IHBC NewsBlogs

Work has started at the Cardiff Coal Exchange following Cardiff Council’s, grant of planning permission for change of use, but a full planning application has yet to be submitted showing the details for the £35m+ venture, and as yet there are no permissions for other works.

Read more….

An investigation by Building magazine has found 50+ instances of players of the trendy online Pokémon Go game trespassing onto construction sites as Developers and contractors are warning of the perils of Pokémon Go players trespassing on construction sites, putting themselves in danger in their attempts to ‘catch ‘em all’.

Read more….

The social housing publication ‘Inside Housing’ has published a research article on development plans, noting that six in ten do not currently have an up to date local plan.

Read more….

The new owner of Eastbourne Pier has been ordered to halt work after giving the Grade 2 listed structure a ‘vivid’ new look.

ITV reports on complaints about Sheikh Abid Gulzar’s decision to install gold-painted domes on the Victorian pier – which has been done without planning permission while, speaking to ITV News Meridian, Sheikh Abid Gulzar said the colour scheme ‘worked well’ and was popular with the public.

Read more…

A building at risk in Kirkcaldy is being advertised for sale at £1, provided that the purchaser has a track record of appropriate developments.

The Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland writes:

Victoria Road Power Station, a classically detailed former electricity generating station constructed with stone from Grange Quarry in nearby Burntisland, is now being marketed for sale through agents Graham & Sibbald (16 Wemyssfield, Kirkcaldy 01592 266211) as a development opportunity.

Offers are invited at a nominal price of £1 but interested parties must prove they can undertake and complete a scheme of development that is acceptable to Historic Environment Scotland and Fife Council. Interested parties will be required to demonstrate they have a successful track record of developing site which encompass Listed buildings and that the necessary funds are in place. Further information on the requirements of the sale, and contact details for interested parties, is available on the marketing particulars.

Read more….

To help inform its work-stream on ‘skills, materials and new technology’ workstream in National Housing Taskforce, a sectoral and political coalition, the CIOB is launching a call for evidence to gather views, data and substantiation. To close at 17:00 on Friday 9 September 2016.

CIOB writes:

The National Housing Taskforce is a sectoral and political coalition convened by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Housing and Planning. It was established to develop clear, workable proposals for both Government and industry to address the UK’s chronic shortage of housing.

The National Housing Taskforce is operating across 12 distinct areas of work, covering everything from planning reform to housing associations, and construction skills to mortgage finance…

The CIOB is leading on the skills, materials and new technology work-stream, which is charged with addressing the main issues in the construction labour market, including availability, productivity and diversity. Additionally, it will look at materials and new technology, primarily off-site manufacture and modern methods of construction (MMC), including how they link to skills issues. Ultimately, the work-stream will develop ideas for action for both government and industry, aimed at ensuring we have the capacity to deliver the homes we need.

To help inform the work-stream, the CIOB is launching a call for evidence to gather views, data and substantiation. This will remain open for 6 weeks, closing at 17:00 on Friday 9 September 2016.

We would urge industry, government, professionals and other interested stakeholders to take part in this important piece of work. If you are interested in giving your views, please download the document below and send your response to policy@ciob.org.uk

Please do not feel obliged to answer all questions; partial submissions focusing on a particular topic will be welcomed. Please direct any queries to David Hawkes, CIOB Policy Manager (dhawkes@ciob.org.uk).

More information can be found here

See more …

The Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Lake District National Park officially extended, adding ‘an area bigger than the Isle of Wight’.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs writes:

Two of our most iconic National Parks – the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District – have extended their boundaries for the first time in a bid to protect our precious countryside and boost rural tourism, Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom has announced.

From the historic Sizergh Castle and postcard village of Orton to the breath-taking Lyth Valley, the extensions will see nearly 200 square miles – an area bigger than the Isle of Wight – protected for generations to come.

Over 20 million people already visit the rugged Dales and majestic Lakes each year. Extending these unique spaces will create the largest stretch of almost continuous National Park in England and attract thousands more people to the region – adding to over £1.8 billion a year already generated by visitors to these Parks.

The extension also supports the Government’s long-term plan for the environment, a manifesto commitment currently being developed with local authorities, communities and environmental groups across the country.

Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said: ‘The Dales and Lake District are part of our nation’s proud identity – immortalised by W. H. Auden and Wordsworth, they are home to some of our country’s most beautiful and rugged landscapes.  Today’s extension will virtually join up these precious natural assets, supporting the local economy, creating jobs and securing the area’s reputation as one of our country’s most attractive tourist destinations for generations to come.’

National Parks contribute £4 billion to our economy each year – from Wensleydale Cheese to Herdwick lamb they are also home to over one third of England’s protected food names.

With tourism responsible for 13% of rural employment and 10% of rural businesses, today’s extension will not only attract more people to the region, but could potentially create hundreds more jobs and boost local economies.

Andrew Sells, Chairman of Natural England, the Government’s statutory adviser on landscape with responsibilities for designating and amending boundaries of National Parks, added: ‘This is a momentous day for the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks, as well as for the wider family of protected landscapes. The additional areas which now form part of each National Park are very special places that deserve all the care and attention designation will bring.  We all very much look forward to the benefits these extensions will bring to local businesses, the wider community and all those who visit these cherished landscapes.

The Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks have extended their boundaries by 24% and 3% respectively. The extensions cover around 188 square miles.  The decision to extend the Parks was announced last October.  According to STEAM 2015 (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Model), there are 17.32 million visitors to the Lake District National Park and 9.30 million visitors to the Yorkshire Dales National Park wider area.  According to STEAM 2015, visitors spend over £1.8 billion in Lakes and Dales a year (the economic impact of visitors and tourism businesses was £1.2 billion in the Lake District National Park and £605 million in the Yorkshire Dales National Park wider area in 2015.)

Read more….

Local community organisations across Scotland are invited to nominate heritage volunteers and voluntary groups for the Scottish Heritage Angel Awards with 5 categories and the deadline of Friday 12 August 2016.

The five Scottish Heritage Angel Awards categories are:

• Investigating and Recording
• Caring and Protecting
• Sharing and Celebrating
• Young Heritage Angel Award
• Lifetime Contribution to the Historic Environment

The Scottish Civic Trust writes:

Now in its second year, the awards scheme, funded by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, celebrates the important efforts of volunteers or ‘Angels’ in helping to better understand, protect and value Scotland’s heritage and history.

Last year’s inaugural awards saw over 80 nominations being received for heritage volunteers across the length and breadth of the country. The initiative, the first of its kind in Scotland, highlighted a range of worthwhile voluntary projects, activities and individuals. It celebrated everything from the recording of 3,500 gravestones and memorials in a garden cemetery to an individual’s commitment to archaeology, which spanned more than 20 years.

This year’s awards will also take the opportunity to recognise the valuable contributions that young people make to the wider historic environment, with a new category for 2016. Entries are now being welcomed for the Young Heritage Angel Award, along with the returning categories.

The five Scottish Heritage Angel Awards categories are:

• Investigating and Recording
• Caring and Protecting
• Sharing and Celebrating
• Young Heritage Angel Award
• Lifetime Contribution to the Historic Environment

For full details of the Awards, including application form, guidelines and films of last year’s shortlisted nominations visit www.scottishheritageangelawards.org.uk or contact:

Scottish Heritage Angel Awards
c/o Scottish Civic Trust
The Tobacco Merchant’s House
42 Miller Street
Glasgow G1 1DT

Tel: 0141 221 1466

Email: shaa@scottishcivictrust.org.uk

Read more….

The Telegraph has reported on a case of building restoration where the cleaning of dilapidated glass roof of the city’s Natural History Museum, as part of its £2m restoration, the cleaning of the glass  roof has let in so much sunlight that the museum’s priceless specimens are suffering ‘rapid and irreversible’ damage.

The Telegraph writes:

When Oxford University unveiled the results of a £2 million project to restore the dilapidated glass roof of the city’s Natural History Museum, the curators claimed they had secured the future of the magnificent Victorian institution for generations to come.

But now university authorities have been forced back to the drawing board, after admitting that removing 150 years of dirt from the glass tiles that line the building’s roof has let in so much sunlight that the museum’s priceless specimens are suffering ‘rapid and irreversible’ damage.

See the full story

See Alison Richmond’s, ICON CEO response

The Scottish Civic Trust (SCT) has announced the appointment of Colin McLean, former Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, as its new Chair.

The SCT writes:

Colin McLean was Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland for 16 years, and before that Director of the Scottish Mining Museum and Director of Communications for the Scottish Museums Council. He will take up the position of Chair on 1st September when the current Chair, Alistair Scott, steps down.

Colin has a BSc in Architectural History and Business Studies from the University of Edinburgh and a Postgraduate Diploma in Town Planning from Heriot Watt University.   He established Colin McLean Photography in 2015, specialising in heritage and architectural photography, and holds a Licentiate Distinction from the Royal Photographic Society.

Current Chair, Alistair Scott said: ‘Colin brings a breadth of experience from the historic environment, architecture and third sectors.  His passion for buildings, heritage and photography will all be of enormous benefit to the Trust as we move forward with our new strategic development plan.’

Colin McLean said: ‘I am honoured to have the opportunity to join the Trust at this time when our environment and our towns are enjoying renewed interest and support but face new threats and challenges. I want to pay tribute to Alastair Scott’s inspired leadership of the Trust in recent years and I look forward to working with the Trustees, staff and our many partners to develop our existing programme and seek new opportunities to promote civic pride.’  

Read more….

Civic Voice (CV) is asking people to fill out the short Alliance of Historic Cathedral Cities and Towns survey.

CV writes:

We are emailing you today to ask you to fill out the short Alliance of Historic Cathedral Cities and Towns survey. The survey’s aim is to find out what members of civic societies see as the current issues in our historic towns and cities. We recognise that many places are struggling to balance the demand for growth with the need to protect our heritage, but we do not know the full extent and nature of those concerns.

Your answers will help the Alliance of Historic Cathedral Cities and Towns (ACT), and Civic Voice, to represent our members more effectively. We will use the results of the survey to prepare a report setting out key concerns and proposing some recommendations for action. This will be presented at the Civic Voice Conference in October 2016.

We would be grateful if the questionnaire could be filled in by a member of the committee of your civic society, and could represent as far as possible the views of the committee. Your answers will be treated as confidential and will be anonymised in anything we might write about the survey. Thank you very much for your help.

Complete the survey

Law firm Dentons has helped Chase New Homes to secure planning consent for a 511-unit housing scheme in Hertfordshire, set to be the house builder’s largest scheme to date.

Dentons writes:

The scheme, known as Times Square, will be built in Welwyn Garden City on the site of the former Xerox office complex on Bessermer Road.

Chase New Homes, which acquired the Xerox site in 2015, is currently undertaking phase one of the project to develop 210 residential units in three of the existing buildings under Permitted Development rights.

Now planning consent for the second phase has been secured, which will see the house builder add 66 penthouses to the buildings and also add four new apartment blocks in the grounds, collectively containing up to 511 dwellings.

View the press release

BRE’s main site will be open as part of Heritage Open Days 2016.

BRE writes:

As well as the once top secret model of the Mohne Dam used in the early stages of developing the Dambusters’ famous Bouncing Bomb, some of our larger test labs and the homes of our Innovation Park will be open to view for free.

There will be talks and presentations repeated through the day about the role of BRE in the Dambusters raids, and also about the B17 Bomber ‘Choo-z-suzy’ that crashed on this site in 1943.

The largest structural test hall in Britain, the fire test labs of Europe’s largest fire test facility, and (possibly) the quietest place in the UK will be open for tours and demonstrations. ‘Bucknalls’, the 19th century mansion at the centre of the site (and which give the nearby roads Bucknalls Lane and Bucknalls Drive their names) will be open to see the oak panelled splendour of this former country house. And the eco-friendly show homes of our innovation park will be open too. You might also recognise a few locations from recent TV drama and comedy shows too.

On site cafe, bouncy castle, acres of lawns for picnics, free onsite parking and more… a whole day out for all the family (although sorry, no dogs please).

See photos from the 2015 Open Days on Flickr

Read more….

Warwick offers the possibility to ‘glamp’ in their medieval camp as the recently openend Knight’s Village offers 28 ‘medieval-themed’ lodges

Medieval Histories writes:

Real medievalists may find the experience at Warwick Castle tacky. However, traveling with kids it is great fun to stop over at the castle, which is both a very important piece of English heritage and a Medieval Fair Ground offering a multitude of experiences for the young and innocent.

For some time the possibility has been around to partake in medieval glamping. This offers a sleepover in one of the exclusive, fully set-up, ready-to-sleep Medieval Tents with free next-day tickets and free have-a-go archery and the possibility to take out classes at the Jester’s school and the Knight’s school. Curiously enough there seems to be no offers on for blushing maidens to learn exactly how to tie their ribbon around the lance. Perhaps next year?

New on offer is now the possibility to stay a bit more comfortable at the Knight’s Village. Here 28 medieval-themed lodges (semi-detached) have been set in a woodland glade next to the River Avon and just a few paces from the castle.

Woodland Lodges sleep up to five guests in two bedrooms – one double bed, one set of bunk beds, plus a pull out bed – and are set on one floor.

Knight’s Lodges sleep up to seven guests and are set across two storeys, including a mezzanine level with a galleried master bedroom.

Prices start from £40 per person per night – or £203 per lodge – including breakfast, two-day entry to the castle and themed evening entertainment.

A medieval feast with live entertainment is served in the banquet hall each evening for £18.95 per adult, £9.95 per child. Including such non-medieval fare as roasted potatoes and penne pasta for the children, there is no reason to be shy.

Knight’s Village offers year-round accommodation and all lodges offer en-suite facilities, TV, tea and coffee-making facilities, and central heating, with free wi-fi throughout.

Book your stay by following the links

http://www.medievalhistories.com/knights-village-at-warwick/

Various paces are on offer on the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) ‘Building Traditional Skills, Building Resilience, Building Community in England Bursary Scheme’, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) which seeks passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated people to be trained to work on England’s traditional buildings, with closing dates from 12 August 

Opportunities include:

• Trainee Heritage Brickworker, London area
• Trainee Heritage Carpenter, South of England
• Trainee Heritage Plasterer placement opportunity, Oxfordshire
• Trainee Heritage Brickworker placement opportunity, East Midlands
• Trainee Heritage Flint and Brickworker placement, Suffolk/East Anglia
• Trainee Heritage Slating and Tiling placement opportunity, Sussex
• Trainee Heritage Hard Metal Roofing placement opportunity, Surrey
• Trainee Heritage Stone Mason placement opportunity Lincoln Cathedral

The NHTG Writes:

The National Heritage Training Group have been awarded £779,200 funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to provide high quality, work-based training and skills development opportunities to equip people for a career in the built heritage sector.

Training and live site-based work experience is the largest element of this Project. Opportunities will include:

• 30 variable-length traditional building craft skills bursary placements100 delegates attending a 2 day course to achieve the Level 3 Unit Award in Understanding Repair and Maintenance of Traditional Pre-1919 Buildings
• 10 Heritage Specialist Apprenticeships
• 20 Level 3 NVQ Diplomas in Heritage Skills
• 10 Mentors to train enabling them to pass on their skills and knowledge to develop the abilities of less experienced trades people

Are you Interested to offer a placement with your specialist heritage building company or in undertaking a training placement?

For more details see the IHBC’s Awards and Bursaries page

See also the NHTG website

The Scottish Government (SG) has put out a call for evidence on the wider impact of climate change mitigation on the built environment, and is particularly interested in as yet unpublished research, with a closing date of 15 August.

The Scottish Government writes:

The Scottish Government is undertaking an evidence review of the potential wider impacts of climate change mitigation actions for the built environment sector. 

On behalf of the Scottish Government, Aether and Dr Keith Baker are currently undertaking an evidence review of the potential wider impacts of climate change mitigation actions for the built environment sector.

This is the first ever survey of this kind for the built environment sector in the Scottish context.  Information relating to the following is required:

• Research on the co-benefits and possible adverse side effects from climate change mitigation related to the built environment sector in the Scottish context.  Research can cover qualitative and quantitative (e.g.  modelling and tools) approaches.
• Research from an equalities perspective, on the evidence base about the potential distribution of the wider impacts of climate change mitigation relating to the built environment sector, relevant to Scotland.
• Research can cover:
• Improved energy efficiency of housing / other building stock.
• Low carbon energy / heat technologies and fuels (solar, heat pumps, efficient boilers, etc.).
• Low carbon places – e.g. through planning policy.
• Behaviour change interventions – e.g. around people changing their use of  heating systems.

The call complements a review of the existing literature.  We are therefore particularly interested in research which is not yet published and forthcoming research programmes.

The project aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of existing and planned research on built environment co-benefits.

The outcomes will help inform RPP3, the Scottish Government’s third Report on Policies and Proposals. This report will set out specific measures to meet Scotland’s statutory targets to reduce greenhouse gases, as required by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. A gap analysis and recommendations for future research will also be provided.  Your input will thus make a key contribution to this vital research area.

This also offers the opportunity for you to upload research files.

The closing date for the survey is 15th August, with early responses appreciated.

Please disseminate this call more widely as appropriate.

If you have any questions on the project or the survey please contact the Aether Project Manager for this study: Alison Pridmore at Alison.Pridmore@aether-uk.com

Information is gathered through a survey format (maximum five minutes of your time) [link to Smart Survey]

Read more on the BEFS website

Stanton Williams and Asif Khan, together with conservation architect Julian Harrap and landscape design consultants J&L Gibbons, have been announced as the winners of the Museum of London’s international competition for the new museum at West Smithfield.

Designing Buildings Wiki writes:

The early stage concept aims to balance contemporary design with the physicality of the existing market buildings, and includes:

• A new lifted dome to create a light-filled entrance to the museum.
• Innovative spiral escalators to transport visitors down to the exhibition galleries in a vast excavated underground chamber.
• Flexible spaces to serve as a new meeting place for London and a centre for events and debate
• A new sunken garden and green spaces.

Read more at Designing Buildings Wiki

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has unveiled steps to protect its last remaining launderettes in response to recent planning changes.

RBKC writes:

The Royal Borough has unveiled steps to protect its last remaining launderettes in response to recent planning changes which puts them under threat.

In April the Government granted a new permitted development right for launderettes located outside conservation areas, removing the need for planning permission to change their use to residential.

To ensure any changes to a launderette’s use still require planning permission, on Friday 22 July 2016 the Council applied for a ‘non-immediate Article 4 Direction’ which would remove the new permitted development right. This would come into effect after a year in July 2017 (subject to the results of a consultation).

Councillor Nick Paget-Brown, the Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said: “While times have changed and washing machines are no longer as expensive as they once were, launderettes are still used by many of our residents who cannot afford a washing machine or when their homes cannot accommodate one.  With such high land values in the Royal Borough, without proper controls in place we would undoubtedly lose many premises that play a vital role in our community.  We aren’t saying launderettes should remain launderettes forever but that any change of use must be properly scrutinised against all of our well-developed planning policies.’

The consultation on the Article 4 Direction for launderettes will run until Friday 2 September 2016.

Full details are on the Article 4 Directions webpage

Read the press release

The Towns Web Archiving (TWA) Digitisation Grant 2016, to be used for most UK-based digitisation projects and with applications score it across primary areas of Heritage need and Social and Research impacts, is now open and accepting applications with a closing date of 31 August.

TWA writes:

We know that limited funding for cultural heritage digitisation projects is one of the primary barriers that UK heritage institutions face when attempting to digitise and digitally preserve their collections.

There are two grants available:

• Primary Digitisation Grant £4000
• Secondary Digitisation Grant £1000

The Primary Grant will be awarded to the winning institution/organisation as selected by our judging panel (see below for details of judging process), whilst the Secondary Grant will be awarded to the closest ‘runner up’.

TWA Grant funding can be used for any UK-based digitisation project, excluding digitising 3D and audio-visual materials. For full details of how the funding may be used read our What we fund guide.

The Grant funding will be provided in the form of TownsWeb Archiving services: including digitisation, metadata transcription, optical character recognition, website design and/or digital asset management software.

How the funding is allocated between these services is entirely up to the applicant, however the project must include digitisation of some sort to be eligible.

The TWA Digitisation Grant is open to applications from all UK:

• Public & private Archives
• Business/corporate Archives
• Public & private Libraries
• Museums
• Galleries

For full details of who is and isn’t eligible to apply take a look at our Who is eligible page.

Our judging panel will assess each application and score it across three primary areas:

• Heritage need
• Social impact
• Research impact

Further guidance on what the judges are looking at across each of these areas is provided within the Grant Application Form.

All applications must be submitted by 31st August 2016 and winners will be announced on 19th September.

Find out how to apply and download our Grant application form

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has announced that Blackpool, Bradford, Newcastle-Gateshead and Sheffield have been shortlisted to host the Great Exhibition of the North in 2018.

DCMS writes:

The exhibition, which will run for at least two months, will showcase the great creative, cultural and design sectors across the whole of the North, and boost investment and tourism in the region.

The shortlist will now be assessed by the Great Exhibition board before a final selection is made by Ministers. The chosen venue will be announced in the autumn.

The Government is contributing £5 million towards the exhibition and a further £15 million to a legacy fund to attract further cultural investment in the North.

Nine strong bids were submitted from Halifax, Harrogate, Scunthorpe, St Helens and Whitehaven, as well as the shortlisted venues.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will work with the bidders who were not shortlisted to ensure as many people enjoy and benefit from the exhibition as possible.

Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, said: ‘The Great Exhibition of the North is a unique opportunity to celebrate the creativity of Northern England and I am thrilled we received so many innovative bids.

British arts and culture are among the finest in the world. I am determined we democratise the arts and celebrate the best in every part of our nation. What’s more, cultural investment can bring enormous benefits for communities – it drives regeneration, promotes tourism and increases life chances.  The shortlisted bids show just what’s on offer and highlight that we have brilliant options for hosting the Great Exhibition of the North. Whichever is successful, this exhibition will leave an important legacy to benefit the whole country.’

Read more….

The full list of ministerial responsibilities in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has now been confirmed as, following the creation of the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the appointment of Rt Hon Greg Clark MP as Secretary of State, the full list of ministerial responsibilities within the department has now been confirmed.

BEIS writes:

The new ministerial portfolios reflect the key priorities for the department to develop a comprehensive industrial strategy; continuing to ensure the UK remains at the cutting-edge of science, research and innovation; tackling climate change; and ensuring affordable, clean and secure energy supply for the UK.

• Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
• Nick Hurd MP, Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry
• Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (joint minister with Department for Education)
• Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property
• Margot James MP, Minister for Small Business, Consumers, and Corporate Responsibility
• Jesse Norman MP, Minister for Industry and Energy

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: ‘I am thrilled to have been appointed to lead this new department charged with delivering a comprehensive industrial strategy, leading government’s relationship with business, furthering our world-class science base, delivering affordable, clean energy and tackling climate change.  I’m supported by a great ministerial team and we will work tirelessly to deliver on all of these areas, which are vital for the future success of our country.’

The work of the new department brings together responsibilities for industrial strategy, energy, business, consumers, employees, science, innovation, research, and climate change.

In particular, the department is responsible for:

• developing and delivering a comprehensive industrial strategy and leading the government’s relationship with business
• ensuring that the country has secure energy supplies that are reliable, affordable and clean
• ensuring the UK remains at the leading edge of science, research and innovation
• tackling climate change
• promoting competitive markets and consumer interests

Read more….