Heritage Link reports as follows:
On the morning of 25 September, close to 50 Heritage Link members gathered at the Tower of London Education Centre for a day of presentations and discussion on the draft Planning Policy Statement 15: Planning for the Historic Environment and accompanying guidance. Following an introduction from Heritage Link Chairman – Anthea Case, delegates heard presentations on the PPS and its wider context from DCMS Deputy Director of Culture, Harry Reeves and English Heritage Policy Director, Duncan McCallum. The ensuing question and answer session gave members the opportunity to raise their concerns, with a number of key issues quickly rising to prominence; mostly around language, public engagement and justification for harm or loss of significance, particularly in relation to climate change.
The post lunch session enabled further analysis of the issues through presentations from Matthew Slocombe of the Joint National Amenity Societies, Stewart Bryant of ALGAO and David Lovie, former President of the IHBC. Members then broke into groups to discuss specific aspects of the PPS in greater detail. The central themes for the workshops were Sustainability, Public Engagement and the Broader Context and Language of the PPS. Key outcomes included:
•Agreement on the need for a new PPS to put policy in a modern context
•Concern at the use of language taken from the Draft Heritage Protection Bill
•Recognition of the need for greater guidance and clarity around the use of significance
•A requirement for increased prominence of the role of public engagement, particularly that of the National Amenity Societies
•A need for greater guidance and clarity of language in relation to justification for harm or loss of significance versus public benefit and wider economic benefits
• Concern about the potential for wholesale justification of development on climate change grounds
•The necessity to outline the heritage sector’s positive potential contribution to sustainable development
•Recognition of the need for a statement or foreword to put the PPS in context
All of the points raised during the seminar will contribute toward the Heritage Link response to the PPS15 consultation, the deadline for which is the 30 October. In the meantime, if members would like advice on the consultation or would like their own responses to be hosted on the Heritage Link website, they should contact Heritage Link’s HPR Coordinator, Karen Bewick.
The presentations from the PPS15 seminar will be available on the Heritage Link website shortly. http://www.heritagelink.org.uk/ Heritage Link would like to thank Historic Royal Palaces for providing such an exceptional venue for the event.
