Monthly Archives: July 2009

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) has today welcomed the aims of the draft Planning Policy Statement 15; Planning for the Historic Environment, to promote inclusion and involvement and support sustainable communities by putting the historic environment at the … Continue reading →

Consultation paper on a new Planning Policy Statement 15: Planning for the Historic Environment, invites views on a new Planning Policy Statement (PPS) that will replace Planning Policy Guidance 15: Planning and the Historic Environment (PPG15) and Planning Policy Guidance … Continue reading →

‘Character and identity Townscape and heritage appraisals in housing market renewal areas’ is a report, co-published by CABE and English Heritage, to reflect the desire of both agencies to ensure a good process for addressing character and identity. It focuses … Continue reading →

The Director General of the Office of the Third Sector announced the second phase of the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning at the ACEVO Recession Summit on 11th June 2009. Following a procurement exercise, a contract has been awarded … Continue reading →

30 June 2009, Colin Tennant (CEO – Scottish Stone Liaison Group) met Aileen Campbell MSP (Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the Office of the First Minister of the Scottish Government) on 30 June to discuss Monument Watch. Monument Watch is operated … Continue reading →

The owner of a historic property in Brecon has pleaded guilty at Brecon Magistrates’ Court to authorising alterations to a Grade II-listed building without listed building consent. The illegal action involved the removal and destruction of a four-storey 17th century … Continue reading →

Recent claims by the Independent newspaper alleging that the listing of Broadmoor Prison hampers patient care have been dismissed as ‘potentially irresponsible journalism’ by the Director of The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the professional body for building conservation … Continue reading →

A CLG study has been issued which explores the variations in the number and types of economic indicators adopted across different localities within the 2008 Local Area Agreement (LAA) process by identifying the factors that influenced National Indicator (NI) selection … Continue reading →

Proposals for what were claimed to be the most sweeping reform of Northern Ireland’s planning system for more than 30 years have been outlined by incoming environment minister Edwin Poots. He insisted the measures, outlined in a Green Paper now … Continue reading →

The Commons Public Accounts Committee has published its report on ‘Planning for Homes – Speeding up Planning Applications for Major Housing Developments in England’. The report focused on the incentives to encourage planning authorities to perform well, the changes made … Continue reading →

Sites in Hampshire, Cornwall, Norfolk and Oxfordshire will go forward for full public consultation and local planning approval. Sites in Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, St Austell (China Clay) in Cornwall, Rackheath in Norfolk and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire will compete … Continue reading →

In the light of recent publicity the SPAB regrets that HRH The Prince of Wales was unable to renew his Patronage of the Society when it expired last year. We share a high proportion of the same objectives on issues … Continue reading →

The IHBC welcomed the two new professionals responsible for bringing forward the UK’s Association of Preservation Trusts (APT), following on from the hard work of retiring Chair Colin Johns. David Trevis-Smith has been elected Chairman and Dr. James Moir has … Continue reading →

Entries for the current round of the IHBC’s prestigious Gus Astley Annual Student Award are due by July 31. The award is open to students working in taught courses related to built and historic environment conservation – including history, planning, … Continue reading →

‘Do you specialise in period properties? Are you working on a period property?’ The makers of the original BBC TWO series ‘Restoration’ are developing a new primetime series that follows homeowners restoring period properties into impressive family homes, whilst turning … Continue reading →

A major new national survey on what people think of their local area and council demonstrates the importance of renewing local democracy, said Communities Secretary John Denham today. Mr Denham said the results of the Place Survey – based on … Continue reading →

A man has been ordered to restore an area of the Cam Washes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Wicken after constructing a track and a car parking area through an important wildlife habitat. On 30th June 2009, Mr … Continue reading →

The Civic Society Initiative http://www.civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk/ – created to ensure provision of a national voice and support for the civic society movement – has announced a series of Open Forums which are being held across the country to continue the debate about … Continue reading →

Twenty-three organisations have joined forces to launch a pioneering action plan that will overhaul place-making skills and improve the delivery of homes and communities. The main aims of the action plan are to: – Attract new entrants and retain existing … Continue reading →

“Every time we fail to preserve a site, we share the pain of the State Party,” declared María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO who is chairing the 33rd session of the World Heritage … Continue reading →

The Joint Working Agreement between Historic Scotland and Planning Authorities in Relation to Statutory Casework and Consultations sets out current working practices and is intended to ensure that planning authorities and Historic Scotland, work consistently and transparently to an agreed … Continue reading →

National infrastructure projects, including a high speed rail link to London, have been identified in the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 2 (NPF), just published. Infrastructure Minister Stewart Stevenson said the document outlined a vision for Scotland’s development to 2030. … Continue reading →

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the key professional body for built and historic environment conservation specialists, has opened booking for a major conference on ‘Conservation: Making the Economic Argument’. It will take place in Cardiff on 24 September … Continue reading →

The number of planning applications received by district planning authorities in England was some 30 per cent lower in the March quarter of 2009 than a year ago, according to latest figures compiled under the auspices of the UK Statistics … Continue reading →

The Civic Trust Awards are to continue despite the charity going into administration in April. The 50-year-old awards were set up to recognise the best in architecture, urban design, landscape and public art and the latest news will be widely … Continue reading →