Monthly Archives: May 2011

The Government has published a progress review on the Penfold Review of ‘non-planning consents’ ,including heritage consents, which is characterised by its increasing focus on ‘customer service’, and has committed to annual updates on progress.   The report says ‘Steps … Continue reading →

Plans to simplify the rules surrounding heritage assets could help boost economic growth, butPlanning magazine’s Michael Donnelly reports that there are concerns about the resources available on the front line.   Alongside the recent update on the Penfold report, heritage … Continue reading →

RICS Land and Society Commission makes recommendations on how the property industry can support local communities. The IHBC is among the wide range of bodies that contributes to the review, and it earned special mention for its contribution, reiterated by … Continue reading →

Each of the new Governments in the three devolved administrations (Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) are now considering significant changes to their planning regimes after going to the polls promising reforms.   In the case of Northern Ireland this is … Continue reading →

A year almost to the day after his appointment as Minister of Tourism and Heritage, John Penrose addressed a gathering of heritage sector leaders earlier on 23 May 2011, at the launch of the new English Heritage Corporate Plan and … Continue reading →

Portico, an online resource dedicated to deepening the public’s understanding of English history through the national collection of sites and monuments under the direct care of English Heritage, is now available with twelve properties as pilots. EH News: LINK EH Archives & … Continue reading →

The Design Council CABE has announced financial support for its design review affiliated network across England. The support comes in the form of grants to the eight affiliated design review panels across England for 2011-12 to enable them to run … Continue reading →

  Local Authorities are being offered the opportunity to apply to take part in the second phase of the Front Runners project, designed to develop the best approach to implementing the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) regime, first announced in November … Continue reading →

Seven UK cities and town centres are set to benefit from £10m of regeneration investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund, as part of its Townscape Heritage Initiative.   This supports local organisations working to bring run down but historic high … Continue reading →

Thousands of empty homes are being hidden from statistics as councils run out of money to fund regeneration projects, research has revealed, as Freedom of Information requests made by the charity ‘Empty Homes’ revealed 12,000 homes which were not added … Continue reading →

The Practitioners Advisory Group (PAG) has published a suggested draft of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the coalition’s proposed unified planning document, while environment groups have criticized it for not being sufficiently green! A group of four experts from … Continue reading →

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has provided an update on the Green Bank, as the UK becomes the first country in the world to create a bank dedicated to the greening of our economy.   BIS says: ‘The … Continue reading →

The National Heritage Protection Plan (NHPP) has been launched, setting out how English Heritage (EH), with help from partners in the sector, will prioritise and deliver heritage protection for the next four years.   It will make best use of EH resources … Continue reading →

CITB-ConstructionSkills’ Inspire scholarship scheme, set up to recruit the very best undergraduates into the industry, has been confirmed for 2011, with a closing date of 31 May, and will offer funding to enable 100 scholars to join the industry.   The … Continue reading →

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is seeking to appoint individuals with expertise in the following areas as Commissioners of English Heritage: architectural history, architecture, property development, estate management and two public interest representatives, with a closing date of … Continue reading →

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has formally confirmed the Government’s revised definition for zero carbon homes in a statement in the Commons, as housebuilders have been freed from responsibility for emissions outwith the scope of Building Regulations.   ‘We have decided that the regulatory … Continue reading →

The 27 winners of the 2011 European UnionPrize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards were announced in April by theEuropean Commission and Europa Nostra, with the winning projects selected from nearly 140 submissions from 31 countries.   Congratulations to UK … Continue reading →

A controversial clause that would allow town halls to consider the financial benefits that a permission would bring has been added to the Localism Bill following a vote last night in the House of Commons. Civic Voice News: LINK RTPI … Continue reading →

Civic Voice, the National Trust and The Heritage Alliance will be responsible for the national co-ordination of Heritage Open Days (HODs) and securing its future, as English Heritage will provide funding till 2015 and remains responsible for Heritage Open Days … Continue reading →

Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS), Scotland’s link body for the sector, is seeking to widen support for the 2010 ‘Early Day Motion’ (EDM) in Whitehall, on cutting VAT for repair and maintenance, by asking Scottish MPs to sign up to … Continue reading →

Appointments have been made in the devolved governments following the elections, with Fiona Hyslop retaining heritage as Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in Scotland, while in Wales the Heritage and Tourism brief being moved to the Housing and … Continue reading →

The Coalition Government has today published updated business plans for each government department with full details of changes made to the plans since they were first published in November 2010. The 2011 business plans reflect an updated assessment of when … Continue reading →

Retail consultant and TV presenter Mary Portas has been appointed to lead an independent review into the future of the High Street on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).   The purpose of the review will … Continue reading →

Joe Montgomery has joined the Urban Land Institute (ULI) as its new Chief Executive for Europe.   Responsibilities will include the expansion of its services and membership across Europe, and increasing the collaboration between public and private sectors in real … Continue reading →

If you have a new, innovative product, tool or material that would benefit the retrofit sector, you are invited to take part in the INSITE11 Innovation Zone competition, with applications to be submitted by 30 June 2011.   The competition … Continue reading →