Monthly Archives: November 2016

Images courtesy of Fiona Newton Second World War structures at Scapa Flow have been recognised as being of national importance by Historic Environment Scotland. The barriers were constructed during World War Two as a defensive measure to prevent enemy ships … Continue reading →

Symposium on ‘Future Places: Using Heritage to Build Resilient Communities’ in County Down, Northern Ireland provided an opportunity to consider how heritage can contribute to the current Programme for Government and the Local Development Plans being drawn up by the … Continue reading →

An independent report has been issued relating to flood protection, aiming to help with flood resilience. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) writes: The Property Flood Resilience Action Plan will see Government and industry help people better … Continue reading →

The Natural Stone Specialist recently reported on how Gloucester cathedral is installing 150 solar panels on its nave roof and aims to cut its energy bill by a quarter. The work is part of the cathedral’s £6million Project Pilgrim scheme … Continue reading →

The Government’s response to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Built Environment (BE), says it ‘recognises that England’s historic environment is a resource of significant cultural, social and economic value’. The 44 page document is the response to … Continue reading →

The demolition of the Boleyn Ground, former home to West Ham United Football Club, has given one lifelong Hammers fan the opportunity to have one final look around the grand old lady of London’s East End, while progress is being … Continue reading →

Real estate agent Savills has looked at 350,000 listed buildings across England to find the areas with the highest concentration of listed properties per head of population. The company found that buyers expect to pay almost 50% more than the … Continue reading →

Statistics from the Health & Safety Executive (H&SE) show a construction fatality rate of 1.94 per 100,000 workers, compared to 0.46 across all industries Looking at average figures over the years of 2013/4 to 2015/6, there were around 79,000 cases … Continue reading →

An independent report has been issued relating to flood protection, aiming to help with flood resilience. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) writes: The Property Flood Resilience Action Plan will see Government and industry help people better … Continue reading →

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says that suitable brownfield sites in England can provide up to 1.4 million new homes. The CPRE used the Government’s pilot brownfield register scheme to estimate that brownfield sites could provide between 1.1 … Continue reading →

Daniel Watney LLP gathered the data from Freedom of Information requests sent to the UK’s 418 principal local authorities. The property consultancy asked the authorities for the cost of appeal proceedings between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Cornwall Council paid out the … Continue reading →

The BBC reported in September on how police forces in England have teamed up with heritage experts to crack down on gangs stealing valuable metal from churches and historic buildings. The BBC writes: Officers are working with Historic England to … Continue reading →

Recommendations, by the House of Lords (HOL) Select Committee on the Built Environment, for the creation of Chief Built Environment Adviser and a community right of appeal have been rejected by the Government. The recommendations were part of a Select … Continue reading →

A call for evidence on basement developments has been issued as part of the parliamentary review of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (closing date of 16 December). The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCLG) writes: In response to … Continue reading →

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded initial support of £2m, including development funding of £161,200, to revitalise ‘The Long Shop’ and transform the site into a beacon of industrial heritage. Museums and Heritage writes: The Long Shop in Leiston … Continue reading →

Communities Secretary says the five megawatt solar power farm in Lincolnshire would represent ‘substantial harm to the character and appearance of the countryside, both alone and cumulatively’. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid has dismissed … Continue reading →

Building magazine reports that Historic Royal Palaces is ‘extremely alarmed’ at the impact of tall buildings planned for the area around the Tower and that the site’s World Heritage status increasingly under threat. Building writes: The charity responsible for the Tower … Continue reading →

In a presentation to the Men of Stones group, Maurice Rogers talks about stone testing and takes issue with the regimes required by ‘CE’ marking, CE being the abbreviation of the French phrase ‘Conformité Européene’, or ‘European Conformity’, a declaration … Continue reading →

The Visitor Centre and Footbridge project at Harlech Castle has been nominated to become the UK’s most popular civil engineering project, with voting closing on 30 November. Winner of the Institution of Civil Engineers Wales Cymru’s Heritage Award, the project … Continue reading →