'Assessing residents values for the Royal Pavilion using contingent valuation' - a chapter in Perspectives on Impact, Technology and Strategic Management: Heritage Management Series Volume 1, eds., J McLoughlin, J Kaminski and B Sodagar, published by EPOCH through Archaeolingua, Hungary, 2007 pp 76-85, ISBN 978 963 8046 83 3

My work with colleagues J McLoughlin and J Kaminski specialist expertise (AMEX and Valuation Methodologies) was significant in this study that applied the contingent valuation method to its assessment of the value of the Royal Pavilion to the residents of Brighton. Broadly adopting methodologies utilised in a 2005 Museums, Libraries and Archives Council survey conducted in Bolton, these were redesigned for the Brighton situation in order to determine whether the technique could be applied easily to the wider heritage sector. The study’s findings were presented by invitation to the Annual Symposium of the European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (EAHTR) in Dubrovnik (2006) which focused on Cultural Tourism - Economic Benefit or Loss of Identity? Its implications were also signalled in Arnold’s invited lead presentation at the Finnish EU Presidency Symposium (2006).

I organised 10 different groups of students as well as professional surveyors in order to carry out a survey of different strategically chosen sites in Brighton and Hove in order to get the information to carry out the analysis.

The chapter analyses over 300 responses from Brighton and Hove residents at five representative sites around the city, identifying the value placed on the asset by those who use it - or do not. By extrapolating the result over the population of the city, an overall estimated value can be derived and used to inform debate on the use of city revenues in preserving the Pavilion and making it accessible to residents and non-residents alike. Other factors, including the relationship between residents’ age and value, were also assessed to see if they had a potential role in influencing investment decisions. Importantly, it was found that, even with a template, the contingent valuation methodology would be too expensive to apply to the cultural heritage sector with its resource limitations. The results of this study were fed back both to the Royal Pavilion and to the city authorities and used in the development of the CUBIST (Cultural Business - Impact, Strategy and Technology Management, located in the Brighton Business School) group’s socio-economic impact assessment methodology.