IHBC NewsBlogs

The iconic Grade I (GI) listed Royal Liver Building in Liverpool is to be marketed for sale.

CBRE writes:

Acting on behalf of Royal London Mutual Insurance Society, CBRE has been instructed to sell the iconic Royal Liver Building in Liverpool.

This is the first time that the world-renowned Grade I Listed property has been offered for sale since its grand opening in 1911 as the headquarters of the Royal Liver Assurance Group. Today, the Royal Liver Building is the most recognisable landmark in the city of Liverpool and is home to the two fabled Liver Birds which watch over the city and the sea.

The Royal Liver Building is located at the Liverpool Pier Head and, along with the Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building, forms one of Liverpool’s Three Graces lining the city’s UNESCO protected waterfront.

The building has undergone extensive refurbishment over recent years, which has delivered a high-quality working environment providing modern office space whilst preserving the building’s stunning original architectural features.

The property, extends to over 330,000 sq ft of office and events space, is now occupied by a host of well-known companies including Princes Foods, ITV, HSBC, Mott MacDonald and Grant Thornton.

Executive Director at CBRE in Manchester, Colin Thomasson said ‘We are delighted and extremely proud to be instructed to seek a purchaser for this truly iconic symbol of Liverpool. The Royal Liver Building is known worldwide and we expect the sale to attract strong interest from investors in the UK and around the globe. Our clients have been great custodians of this building for over 100 years, and this sale presents an extremely rare opportunity to acquire a unique part of Liverpool’s heritage’. 

read more….

The national architectural charity, the Victorian Society (Vic Soc), released its 2016 Top Ten Endangered Buildings list, while Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society Vice President, has urged people living near the buildings on the list to ‘seize the opportunity’ and campaign to save them.

The Vic Soc writes:

For the first time there are no buildings on the list in London and the South East – where the Society had comparatively few nominations. The Society considers that the greater number of buildings nominated from elsewhere may reflect the more difficult development situation outside the South East. All the buildings in the Top Ten are in real risk of being lost if action is not taken in the immediate future. Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society Vice President, has urged people living near the buildings on the list to ‘seize the opportunity’ and campaign to save them.

The 2016 list includes an important, but derelict, Phillip Webb arts and crafts house which was the childhood home of a pioneering female Victorian explorer of the Middle East; a landmark of the Grimsby skyline where structural instability forced residents out of their homes; an abandoned Gothic seminary said to be comedian Johnny Vegas’ former school; and a grade II*-listed church with stunning wall paintings and stained glass. The publicity from inclusion in the Top Ten list often sparks new interest in the buildings which can help save them….

Victorian Society Director, Christopher Costelloe, said: ‘This year, for the first time, the Top Ten has no entries from London or the South East. We simply got far more nominations from other regions. This perhaps reflects the vastly different financial climate for development in many areas outside the South East. But whatever the reason I hope inclusion on the Top Ten will spur local authorities and owners to urgently find solutions for these buildings. Retaining historic buildings like those in the Top Ten is vital to maintaining local identity and creating places in which people want to invest, live and work.’

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society Vice President, said: ‘The nationally important buildings on the Victorian Society’s Top Ten list are in dire need of help. Many of them are in prominent locations in their towns and cities. Following my experience with the Hackney Empire I know how difficult finding funding can be – especially outside London. However, restoring important historic buildings is worth investing in as it can be a catalyst for wider regeneration. I hope people living near these buildings will seize this opportunity and campaign to save them. Ultimately, it is the support of local people which will ensure that they are not lost forever.’

The full 2016 Top Ten, in no particular order, are:

• Red Barns, Redcar, North Yorkshire (Grade II* 1868, Phillip Webb)
• Victoria Mill, Grimsby, Lincolnshire (Grade II, 1889 and 1906, Sir William Gelder of Hull)
• Old Bute Road Railway Station, Cardiff (Grade II*, 1842, Brunel?)
• Old Library, Stafford, Staffordshire (Grade II, 1913, Briggs, Wolstenholme and Thorneley)
• Mount Street Hospital, Preston, Lancashire (Grade II, 1872, RW Hughes)
• Clayton Hospital, Wakefield, West Yorkshire (Locally listed, 1879 extended circa 1900, William Bakewell)
• St Paul’s Church, Boughton, Chester, Cheshire (Grade II* 1876 extended 1902 John Douglas)
• St Joseph’s Seminary, Upholland, Lancashire (Grade II 1880-83 J O’Byrne; 1921-8 by Pugin & Pugin)
• Rylands Mill, Wigan, Greater Manchester (Grade II, 1865, George Woodhouse)
• Oliver Buildings, Barnstaple, Devon (Grade II, 1888, William Clement Oliver)

The Society has published an updated campaigning guide to encourage people to fight for the buildings they are concerned about which have not made the Top Ten list.

Photographs of all the buildings in the Top Ten are available here.

read more….

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has launched its brand refresh with a new logo and strapline: BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS TOGETHER

The CIC writes:

At the 101st Meeting of Construction Industry Council (CIC) Members held yesterday at the London offices of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) in Kingsway, CIC’s new logo, together with its new strapline: BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS TOGETHER, was officially launched.

This brand refresh is one of several recommendations of a year-long Strategic Review of the CIC to identify the future focus and shape of the organisation to best serve its members over the next five years.  The recommendation stated that the CIC should have a name and strapline which reflects what the organisation represents, with a clear message and vision and defined priorities which are regularly re-assessed.

At the previous Council meeting on 30th June 2016, members agreed that the existing CIC name and logo be retained, but the latter be reviewed for updating to suit new digital media devices and that ‘Built Environment Professions Together’ be the CIC strapline to be added to the name and logo, for implementation as soon as possible.

The original CIC logo was designed by the architect, David Rock CBE, when it was known as the Building Industry Council in 1988/89; it was initially red before changing to blue in 1991 when the organisation’s name was changed to the Construction Industry Council.  The logo represents an agora, which is a Greek word, meaning ‘gathering place’ or ‘assembly’.  The Agora was traditionally the centre of any Greek city and was an open-ended forum for discussion.  It was therefore intended to represent the ideal of the Council as a forum for the built environment professional bodies.

The new logo was designed by Ocean Design, whose brief was to keep the agora but update the logo so that it could be successfully utilised across all digital platforms.

Speaking about the new, refreshed CIC logo, its Chief Executive, Graham Watts, had this to say: ‘Former RIBA President, David Rock, gave the Building Industry Council, which became the Construction Industry Council, in 1991, a logo that truly represented the collaborative ideals of the organisation.  It was a professional image that enabled a fledgling organisation to punch above its weight, in so many ways.   I have lived with it, more or less every day, for 25 years and, whilst it is sad to say goodbye to an old friend, I’m truly delighted with the new design from Ocean.  It’s fresh, vibrant, colourful; works well on a range of platforms and yet remains true to that collaborative ideal that will continue to sustain the CIC and its members for many more years.’

The CIC Strategic Review was facilitated by Richard Brindley of R Brindley Consult Ltd., and led by Tony Burton, CIC Chairman (2014/16), with support from Professor John Nolan (CIC Deputy Chairman 2015/16 and Chairman from 30 June 2016), Graham Watts and CIC staff members, a Strategic Review Steering Group, comprising several member representatives, and workshops of member representatives at the 2015 and 2016 Members’ Conferences.

read more….

The ‘Farmer Review’, a report commissioned by the government and carried out by Cast Consultants, a real estate and construction consultancy, has concluded that the construction sector must ‘modernise or die’, being highly critical in relation to its delivery, innovation, investment and training practices, while proposing ‘alternative’ dis-incentives, such as a tax levy ‘on businesses who buy construction work in a way that doesn’t support industry innovation or skills development’.

Cast Consultancy writes:

Britain’s construction industry faces ‘inexorable decline’ unless radical steps are taken to address its longstanding problems, according to an independent review commissioned by two Government departments. The Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model highlights construction’s dysfunctional training model, its lack of innovation and collaboration as well as its non-existent research and development (R&D) culture. Low productivity continues to hamper the sector, while recent high levels of cost inflation, driven by a shortage of workers, has stalled numerous housing schemes as they have become too expensive to build.

Led by Mark Farmer, chief executive of Cast, a real estate and construction consultancy, the hard-hitting report says we need to better align the needs of construction firms and the businesses who hire them. ‘If you buy a new car, you expect it to have been built in a factory to exacting standards, to be delivered on time, to an agreed price and to a predetermined quality’ said Farmer. ‘This needs to happen more in construction, so that the investors, developers or building owners hiring construction firms increasingly dictate the use of modern methods of delivery and invest appropriately in the skills agenda to grow this part of the industry. There are more similarities between manufacturing and construction than many people are led to believe and this perception needs to change, starting in the housing market’

One recommendation set out for the medium term is a ‘carrier bag charge’ style behavioural deterrent scheme. This would levy a tax on businesses who buy construction work in a way that doesn’t support industry innovation or skills development. Clients could face paying a suggested levy equal to 0.5 percent of a scheme’s construction cost but would have the ability to avoid paying this tax completely by commissioning construction in a more responsible way. Farmer, a 25-year veteran of the industry, and former partner at EC Harris, said the industry needs to be far more joined-up with its clients in how it approaches R&D and skills. He also wants ministers to directly intervene in certain areas to ensure many of the issues identified are rectified. Commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Farmer has made 10 recommendations which include:

• Using the residential development sector as a pilot programme to drive forward the large scale use of pre-manufactured construction, for example, through off-site built or modular housing.
• A wholesale reform of the current Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and its related levy system, including a new mandate to properly fund and drive forward both appropriate skills development and innovation to suit a modern progressive industry
• Government to use its education, fiscal, housing and planning policy measures to initiate change and create the right conditions that will support the construction sector’s modernisation.

With more people leaving the industry each year than joining, the construction workforce is shrinking, placing increasingly severe constraints on its capacity to build housing and infrastructure. Reliance on a fractured supply chain and self-employment also means there is little incentive for contractors to invest in long term training for the labour force. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that many school leavers and graduates don’t view construction as an attractive career choice. A YouGov poll earlier this year found that two-thirds of Britons wouldn’t consider a career in construction. If Brexit results in reduced migrant labour, the situation could be made even worse. Crucially, it hasn’t raised its productivity in decades so urgently needs to explore ways to make the work less labour intensive, such as through offsite construction. This, in turn, could make a career in the sector more attractive for young people by moving the work from building sites to digitally enabled working in factories.

Mark Farmer, report author and chief executive of Cast, said: ‘The construction industry is in dire need of change. What is clear to me following the nine months spent conducting this review is that carrying on as we are is simply not an option. With digital technology advancements pushing ahead in almost every other industry and with the construction labour pool coming under serious pressure, the time has come for action. The construction industry doesn’t have the impetus needed for this change, it requires external action to initiate change. ‘Unless we find some way of promoting innovation in construction and making the work less labour intensive and more attractive to new entrants, there’s a very real danger of the construction sector going into an inexorable decline over the next few years. I hope this review generates some debate in the sector and all involved can consider their role in safeguarding the industry’s long term health.’

Industry Minister Jesse Norman said: ‘This Government is determined to support more housebuilding, more quickly and in the places people want to live. Given the launch of the £3 billion Home Building Fund, Mark Farmer’s important review in this vital sector is very timely. It makes a strong case for change in the industry, identifies areas where it needs to improve, and sets out areas for action. We will now carefully consider his recommendations.’

Paul Stanworth, Managing Director of Legal & General Capital, said: ‘This review sets out a clear way for the construction sector to reinvent itself inorder to meet the ever-growing demand for homes and infrastructure. With such a chronic shortage of homes in the UK, we see rapid evolution as a ‘must have’ for the industry, not just a ‘nice to have’. Having identified such a requirement, Legal & General is helping to address this problem by investing in a modern factory to produce homes using manufacturing processes seen in the production of cars and other consumer goods. This construction method is safe, clean, and fast, providing a high level of consistency and durability. We sincerely hope that Farmer’s review galvanises the entire sector to invest in innovation and secure its future.’

Richard Meier, partner at Argent, said: ‘This report makes quite clear the scale of the challenge, and the opportunity, that the construction industry faces today. There is significant appetite to invest in both existing asset classes and emerging asset classes such as Build to Rent. But the industry must make some bold changes to ensure there is sufficient capacity to actually deliver all this, thereby helping to unlock this investment. Partnering will play a key role going forward, not just on major regeneration schemes such as King’s Cross, but on a smaller scale too.’

Ray Theakston, construction director at Essential Living, said: ‘This review should be worrying reading for anyone involved in the construction industry, which needs to change drastically or risk becoming unfit for purpose. ‘We’re exploring modular construction throughout our portfolio thanks to the key advantages it offers us as a rental developer and operator, whether that’s shorter programme time or design consistency. So it’s good to see Farmer carry on as such a strong proponent for these methods.’

Ray O’Rourke, chairman and chief executive at Laing O’Rourke, said: ‘Laing O’Rourke has invested heavily in innovation and continuous improvement, and therefore I welcome many of the findings and recommendations of the Farmer review. The report shines a light on the serious and systemic issues in UK house building and the wider construction industry, and we cannot afford to ignore them any longer.  There is significant scope for radical transformation through the adoption of new technologies and advanced manufacturing approaches. This will deliver the quality housing stock the UK urgently requires and directly address the acute skills gap that threatens our very future. Government, developers and deliverers need to invest collectively to achieve these shared goals and future-proof the industry.’

Mark Reynolds, chief executive officer at Mace, said: ‘Farmer’s review makes it clear that the construction industry needs to invest in training and R&D to boost productivity and ensure we have adequate capacity to deliver the UK’s economic and social infrastructure. It underlines the importance of introducing new skills and technology to the sector. We all need to embrace this catalyst for change to attract a new breed of talent to revolutionise our industry’. 

View the press release and read the report

A £10 million Green Gas Mill, which produces heating for 4000 houses using green gas from grass, has been granted planning permission by Winchester City Council.

Ecotricity writes:

Ecotricity, Britain’s leading green energy company, has today received planning permission to build a Green Gas Mill in Hampshire – the first of its kind in Britain.

Located at Sparsholt College in Hampshire and fuelled by locally sourced grass, the Green Gas Mill will inject £60 million into the local economy, create new jobs, and produce enough clean gas to heat over 4,000 homes every year.

As part of the unique partnership, Ecotricity will finance and build the Green Gas Mill with an investment of £10 million, and also help fund the development of a Renewable Energy Demonstration Centre.

The College has agreed funding of £1.2m in grant funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership (M3 LEP) to go towards the development of the College’s Renewable Energy Demonstration Centre.

The Renewable Energy Demonstration Centre will also be the first of its kind – a place to train the next generation of green energy engineers in Britain.

Ecotricity introduced the concept of making green gas from grass in Britain early last year, and after today’s planning permission from Winchester City Council, it will be full speed ahead to complete the necessary preparation before construction can begin.

Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, said: ’This is great news, green gas from grass has so much to offer Britain, and this planning consent gives us the opportunity to get started.  Earlier this week the government overruled the local planners in Lancashire to grant approval for the first Fracking site in Britain – as opinion polls show opposition to Fracking reaching an all-time high.  Green gas is the answer, Hampshire looks set to lead the way.’

read more….

BBC News explores how the structure of a Grade II* listed 1930s home of Gerald Schlesinger and Christopher Tunnard, managed to help keep a secret that would otherwise have criminalised its owners, as its ‘LGBTQ’ history has now been officially acknowledged in the nations heritage.

read more…. and see the Historic England list entry

Bristol may have lost one of its oldest and most historically important churches as St Michael on the Mount Without adds itself to the long line of listed buildings assailed by fire.

The Bristol post writes:

It has survived the Reformation and the Blitz – but the future of one of Bristol’s oldest and most historically important churches is in peril after it was wrecked by a fire.

Sections of the roof at St Michael On The Mount Without, on St Michael’s Hill, have collapsed and internally the Grade II listed building has been devastated by Sunday’s blaze.

Police and fire service investigators are now examining evidence as to the cause of the fire at the Grade II-listed medieval church, which held its last service in 1998.

They were expected to make known their preliminary findings this morning.

read more….

A resident has been fined £1,600 after Harlow Council took him to court for failing to demolish an outbuilding he has built in his garden, as Councillor Danny Purton, Portfolio Holder for Environment there, said: ‘… People living in a conservation area take pride in maintaining its special character and this development does more harm than good and does nothing to either preserve or enhance the appearance of the area. There are no public benefits to outweigh the harm this causes.’

Harlow Council writes:

Troy Bricknell of St John’s Avenue pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on 22 September 2016 for failing to comply with an enforcement notice issued under section 172 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The enforcement notice was issued to Mr. Bricknell for constructing the building without planning permission.

Mr. Bricknell was fined £1,600 and ordered to pay costs of £939.50 and a victim surcharge of £120. He has been given 28 days to pay the fine and costs.

At the hearing the magistrates heard that in June 2010 the Council received a planning application from Mr. Bricknell for a proposed summer house/shower room to be located in the rear garden of his property in St John’s Avenue.

The application was refused by the Council as the development would detract from the open aspect and quiet enjoyment of the garden and that it would harm the look of an established conservation area in Old Harlow.

In March 2013 a Building Notice Completion certificate was issued, which is separate to planning permission, and covers set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health for people in or about those buildings.

In February 2014 the Council started to receive complaints that a building had been erected in the garden and was being used as a separate unit of residential accommodation.

Investigations were carried out by the Council and an enforcement notice was issued in May 2014 as the development had no planning permission. The Council found that a single storey building had been erected with facilities expected of a separate residential dwelling.

The enforcement notice required that the building and decking is removed and that the land is restored to its original condition.

In June 2014 Mr. Bricknell lodged an appeal but in July 2015 the Planning Inspector upheld the enforcement notice agreeing that the development is unacceptable.

Between October 2015 and November 2015 further applications to revise the building were submitted by Mr. Bricknell but turned down by the Council. He was warned that he needed to comply with the enforcement notice.

Further visits were carried out by Planning Officers between March and August 2016 and although part of the rear of the building had been removed the building had still not been demolished or removed from the site. The Council took the decision to take Mr. Bricknell to court.

Councillor Danny Purton, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: ‘Planning rules are there for everyone to follow and a failure to obtain planning permission doesn’t mean you carry on regardless. This development is out of place and takes up more than 50 per cent of the rear garden. People living in a conservation area take pride in maintaining its special character and this development does more harm than good and does nothing to either preserve or enhance the appearance of the area. There are no public benefits to outweigh the harm this causes.

‘We tried to resolve this situation without having to go to court and a prosecution is always a last resort. Not only does this resident have the cost of demolishing his development he now has a fine to pay, which ultimately could have been avoided by him.

‘If you are planning on altering your home or building in your garden you should always check with the Council to see whether you need planning permission or building control approval or both before starting any work.’ 

read more….

On 12 October 2016, the AQA exam board announced that it would not be continuing work to develop new AS and A-levels in Archaeology, Classical Civilisation, History of Art and Statistics, and petitions objecting to these plans have been generating lots of signatures. 

See background at AQA, sign the art history petition, sign the archaeology petition and see the CIfA response on the plans for archaeology.

Firefighters worked through the night of 13 October to battle a huge blaze at a former north-east hospital, the derelict Glen O’Dee hospital, Banchory as now news reports have emerged that the Category A listed building, which once featured on the BBC ‘Restoration’ programme, has been deliberately destroyed by fire.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have reported that 62 firefighters were involved in tackling the fire. read more…

View the BBC Scotland report, Press & Journal video and news article and the HES list description

An appeal launched relating to housing near a historic battlefield in Warwickshire has been dismissed, with the inspector concluding that the appeal was not in accordance with the development plan and that harm to the character of the surroundings would be likely to occur.

The appeal decision concluded that the effect on the historic battlefield and its setting was a ‘neutral’ issue, with no weight given either for or against the scheme’s potential impact.

The decision letter states that the Inspector gave ‘significant weight to its intrusion into the landscape, resulting in an incongruous addition to the village and causing permanent and prominent environmental damage to the character of the countryside and the settlement’ (paragraph 20).

See Appeal reference: APP/J3720/W/15/3132123 

View the appeal decision

The remembrance poppy sculpture ‘weeping window’ which was initially at the Tower of London now graces another monument, this time in Wales, at Caernarfon Castle.

CADW writes:

The poppy sculpture Weeping Window by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper will open at Caernarfon Castle tomorrow, 11 October 2016. The venue will be the first location in Wales to host the iconic sculpture as part of the UK-wide tour organised by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary.

A medieval fortress and World Heritage Site located on the River Seiont, Caernarfon Castle is home to the Museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers regiment, who fought throughout the First World War, including the Battle of the Somme. A number of notable writers, including the poets David Jones, Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves and Hedd Wyn, served with the regiment during the First World War…

The installation will be open to the public inside the Castle daily until 20 November. Morning and afternoon advance tickets are available for free online via Cadw’s Eventbrite, while an extra 1,000 people will be granted access on the door each day.

View the press release

On 10 October the second reading of the Neighbourhood Planning Bill has been held in Parliament, with the next stage being committee reading in the House of Commons.

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid) clarified issues regarding the status of the Land Registry and said  ‘measures on the Land Registry are not part of the Bill, and the decision on privatisation will be for the Government to make in the future; it will not form part of this Bill, nor will it be introduced into the Bill in any shape or form at a later date’

Teresa Pearce (MP for Erith and Thamesmead) criticised the government, noting that ‘This is the sixth piece of legislation in the past six years to make provision for planning. Another Bill passes and the Government fail adequately to resource planning departments, which have faced a 46% cut in funding over the past five years’

View the full debate in Hansard

View the progress of the bill

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced that Newcastle-Gateshead is to be the host of the Great Exhibition of the North.

DCMS writes:

Newcastle-Gateshead will host the Great Exhibition of the North, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley announced today.  The Exhibition will showcase the great creative, cultural and design sectors in the city and across the whole of the North of England.  The Government is contributing £5 million towards the exhibition itself and a further £15 million into a legacy fund to attract further cultural investment in the Northern Powerhouse.

Newcastle-Gateshead faced strong competition from a number of other bidding towns and cities, including the three other shortlisted bidders: Blackpool, Bradford and Sheffield.  The Tyneside bid was declared the winner on the recommendation of the Great Exhibition Board chaired by Sir Gary Verity.

The Great Exhibition of the North will take place in Summer 2018 and will celebrate the creativity of Northern England, help boost investment and tourism in the region and leave a lasting cultural legacy.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said:  The Great Exhibition of the North is fantastic news for Newcastle-Gateshead. It will showcase the dynamic arts, cultural and design scenes in the city and across the whole of the North.  It’s so important that, regardless of where you’re from in the country, everyone is able to enjoy and access great culture. This cultural investment will bring enormous benefits to the region, including regeneration, increased tourism and cultural engagement. Congratulations to Newcastle-Gateshead on their successful bid – I’m excited to see what summer 2018 will bring.

Plans for the event include three walking circuits around Tyneside focusing on arts, design and innovation; a major exhibition hub at Great North Museum: Hancock; an innovative programme of new artistic and creative commissions; an entertaining and informative summer camp at Exhibition Park for families and an extensive learning programme.

Sir Gary Verity said:  Newcastle-Gateshead put forward an exciting and innovative bid to host the Great Exhibition of the North. Their ambitious plans will showcase fantastic venues across the city and highlight their unique heritage, culture and design. People from across the country can expect an amazing show in summer 2018.  I’d like to thank the eight other towns and cities for their fantastic bids and I’m looking forward to working with them to help ensure that the Exhibition has the widest possible reach across the whole of the North.

Carol Bell, Culture and Major Events Director at destination marketing agency NewcastleGateshead Initiative, which led the development of NewcastleGateshead’s bid, said:  We are delighted to have secured the Great Exhibition of the North in 2018; it’s a fantastic achievement and a testament to the creative and innovative bid we developed with the support of many venues, organisations, partners and stakeholders here in the North East. Key bid partners include Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, BALTIC, Sage Gateshead and the North East Culture Partnership.  We now look forward to extending this partnership approach right across the North of England to shine a spotlight on our collective cultural assets and strengths. Together we will develop and stage an event that the whole of the North can be proud of and which we hope will have far-reaching benefits for culture, communities, tourism and businesses – in 2018 and beyond.

View the press release

A former munitions factory in Leeds has been designated as a scheduled monument.

Historic England writes:

The former First World War National Filling Factory in Barnbow, Leeds where 16,000 women were employed producing high-explosive shells has been protected as a scheduled monument by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.  This protection recognises and commemorates the national importance of the factory and means that proposed development around the site can now be managed carefully.

Three separate explosions happened at the factory, the most serious on 5 December 1916. Thirty five women were killed and many more seriously injured by a blast in one of the shell fusing rooms. It was the first major loss of female civilian workers during the war and the worst disaster resulting in loss of life in Leeds’ history. A further two were killed on 21 March 1917 and three men lost their lives in a blast on 31 March 1918.

Although the 1916 explosion was heard for miles around, the deaths of the women were not reported for fear of denting national morale and the recruitment of women. Even after the war the explosions remained largely unacknowledged. The women later became known as the ‘Barnbow lasses’ and have come to represent the Home Front contribution and the role women played in the war.

Heritage Minister, Tracey Crouch, said: ‘As we mark the centenary of the First World War, it’s so important that we remember the sacrifices of those who supported on the home front – especially women. The Barnbow Lasses played such a vital role in the war effort and by scheduling this factory, we continue to pay tribute to their contributions and sacrifices 100 years on.’ 

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: ‘The First World War brought many tragedies. This one has not yet been fully recognised and commemorated. The death of the Barnbow lasses not only resonates today for the tragic loss of life but also represents the significant role played by women in winning the War. This led to a major national change in the perception of women at work. Barnbow is particularly poignant as the site of the worst disaster for loss of life in Leeds’ history and it is thanks to the local community that the memory of these remarkable women and their extraordinary courage has been kept alive. It is very fitting that it is now protected as a scheduled monument.’

View the press release

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a new Inclusive Economy Unit, aiming to bring knowledge from the public, private and civil society sectors together and help to improve public services.

DCMS writes:

Government announces Inclusive Economy Unit.  The new unit will bring together the expertise of the public, private and civil society sectors to help build an economy and a Britain that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.  In particular it will focus on expanding opportunities for those who are struggling to cope; harnessing the power of private investment and business for the advantage of everyone as well as improving delivery of public services.

The new unit builds on the existing Social Investment and Finance Team in the Office for Civil Society by strengthening the social investment market and social impact bonds, expanding public service mutuals, and supporting mission-led business.

The new unit will not take on any new policy roles within government, but will work in partnership with government departments.

The inclusive economy unit will continue to:

• Encourage better use of private investment and support markets that deliver social impact as well as financial returns.
• Improve delivery of public services: increasing social impact while bringing value for money in the commissioning of public services
• Encourage responsible business, from social enterprise startups to companies that aim at ‘profit with purpose’

The unit will be staffed by the existing team who have been working on social investment policy, partnering with government departments, civil society organisations and businesses.

Rob Wilson, Minister for Civil Society said:  A strong civil society works best when all parts of the economy and of society are being used to their full potential.  This unit will bring together the expertise of the public, private and civil society sectors to achieve this and help us build an economy and a Britain that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.

Karen Bradley, Secretary of State said:  This new unit will further increase DCMS’ contribution to building an inclusive society with opportunity for all. There has never been a more important time for government, civil society and the private sector to come together to deliver a country that works for everyone.

View the press release

Anna Carragher has been appointed as the new trustee for Northern Ireland on the National Heritage Memorial Fund / Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Board.

HLF writes:

Anna Carragher has been appointed as the new trustee for Northern Ireland on the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) / Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Board.

Anna Carragher has forty years of experience working in the public service in both executive and non executive roles. She was brought up in Belfast and attended Queen’s University where she took an Honours degree in English Literature and had the great privilege of being taught by Seamus Heaney. After graduating she joined the BBC and worked across radio and television producing a range of news and current affairs programmes including Today and Any Questions on Radio Four and Man Alive, Question Time and Newsnight on BBC television.

View the press release

The Scottish Government has announced that the Queensferry Crossing’s centre tower deck has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest freestanding balanced cantilever in the world.

The Scottish Government writes:

The Queensferry Crossing’s centre tower deck has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest freestanding balanced cantilever in the world.  The bridge’s central deck is now complete but still free standing and this 644 metre cantilever itself won’t last long. Soon, it will be connected to the flanking towers and viaducts to form the final superstructure.  However, experts at Guinness World Records have inspected and officially ratified the record while the deck is in this world-record breaking but still temporary state.

Since last September each 16 metre, 750 tonne section of deck has been added piece by piece and the central tower deck fan is now fully complete.  Each deck section is added ensuring that the cantilever remains balanced, which avoids placing too much stress on the concrete tower by adding deck segments sequentially at alternate ends. Using this method means that there can be up to 4 metres displacement in the deck itself, in the period between one deck lift and the next. While this is entirely normal and expected, it has led members of the public to ask if the deck fans will actually meet.

Until now the balanced cantilever method has never been used to construct a bridge this big.

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£48 million of funding has been announced by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), creating over 100 jobs.

Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) writes:

Bristol Old Vic, Beamish Museum and Bath’s Roman heritage are among eight projects sharing major funding. The £48million investment will save some of the nation’s most significant heritage, create 100 jobs and boost tourism across England.

Sir Peter Luff, Chair of HLF, said: ‘This investment, every penny of which has been made possible by National Lottery players, is a powerful demonstration of the range, beauty, fascination and significance of our nation’s heritage.’ 

Eight projects made possible by National Lottery players

• £2.3m for Bristol Old Vic, in the year it marks its 250th anniversary, to carry out major restoration work, conserve and digitise its theatrical heritage archives and bring Thunder Run – an 18th-century ‘surround system’ in the roof space which mimicked thunder during performances – back to life
• £10.9m for Beamish Museum to open up a new decade of North East life and continue to build on growing visitor numbers. A 1950s town will be filled with objects and stories donated by local people, feature Aged Miners’ Homes repurposed as a wellbeing centre and include a cinema moved brick by brick from another town
• £3.4m for the Archway Centre project in Bath which will create a Learning Centre and World Heritage Centre at the Roman Baths and open up areas of Roman remains, including a rare laconicum (sauna) and an exercise courtyard
• £2.5m for the Canal & River Trust to restore the Montgomery Canal for people and wildlife
• £4.6m for the Royal Air Force Museum’s programme to connect a global audience with the RAF’s centenary in 2018
• £7.6m to create the Medicine Galleries at the Science Museum, based on the extraordinary collections of Sir Henry Wellcome
• £3.6m for the Royal College of Music’s project to create new displays and a performance space for its collection of historic instruments, including the world’s earliest surviving guitar
• £12.8m for Canterbury Cathedral to carry out vital restoration and develop a Pilgrims Pass scheme 

Sir Peter Luff added: ‘We must remember that heritage isn’t just about buildings, archives and wildlife, important as these things are. It’s also about the people and communities whose lives they changed in the past – and will change in the future.  It’s about the tourism and regeneration that will boost local economies, about the new jobs, the new training programmes and the new volunteering roles that will be created. It’s also about the visitors from all walks of life who will gain new insights into our shared heritage.’

Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, welcomed the news. She said: ‘Our heritage and culture belongs to everyone. It lies at the heart of our communities and has the power to create jobs, boost tourism and the local community. It is fantastic to see such a wonderful range of heritage and museum projects receive generous funding thanks to National Lottery Players.’

View the press release