but since replaced with its own new and impressive landmark ‘’Bullring” building. Landmarks with negative associations can do serious and lasting damage to a brand. Windscale (renamed Sellafield) was a landmark that created negative perceptions of the Cumbrian coast. It did serious damage to the Cumbria brand and to its tourism potential. Awareness of (and attitudes towards) landmarks also suffer from the fickleness of public taste. St. Pancras Station and its adjacent gothic hotel in London were for many years out of favour and in danger of being redeveloped out of existence. A renaissance in the appreciation of Victorian gothic architecture has prompted developers to rethink the merits of retaining these landmark structures.

Destinations throughout the world compete vigorously for a share of the burgeoning tourist business. Some have strong competitive advantages whereas, at the other extreme, others have little to offer tourists and are struggling to develop tourism-related products that will attract visitors. Coupled with this is a trend towards increasing homogenisation of tourism-related products throughout the world. International hotels (e.g. Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson etc), restaurants (e.g. McDonalds, Burger King, KFC) and retail chains (e.g. Gap, Benetton, H&M) in particular are responsible for this trend. Many destinations are becoming increasingly similar and for many visitors this erodes the unique experience.

It is true that local distinctiveness may not be essential for some overseas destinations to thrive on tourism. For example, many European tourists go in search of sun, sea and sand each year and care little whether they holiday in Spain, Greece or Turkey. For many of these, price is the main determinant and a lack of ‘distinctiveness’ is not a deterrent. However for Britain, which competes internationally for cultural, entertainment and countryside segments of the tourism market, local distinctiveness and landmarks of interest and/or intrinsic merit take on a much greater importance. The London Eye, for example, has captured the imagination of many overseas visitors and is now our number one most popular paid for attraction with over four million visits a year. It has also provided a major contribution to revitalising London’s South Bank.

Britain’s history, arts, heritage and countryside will always be the main draw for international visitors. Landmark sites, particularly those that reflect these themes, help the UK as a whole to compete in a global tourism market by differentiating its tourism products and regions from those of its international competitors. As Britain attracts more and more repeat visitors from overseas, so they tend to move further around Britain and away from London on their subsequent visits. Regions need to offer strong destination brands and imagery if they are to capture a share of this major growth sector. Landmarks, if well marketed and relevant to the target customer segments, are critical in helping to raise tourist awareness of a destination. For example, a modest statue of the late rock musician Frank Zappa was erected in a Hanover park by German enthusiasts. Around this statue has grown up an annual festival of rock music that lasts for several days. This event takes place during an otherwise quiet time for tourism and generates significant tourism revenue by attracting rock music enthusiasts from around the world.

There are probably hundreds of landmarks created in the UK each year. Most of these will never rise above the level of local or regional interest. However, it is my view that just because a landmark is not well known beyond the local/regional level, it can still have real value on a number of levels, with benefits in terms of identity and economic advantages. It should be borne in mind that spending by British day trippers within the UK (usually within a 50 mile radius of their homes) reached £32 billion in 2003, with a further £25.5 billion spent on domestic overnight stays. The wealth of landmark sites throughout the UK has, I believe, been crucial in sustaining these high levels of day visitor and domestic tourism expenditure.

A clear lesson emerges from this snapshot of the life of landmarks in the UK. Any assessment of the value of landmarks can only be made over time. There is too often an emphasis on the short-term, on visitor numbers versus costs or gaining an instant popular appeal. The arrival of the new can often lead to a negative response, after all, it’s not muted approval that is going to get attention. It is only over time that the benefits of landmark projects become felt and recognised by much larger groups of businesses, residents and visitors. And without a serious and thoughtful commitment to landmarks, the character of the UK’s regions is at risk of becoming diffused by the demands of a standardising global culture, and we will lose the opportunity to say something about the places we live in, what’s meaningful about the past and present, and for the majority of people, provide landmarks which are an important part of “home”.

(1) BMRB Access Telephone Omnibus Survey 14th - 16th January 2005

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