Monthly Archives: July 2011

The president of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the UK’s leadingprofessional body for building conservation and historic environment specialists, fears that the Government’s proposals to simplify the planning system will put the nation’s historic places at risk.    He claims … Continue reading →

Government is seeking views on the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which is part of its reforms to make the planning system less complex and more accessible, and to promote sustainable growth, with a closing date of 17 October.   … Continue reading →

The IHBC has announced that its celebrated house journal, Context, is now available to read online in its entirety, in a move that will enhance further the IHBC’s support for professionals, researchers and the wider sector.   Charles Strang, IHBC’s … Continue reading →

HMRC is carrying out a consultation on a possible model for a cost sharing exemption that might be introduced in the UK, with a response date of 30 September 2011. Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS), the link body for built environment NGOs … Continue reading →

A Twickenham resident who demolished his 19th century house, has been ordered to pay £80,000, a record fine for demolishing a house in a Conservation Area without Conservation Area Consent. In June 2010, the Council gave John Johnson permission to build … Continue reading →

Future for Religious Heritage (FRH) is a new network of organisations across Europe that are concerned with the protection of our shared religious heritage.   A broad consultation carried out in 2010 identified an absence of policy-level communication between bodies struggling to … Continue reading →

HER21 is part of an English Heritage 5-year strategy to support the development of Historic Environment Records (HERs) towards ‘consistency in both structure and content, from one HER to another, as well as reasonable and proportionate completeness of information’, and the IHBC has … Continue reading →

Scotland’s third sector has been given a ‘massive boost’ with the launch of two new programmes to help enterprising organisations grow and operate more efficiently.   The £3 million Just Enterprise programme will deliver a wide range of business support … Continue reading →

The latest estimates from the 2010/11 Taking Part adult survey produced by DCMS were released on 30 June 2011 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.   The latest data from the 2010/11 Taking Part survey provides reliable national … Continue reading →

DeHavilland, in partnership with ‘Construction News’ and Glenigan, have been asked to host a conference and exhibition on the implications of the Green Deal for the construction industry and its supply chain (23-24 November, London) and would like to know … Continue reading →

The Planning Advisory Service is encouraging small and sole trader consultancies to register for opportunities to deliver consultancy and support to councils, and calling on councils to encourage their service providers to come forward for registration.   PAS writes: We … Continue reading →

The Government has promised to look again at the wording of the clause in the Localism Bill on local finance considerations.   Government minister Lord Atlee acknowledged that there was widespread concern in and outside Parliament that clause 124 might … Continue reading →

Expressions of interest from local authorities for a Biodiversity Offsetting pilot have been called for by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) The initiative is intended to help developers satisfy planning obligations to make good any harm … Continue reading →

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the professional body for built and historic environment conservation specialists, has welcomed the recent report on heritage by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), ’Averting Crisis in Heritage’, highlighting in particular its … Continue reading →

Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones has confirmed that his administration will consolidate existing legislation to make the planning system more transparent and accessible, while Huw Lewis, the housing, regeneration and heritage minister, has stressed that one of his ministerial priorities … Continue reading →

The closing date for the IHBC’s Annual Gus Astley Student Award 2011 is 31 July, with eligible work being that submitted between August 2009 and July 2011 to a UK taught course, and covering any aspect of buildings or places, their history, … Continue reading →

City of London planning officer Peter Rees has highlighted the growth in applications to refurbish office blocks, in comments following work led by Broadgate developer Sir Stuart Lipton to find ways of building skyscrapers at half the cost.     Building … Continue reading →

A new report issued by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) provides evidence for how well designed buildings can deliver tangible social and economic benefits to those who use them and invest in them.   ‘Good design: it all … Continue reading →

  Relaxing planning rules for change of use from commercial to residential would damage economic recovery and be unworkable, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has argued, in a response to a consultation from the Communities and Local Government Department … Continue reading →

In a move revealed in the Government’s delayed ‘Open Public Services’ White Paper, the coalition Government has said it will consult on how to open up local planning services so that there is more competition between providers.   The initiative is part of … Continue reading →

The Construction industry Council has opened an informal call for examples of the use of National Occupational Standards (NOS) by relevant organisations. CIC writes: We have recently revamped the CIC standards website (see http://www.cic.org.uk/standards/).  We would like to develop some case studies … Continue reading →

The UK construction industry could be missing the essential management skills to help it overcome the effects of recession, according to new research. In a poll of 1,450 construction employers, conducted by Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Council, CITB-ConstructionSkills, … Continue reading →

  A definitive survey shows nearly 2.5bn visits were made to English countryside, coast and open spaces last year, with visitors spending over £17 billion in 2010/11   Natural England, with support from the Forestry Commission and Defra, has published … Continue reading →

The Government has announced the transfer of most Regional Development Agency (RDA) land and property assets to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).   The chief executive of the HCA, Pat Ritchie, has welcomed the move which will involve the … Continue reading →