A new report on England’s local government conservation capacity confirms that the drop in capacity is now at crisis levels, with service standards and statutory roles necessarily compromised, as conservation services see a fall of 6% in one year, and 31% over the last 6 years.
The newly issued report is based on survey work carried out in partnership between the IHBC, English Heritage, and Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO). It covers annual surveys of the levels of expert advice available for building conservation and archaeology within local authorities, which have been collected consistently since 2006.
IHBC Chair Jo Evans said: ‘The research shows that the catastrophic drop in conservation capacity in recent years continues at an alarming rate, even if some areas are faring better than others. It is most important that central government demonstrates proper and practical support to local government so it can address its duties to local neighbourhoods, communities and business and environmental interests.’
Mike Brown, IHBC Policy Chair, said: ‘ We know that we can only realise the true benefits our traditional and historic places can bring when we invest in the right infrastructure for care, conservation and regeneration. That’s what will bring big wins for government in jobs, industry and the environment.’
‘And we already know that historic and traditional buildings need specialised care too, as we have seen the confusion and mixed messages that have accompanied the multi-billion pound investment in trying to green our buildings. Let’s not repeat the mistakes across the far broader canvas of planning and conservation at large. Instead let’s make sure that we invest in the knowledge and skills that we all know a good, skilled conservation officer or service can provide.’
‘Despite the great work by the IHBC and our many colleagues and partners in raising awareness of the value of heritage and traditional buildings, the scale of the service cutbacks identified in this research means that we really must question the capacity of many local authorities to address their statutory duties in conservation!’
IHBC Director Sean O’Reilly said: ‘We’re extremely grateful to English Heritage for supporting this survey work as it lets us specify the problems the sector faces. Until we know precisely what those problems are, we cannot begin to address them. Now that we do have substantial evidence, we can look to finding sensible and realistic solutions’.
The IHBC and partners write of the 4th Report on Local Authority Staff Resources:
English Heritage, in partnership with Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), collects data annually on the levels of expert advice available for building conservation and archaeology within local authorities. We have been collecting this data consistently since 2006.
The report, published in September 2012, shows that the number of historic environment specialists working for local government in England continues to fall, and has so since 2006. Since 2006 numbers have fallen by over 25%, which is made up of a drop of 16% in archaeological advice and of 31% in building conservation advice.
The fall in numbers is not consistent across all authorities with some reaching levels where there are serious concerns over their ability to properly protect local heritage.
Why is the advice so important?
Local authorities play a vital role in protecting England’s heritage. They are responsible, through the planning system, for making decisions on how places change and how heritage is protected and developed as part of that process. When a local authority does not have access to that advice, or that advice is stretched, then decisions are made that put local heritage at risk, the planning process can be slowed down and decisions are taken without the full understanding of their implications.
Archaeological advice
Archaeological advisors seek to ensure that local decision making reflects the need to protect and conserve local archaeological heritage and they promote a wider understanding of that local heritage through education and work with the local community. Archaeological advisors also play a leading role in the maintenance of local Historic Environment Records (HERs). HERs are maintained by local authorities and contain information on all aspects of the local historic environment which helps to inform the planning process.
Conservation advice
Like the role of the archaeological advisor, the role of the historic buildings conservation advisor has a number of different elements to it. It has a vital role in supporting the planning process, advising when and how the historic built environment can be affected by proposed change and working with partners to ensure heritage interests are preserved whilst accommodating change.
Without expert advice the capacity of the authority to work with developers and local people to shape proposals as they develop reduces. Expert advice can help shape proposals from the pre-application phase onwards, which supports a more efficient, quicker service. Not only is this not possible without sufficient expert advice, but it can also result in irreparable damage to local heritage.
Download the report HERE
For details on the benefits of and need for skilled conservation services, and to see why planning authorities must have conservation skills, see: LINK
HELM Article: LINK
