IHBC officers have warmly welcomed the news that Civic Voice has, through the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies, secured a meeting in Parliament on 27 January to discuss the historic environment and communities, hearing from Civic Voice president Griff Rhys Jones and Civic Voice’s lead in the House of Lords, Baroness Andrews, with informal contributions from IHBC members and officers.
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly said: ‘This is a great opportunity to raise the awareness of how communities can help care for their local places, as well as help in rescuing the core infrastructure of their heritage care systems, the local conservation, design and archaeology services. It also chimes perfectly with our own annual conference coming up in Worcester in June, on ‘People Power’.’
‘Savage cut-backs have led to the deterioration – sometimes even obliteration – of many local conservation services, as today some 15% of local authorities have no credible service. Many more are criminally understaffed, and all this is despite the statutory duties imposed on planning authorities and the legal charges that can arise if owners or others – including the innocent and naïve – fail to follow due process in heritage care regulations.’
‘Clearly we need communities to see how they are central to any response to these profoundly serious matters, including by:
- becoming more active in understanding local places
- getting more involved in how places are managed, especially through the planning system, and
- promoting conservation services, which remain the most cost-effective infrastructure to help manage those local places our communities care so much about.’
‘This meeting of MPs, Lords, and celebrities, as well as locals from across the UK, will be a great opportunity to explore these matters at the democratic levels.’
‘It also chimes fully with the IHBC’s own national conference, our Annual School, which will be exploring ‘People Power – Catalyst for Change’ in Worcester on 23-5 June.’
Civic Voice writes:
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies will host a meeting in Parliament on Wednesday, 27th January 2016. The event is themed around the future of the historic environment and how communities can play a greater role in effective heritage protection.
The meeting will hear from Civic Voice president Griff Rhys Jones and Civic Voice’s lead in the House of Lords, Baroness Andrews, as they discuss how communities can have a part to play when it comes to protecting heritage. The meeting aims to allow MPs and members of the public a chance to discuss ways in which communities can manage the increasing need to protect the nation’s heritage. Representatives from Historic England, Institute of Historic Buildings Conservation and Heritage Lottery Fund will be present.
Craig Mackinlay MP, chair of the APPG for Civic Societies said, ‘I am delighted to announce that the first APPG for Civic Societies event of this Parliamentary session, will focus on the future of the historic environment. With local and national budgets remaining tight it is an issue many of us are concerned about.’
Mr Mackinlay urged, ‘Now is the time to act to save our historic environment. Whether it is the war memorial at the end of your street or the Grade II listed building in your city we need to act and everyone has a role to play. Britain is renowned for its historic landmarks and this generation can be the one to set in place the protection which is needed.’
Ian Harvey, Director of Civic Voice stressed, ‘Our members inform us that they are concerned that the care and maintenance of historic buildings and community assets will decrease over the next few years. Many important historic buildings, given the current challenging climate, would be seriously threatened without the dedication and hard work of heritage volunteers. We are delighted that this meeting will focus on this issue and look forward to hearing the thoughts of people concerned about how communities can play a part in championing local heritage assets.’
For an early notice on the IHBC’s 2016 school see http://www.ihbc.org.uk/learning/page38/index.html
http://www.civicvoice.org.uk/news/mps-to-discuss-the-future-of-the-historic-environment/
