Monthly Archives: December 2010

On 16 November the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced details of its “newEnvironmental Stewardship [ES] payment schedule”, which will cap funding for maintaining and restoring traditional farm buildings in favour of re-focusing “resources on key environmental issues such … Continue reading →

A new £100million fund to help the charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises that are most vulnerable to public spending cuts was due to be opened at the end of November and managed by BIG Fund, announced Minister for Civil … Continue reading →

The interim version of the  National Heritage Protection Plan is now available at www.english-heritage.org.uk/nhpp. The Plan is the national framework  for bringing together work by English Heritage and other partners within the  sector to protect the historic environment.  It will allow EH to … Continue reading →

The Scotland Branch of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the professional body for building and area conservation specialists, has released its scoping survey of conservation in Scotland’s local authorities, typically Conservation Officers who are members of the IHBC, … Continue reading →

Radical new planning reforms were announced on 6 December to hand powers down from Whitehall bureaucrats and down from Town Hall officials to communities so local people shape the character of the very neighbourhood in which they live. In what are being … Continue reading →

Applications are invited for a number of residencies at the British School at Rome, consisting of residential awards for Research in the Archaeology, History, Art History, Society and Culture of Italy from Prehistory to the Modern Period, 2011—12 are iv deadline 18 January 2011. These … Continue reading →

At a ceremony in the Scottish Parliament, Shettleston Housing Association Offices, Glasgow, by Elder and Cannon Architects has been awarded the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award 2010, as the judges citation for the winning building highlights ‘the ingenuity of … Continue reading →

The first tranche of an archive of BRE publications, comprising nearly a thousand documents, is now available via www.BREBookshop.com (click on ‘Archive’). It includes 130 BRE Digests published from 1948-1966, 720 Current Papers (research project summaries) from 1968-1983, and 125 Overseas Building … Continue reading →

Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable and Skills Minister John Hayes launched the Government’s skills strategy for England, Skills for Sustainable Growth in November. Mr Cable said resources would be focused on technical skills, apprenticeships, expanding vocational training and … Continue reading →

An inspector has rejected an appeal in relation to a substantial 134-residential unit scheme on Canonbury Road in Islington, London, which would have involved the demolition of two properties and their replacement with a residential-led mixed-use scheme of 134 new … Continue reading →

The latest annual volume of Housing and Planning Statistics for 2010 was released on 2 December 2010 under arrangements in line with the code of practice for official statistics. This annual compendium covers all aspects of housing and planning in England (and … Continue reading →

A YouGov survey commissioned by the New Homes Marketing Board (NHMB) has revealed that more than eight in ten people (81 per cent) believe Britain needs more housing for sale and rent, especially affordable homes for first-time buyers. But it also shows … Continue reading →

The Open Spaces Society has begun canvassing its membership about the Government’s proposals for a new designation, similar to sites of special scientific interest, designed to safeguard ‘green areas of particular importance to local communities’. The society said: ‘We have … Continue reading →

Localism minister Greg Clark has said that the Coalition’s proposed planning reforms will mean a step-change in the role of planners, as they will ‘have much more scope to help local people articulate their vision for their town or village … Continue reading →

The Local Government Ombudsman has upheld a complaint against Christchurch Borough Council over the way it handled amendments to a planning application for a housing development – but also welcomed subsequent action by the local planning authority to mitigate the … Continue reading →

Baroness Hanham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, recently provided the keynote speech at the Heritage Champions National Conference 2010 (15 November 2010) at the Foundling Museum, London, noting that ‘Conservation of the historic environment is dependent on a robust … Continue reading →

The letter to English Heritage (EH) from the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) informing EH of the new funding regime has been released, and includes directions on allocations and cutbacks, and encouragement to use charitable donations and philanthropy … Continue reading →

A competition to create a new city to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 is launched today. Details of the Civic Honours Competition were unveiled by Mark Harper, Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, who is inviting … Continue reading →

The expert panel who will decide which sites go forward to be considered for nomination for World Heritage Status was today announced by Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose. The independent panel of nine people, meeting for the first time … Continue reading →

HLF has announced an overall budget of £250m for new grants next financial year (March 2011-12) – £45m more than the budget for the current year. This news is the result of the recently confirmed increase in the share of … Continue reading →

The entire full-time Planning Aid staff have been sent pre-redundancy consultation letters by the DCLG. The notices were sent to the sixty staff earlier this week. DCLG currently pays Planning Aid about £3m per year but this is expected to … Continue reading →

Paul Morrell’s Innovation and Growth Team has released its final report on UK construction’s low carbon transition for the government to consider, with recommendations to include ‘green leases’, greater use of building information modelling and standardised solutions for housing retrofit, … Continue reading →

A new report could offer some prescient glimpses as to what’s in store for our future world. As humans we’re obsessed with the future, with predictions, projections, extrapolations and guestimates but more often than not these turn out to be … Continue reading →

The National Trust is currently looking for talented people to join their Board of Trustees. National Trust Opportunities: LINK