Monthly Archives: March 2012

Leading architectural historian and director of the Sir John Soane Museum from 1945 to 1984, Sir John Summerson (1904 – 1992) has been commemorated (19 March 2012) with an English Heritage blue plaque at 1 Eton Villas, Chalk Farm, NW3, … Continue reading →

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced a £1m increase to its Young Roots programme from April 2012. HLF has made a number of changes to the £4m programme – which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year – designed to … Continue reading →

The Northern Ireland Marine Bill was introduced to the Assembly on 21 February. DOENI Article: LINK

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the professional body for built and historic environment conservation specialists, has announced the winners of the 2011 Annual Gus Astley Student Award, selected by the guest judge Rory Cullen, Head of Buildings at … Continue reading →

The past-chair of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), John Yates, is now on the Council of the newly formed Canal and River Trust – the future owner of the canals, rivers, reservoirs and docks of British Waterways – … Continue reading →

Campaigners making use of the village and town green safeguarding regime have had mixed fortunes in the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal upheld last November’s decision of the High Court over the status of Markham and Little Francis … Continue reading →

The Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland (DOENI)has served an Urgent Works Notice on the owner of Corrstown House, 155 Hopefield Road, Portrush. This property is a good example of a pre-1830 Georgian farmhouse with its original vernacular outbuildings. … Continue reading →

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the UK’s largest trade association in the building industry, has appointed Brian Berry as its new Chief Executive. Derek Bostock, National President of the FMB said: ’I’m delighted that Brian Berry has agreed to … Continue reading →

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical monuments of Scotland has issued an update on the progress of its review. RCAHMS writes: In November 2011, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, commissioned Historic Scotland to … Continue reading →

England’s Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, which come into force on 6 April, have been posted online. The Explanatory Memorandum states that: ‘The regulations set out the procedure for the designation of neighbourhood areas and neighbourhood forums and for the … Continue reading →

Voting in the 2012 election of architects to the Architects Registration Board (ARB) closed at noon on 1 March 2012 and the results have been announced. ARB’s electoral officer writes: …. I am pleased to announce the results, in order … Continue reading →

The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority is applying for the park to become an international dark sky reserve. If successful this would mean the night sky in the area would be protected and lighting controls would prevent light pollution. The … Continue reading →

Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS) – the link body for built environment bodies in Scotland – is delighted to announce the appointment of John Pelan, currently Director of the Scottish Civic Trust (SCT), as its new Acting Director, building a … Continue reading →

A total of £3.5million in funding has been announced to help train hundreds of people in key green skills ahead of the launch of the Green Deal, delivering on the Deputy Prime Minister’s announcement in March last year to create … Continue reading →

Education Secretary Michael Gove is to ask English Heritage to draw up a list of local schoolchildren can visit them and be inspired by ‘our rich island shistorical sites so story’. Mr Gove said the part that the local historic … Continue reading →

The Ordnance Survey (OS) – Britain’s national mapping agency – is offering a prize pot of £115,000 for new ideas that use geography to help solve problems in communities, with a deadline for applications of 28 March. The GeoVation Challenge … Continue reading →

Free workshops for improving practice and supporting professional development in HERs, supported by the IHBC and ALGAO, have been announced by English Heritage for 24 April 2012 in Birmingham or Thursday 26 April 2012 in York. English Heritage says: Arrival … Continue reading →

Design Council Cabe is looking for Built Environment Experts (BEEs) to work with public and private partners and help deliver places and spaces that benefit everyone, with an introductory event on 19 March. It is seeking people from a broad … Continue reading →

Round 3 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is now open with £1bn available for this round, with a closing date of 13 June. The first two rounds have been very successful – conditional allocations were made to 176 bidders … Continue reading →

More than 100 communities eager to trial new rights that give local people powers to bring jobs and homes to their area and shape development were announced by Communities Minister Bob Neill. The bumper group of 108 communities join 125 … Continue reading →

A seafront bench, a primary school and an art gallery have been singled out for ‘Special Awards’ in the 2012 Civic Trust Awards (CTA). CTA writes: From 306 national and international entries, 52 projects have been recognised by the prestigious … Continue reading →

Northern Ireland Environment Minister Alex Attwood announced a £1.5million investment to preserve the historical site based at the Northern Ireland Science Park. For over 100 years, the existing steel dock gate which measures 150ft at its widest point, 44ft deep … Continue reading →

The in-house Historic Buildings, Sites and Monuments Record (HBSMR) of the National Trust (NT) is now available to cross-search on the Heritage Gateway. The National Trust writes: 62,000 English records from the National Trust’s archaeological database, many of which were … Continue reading →

The Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA) seeks information and research on the refurbishment and retrofit of traditional homes on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), with a final closing date of 16 March. STBA writes: Professional … Continue reading →