IHBC NewsBlogs

The Neighbourhood Planning Bill 2016-17 was amended during its Committee stage in the House of Commons, and a number of Government new clauses were added in relation to local plan making.

The House of Commons Library states:

A number of Government new clauses were added at Committee Stage Continue reading →

As part of more than £10m provided to support culture and heritage projects across the UK, the Chancellor has allocated £7.6m to cover ‘urgent and essential repairs’ to the house in South Yorkshire, a longstanding focus of the energetic heritage charity, SAVE Britain’s Heritage.

The funds for the Grade I listed country house, announced in the Autumn Statement, are subject to the approval of a sustainable business case. The Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust agreed to buy the house in February 2016 and needs to raise an estimated £42m to pay for repairs over the next 12-15 years. Continue reading →

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has announced a national campaign to find out what heritage means to the people of Scotland as part of the 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.

The campaign aims to find places, buildings and monuments that Scottish people want to see recognised and celebrated – from theatres to pubs, and castles to schools. Continue reading →

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has donated funds towards the National Trust’s appeal to acquire many of Winston Churchill’s personal objects at his family home, Chartwell.

The Churchill’s Chartwell appeal has now reached £5.5m and the money will go towards securing personal items that belonged to Churchill, increasing access to the collections and opening family rooms that have never been seen by the public.

The National Trust aims to reach its appeal target of £7.1m by January 2017.

View more details on the Chartwell website

The UK government has published a range of heating- and energy-related reports that may be of interest to members working on retro-fit issues for historic buildings and the problems that can exist when inappropriate methods and theologies are used on traditionally constructed buildings.

Scoping review of heating controls – summarises the findings of an evidence review of the energy savings, cost-effectiveness and usability of different types of heating controls. Continue reading →

Filmmaker Andy Howlett is raising funds to turn his research into a film about the library, which was demolished in early 2016.

He has collected footage, interviews with a range of ‘experts and eccentrics’, and filled several notebooks with theories, insights and revelations. He is now raising funds on the crowdsourcing website Indiegogo to turn his research into a film.

View the crowdfunding project

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council establishes Be First to boost economic growth and meet ambitious targets for new homes, better infrastructure and jobs.

The move was recommended in the recent Borough’s Growth Commission’s report. This included 109 recommendations on areas such as housing, culture and heritage, and urban design, and included the suggestion of establishing a borough-wide regeneration company. Continue reading →

Qatari-backed hotel scheme for the Grade II listed building in Mayfair will include 137 bedrooms, additional restaurants, retail and events space

The project in Grosvenor Square, London received conditional planning permission that includes the removal of the security fences, security huts, gates, raised planters and bollards surrounding the site and situated within Grosvenor Square, Blackburne’s Mews and Culross Street.

View Westminster Council’s decision

The BBC reports that a derelict former school, handed a reprieve after it was given protection to prevent it being demolished, could be under threat again.

The BBC writes:

The Welsh Government gave Wrexham’s Groves High School Grade II-listed status after an appeal by campaigners who wanted it preserved.

But Wrexham council challenged the decision in the High Court. The authority wants to clear the site to make way for a new school.
Continue reading →

A CLAD magazine feature discusses how crowdfunding can help get projects started and allow architects to be proactive.

The article gives advice on choosing the right crowdsourcing platform, raising the full amount needed and reaching out to the right audience.

It includes a case study of how the South London borough of Peckham used crowdfunding to raise money to fund an elevated urban park on the site of some coal sidings and to restore the Peckham Rye Lido.

View the full feature

Previously undocumented wall paintings dating back more than 500 years have been uncovered within Stratford’s Guild Chapel – leading conservators to conclude it is one of the few places in Europe to have an almost complete medieval decorative scheme still in situ.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Town Trust writes:

The uncoverings were made this month by conservators currently working in the Chapel as part of the ongoing Death Reawakened project funded by Stratford Town Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Continue reading →

Image of a covered reservoir has won the best architecture photograph of the year at the Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Awards 2016.

The picture by Matt Emmett of the East London Water Works Company covered reservoir in London’s Finsbury Park is the first time that an image of an historic location has won the award.

Emmett specialises in photographs of abandoned and derelict architecture, which he displays on his Forgotten Heritage Photography website.

View the full story

Community groups have been asked to nominate favourite new buildings, conservation projects and people in its annual awards (closing date 31 January 2017).

The Scottish Civic Trust is calling for nominations from local civic trusts, amenity societies, community councils and other heritage or community groups around Scotland for new buildings, restoration projects, landscape designs and other placemaking projects for the annual My Place Awards. It is also looking for nominations for a winner of the My Place Civic Champion award.

View the full story and view both past winners and entry details.

Museums + Heritage says that after almost five years of restoration and refurbishment, the Grade II* Design Museum has been transformed into a modern multi-purpose space.

Museums + Heritage writes:

The first thing to appreciate when you make your way into the new Design Museum is its impressive atrium. The wide-open space not only lends the visitor a view of the three floors and a mezzanine of exhibition and learning space surrounding them but also the restored hyperbolic paraboloid roof that soars 25m over the museum. Continue reading →

Firm is awarded architectural and lead design services for the creative adaptation and conservation of a number of historic buildings for the House of Commons.

The Northern Estate consists of a series of significant Grade I, II* and II listed buildings and interlinking external spaces, including the Norman Shaw buildings designed originally as the location of New Scotland Yard (the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police), together with 1 Derby Gate and 1 Parliament Street. The buildings currently accommodate office space for the House of Commons. Continue reading →

The London Council’s plans are given the go-ahead to management development in five unique specialist clusters.

The five areas – Savile Row, Mayfair, Harley Street, St James’ and Portland Street – are deemed historically and culturally significant enough to received special measures to scrutinise any development. These measures aim to protect the character of the areas as this will help create and retain a successful local economy and establish the conditions for job creation and opportunities for training and education. For example, to help protect Mayfair’s art industry and the tailoring apprenticeships in Savile Row. 

View the Councils’ decision

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 and submarines from entering Scapa Flow, which housed the bulk of Britain’s fleet at the time. The move was ordered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in response to the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Bay in October 1939, by a German submarine, which was able to evade the ineffective submarine defences in place at the time. 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 local.

The Northern Ireland Department for Communities writes:

Communities Minister Paul Givan said: ‘Our heritage assets represent real opportunities – creating jobs, providing skills, encouraging tourism and supporting our economy. Even our derelict historic buildings should be seen as unique opportunities. Jobs are created in restoration and conservation and craftsmen take a pride in maintaining traditional skills. 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 protect their properties from flooding. 

A new, independent report launched yesterday will help people better protect their homes and businesses from risk of flooding and recover more quickly if the worst happens. 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 and claims to be the oldest cathedral in the UK to have installed a commercial-sized photovoltaic electricity generation system on its roof.

View the full story

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 the Select Committee report on the Built Environment published February 2016. This earlier report said that ‘England lacks a proactive, long-term national strategy for managing our historic environment, as part of planning for the future of the built environment. We believe that such a strategy, which would recognise the full value of our built heritage as a unique national and local asset, central to place-making, should be articulated for the future.’

As well as recognising England’s historic environment, the Government said it has ‘has set in place frameworks that promote its conservation and management’.

The Government also responded to a request to not move ministerial responsibility for heritage from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Department for Communities and Local Government. And that the ability of the National Planning Policy Framework to balance heritage protection and development policies should be maintained sustained, enhanced and delivered.

The Government’s response to the points on the historic environment can be found from paragraph 112 onwards.

View the Government response

View the House of Lords Select Committee report on the built environment