Reappointment of Chair and Members to the Historic Buildings Council

Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons MLA, has announced the reappointment of the Chair and eight Members of the Historic Buildings Council (HBC).

The Chair, Mr Peter Tracey, has been reappointed from 5 March 2024 to 30 November 2024, and seven Members, as listed below, from 5 March 2024 until 30 June 2026:

• Mrs Siobhan Brown
• Ms Margaret Edwards
• Dr Connie Gerrow
• Dr Rosaleen Hickey
• Ms Sabine Kalke
• Mr Graeme Moore
• Mr Conor Sandford

In addition, Mr Sebastian Graham has been reappointed from 5 March 2024 until 31 August 2026.

The Chair and seven Members listed above have served on the Council since 1 July 2020, with Mr Graham appointed a Member on 1 September 2020. 

HBC is an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department for Communities. It was established in 1974 and is currently constituted under Section 198 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. The aim of HBC is to provide independent advice to the Department on the listing of buildings, the general state of listed buildings and other matters relating to their preservation.

Notes to editors: 

1. Chair and Member positions attract no remuneration, however there is a provision for out-of-pocket expenses.
2. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s (CPA NI) Code of Practice. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, CPA NI requires the political activity of appointees to be published. Any relevant details are provided in the below biographies.
3. Biographical Details:
   Mr Peter Tracey -  Mr Tracey is currently the Principal of Tracey Architects based in Derry city. The firm has worked throughout the island of Ireland including on the following projects: St Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg, The Ulster History Park, Civic offices at Milford, Westport Civic offices (2nd prize RIAI design competition). He is the incumbent Chair of the Foyle Civic Trust - winner of the National UK Heritage Angels award 2019 for its work in the restoration and refurbishment of over 30 buildings within and around the environs of the Walled City in Derry over a 18 year period. He has also previously served on the Historic Buildings Council as a Member from 2013-2019. A keen traditional fiddle player he has taught at the renowned Cairdeas na Bhfidleiri summer school in south west Donegal. He does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Mrs Siobhan Brown - Mrs Brown is a registered Chartered Architect, with over 20 years’ experience working in architecture, specialising in the conservation of the built heritage as well as encouraging the promotion of historic buildings. She is currently the Director of Flamma Ltd and was formerly Assistant Director of Hearth Housing Association. She has a keen interest in music having previously set up a community choir. She does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Ms Margaret Edwards - Ms Edwards’ background is in the education and local government sectors. Through her roles with Derry City and Strabane District Council, she has gained extensive experience in museums, heritage, delivery of capital projects, strategic planning and project management, with her portfolio including projects in the Tower Museum and the Guildhall. She is currently the Project Manager for the new DNA (Derry ~ Londonderry on the North Atlantic) Museum to be located in Ebrington. She has worked with a range of heritage groups such as the City Walls Management Group, Inner City Buildings Preservation Trust and the Heritage Trust Network and has served on the board of the Irish Museums Association. She does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Dr Connie Gerrow - Dr Gerrow has a background in building condition assessments and is an experienced Heritage Project Officer formerly at Ulster Architectural Heritage. She has provided guidance for historic building owners, community groups and the voluntary sector on how to approach repair projects. Through her consultancy roles, she has worked on a range of projects aimed at heritage education and raising awareness of heritage assets. She currently works at Ulster University in the School of Arts and Humanities. She does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Mr Sebastian Graham - Mr Graham currently works for Ulster Architectural Heritage as the Heritage at Risk officer. He has a keen interest in, and knowledge of, industrial heritage, particularly mills, across Northern Ireland. He has researched mills for a number of years and has developed a website, to share his interest not just in mills but also in areas such as agriculture, quarrying and reminiscence. He has provided talks to community groups on the subject as well as speaking to owners of many of these redundant buildings. He holds a Masters in History from Queens University Belfast and a Post Graduate diploma in Environmental Management. He does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Dr Rosaleen Hickey -  Dr Hickey holds an MA (Hons) in Architectural History from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Architecture from Queen’s University Belfast. For over a decade she has developed and delivered a range of heritage projects for a variety of organisations and charities including British Council, Ulster Architectural Heritage, Belfast City Council and Belfast Interface Project. She is currently Heritage Officer at Strand Arts Centre, Belfast. She does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Ms Sabine Kalke -  Ms Kalke is an accomplished urban planner with a proven track record of managing and delivering a diverse range of urban regeneration projects and programme, with extensive experience in urban planning and regeneration and a background in managing EU funded projects, she has built solid networking expertise with diverse partners. As Client Manager in Belfast City Council she is leading on a range of capital projects such as the Strand Arts Centre and the Market Arches. She also has extensive experience within the area of Industrial Heritage gained through working with 15 European partners, as Project Manager for the INTERREG IVC project B-Team, a strategic programme to influence policies on Brownfield regeneration. She does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Mr Graeme Moore - Mr Moore is an RIBA Specialist Conservation Architect, with his work involving a variety of Heritage Projects including Listed Building, Protected Structures and Scheduled Monuments in NI, ROI and GB. He has also worked on various Belfast Maritime Projects, including two Historic ship restorations as well as a number of significant Listed Buildings throughout Northern Ireland such as Portrush Town Hall and Parliament Buildings, Stormont. As well as sitting on the HBC, his day to day work involves communicating with a range of bodies and stakeholders and he regularly delivers presentations on conservation theory on the RSUA Conservation Course and more recently to Ulster University. He does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
   Mr Conor Sandford - Mr Sandford is an alumnus of the Archaeology Department of Queen's University Belfast from which he has two relevant degrees focusing in particular on the built heritage of Northern Ireland. As a Historic Building Surveyor he has experience in conducting studies, field surveys and building evaluations allowing him to provide effective professional advice. He has an interest in industrial heritage and has worked in the Northern Ireland Second Survey. He does not currently hold any other public appointments and has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.
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