Monthly Archives: November 2015

The Welsh Government’s Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee met on 26 November to consider and vote on the proposed Stage 2 amendments to the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill. The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates AM, … Continue reading →

Northampton Borough Council has been the subject of a Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) case relating to how historic buildings are considered in planning decisions after a planning officer omitted the conservation officer’s recommendation in his report to members, saying that … Continue reading →

The heritage and built environment position within the government’s recent ‘Spending Review’ has been under consideration, and in this NewsBlog we present a summary selection of reactions: The Heritage Alliance writes: The Treasury’s acknowledgement that the UK is ‘brilliant at … Continue reading →

A High Court judge has ruled that a London borough’s decision to stop consulting on refurbishment options for a housing estate and focus on regeneration alone was unlawful.  The case of Bokrosova v London Borough of Lambeth [2015] EWHC 3386 … Continue reading →

A consultation (with a deadline of 15 February) examining the future of local government in Wales has been launched, and proposes that having fewer Councils could save £650 million.  The Welsh Government writes: The Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill, published … Continue reading →

Scottish town centres have been allocated £1.7 million under the Town Centre Communities Capital Fund, including funding for a historic theatre in Ayrshire. The Scottish Government writes: A £1.7 million fund will help communities across Scotland revitalise their areas, Social … Continue reading →

The Sion Mills Preservation Buildings Trust has been recognised with an all-Ireland award for its innovative heritage app at the Appy Awards. DoENI writes: The Heritage Trail App received the gold award in the highly competitive Best Travel and Tourism … Continue reading →

England’s acting Sport, Tourism and Heritage Minister has been announced as The Rt Hon David Evennett MP, from the end of January 2016  DCMS writes: The Rt Hon David Evennett MP is to take up the position of acting Sport, … Continue reading →

An Open Access academic journal Architecture_MPS is seeking editors, with a deadline of 7 December. AMPS (Architecture, Media, Politics, Society) writes: AMPS (Architecture, Media, Politics, Society) is an internationally recognized non-profit research group. Architecture_MPS, ISSN 2050-9006, is a fully Open … Continue reading →

More than a thousand people have signed a petition backing calls to halt the proposed demolition of a mock-Tudor castle built without planning permission which has been at the centre of a planning and legal saga involving Reigate & Banstead … Continue reading →

Historic England is publishing a book on the subject of Georgian and Regency conservatories in collaboration with the Georgian Group, and is looking for conservation projects to use as case studies. Dr Melissa Thompson, Designation Adviser at Historic England, writes: … Continue reading →

Liverpool City Region and The West Midlands have become the latest areas to form devolved regions. Liverpool City Deal- DCLG writes: Liverpool has become the latest city region to sign up to George Osborne’s devolution revolution, with local authority leaders … Continue reading →

The National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC) has reported on the inclusion of the right to visit museums in the Welsh Government proposals for indicators of wellbeing; engagement with heritage (under the Wales of vibrant culture goal) can be seen to … Continue reading →

PLACE Alliance – England’s link group for ‘place-related’ interests, of which IHBC is a member – has released a new manifesto called ‘Artists & the Arts in Placemaking’, calling for the importance of culture in placemaking to be recognised and … Continue reading →

Statistics issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) indicate that 444 local authorities hold £22.5 billion in non-ringfenced reserves – figures disputed ‘misleading’ by the Local Government Association (LGA) – while from 2000-01 to 2014-15 local authority … Continue reading →

As part of Historic England’s (HE) role to encourage people to get more involved with their heritage, it is creating a new section on its website that will list events with wide public appeal. If you have a national or … Continue reading →

The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (DOENI) ‘Planning Statistics – 2015/16 First Quarterly Bulletin’ has been published and shows a reduction in decisions which have been issued since the transfer of planning powers to Councils.  DOENI writes: The … Continue reading →

The National Trust has issued a call to action to government and agencies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure climate change is addressed appropriately. The National Trust writes: We’re calling for the Government and agencies in England, Wales … Continue reading →