IHBC NewsBlogs

Civic Voice, has announced awards that aim to recognise and celebrate the huge efforts that have already been made throughout the UK to commemorate the First World War, with the deadline for nominations on 9 September 2016 and the awards ceremony set to take place in London in November 2016.

Civic Voice writes:

We are now over half way through the centenary years of the First World War and we believe that the volunteers engaged with the First World War Memorials Programme deserve some recognition for the hard work they have been doing with the project.

Remember WW1, a not-for-profit campaign that supports volunteering by highlighting opportunities to get involved, has recently launched Remember WW1 Awards. The awards aim to recognise and celebrate the huge efforts that have already been made throughout the UK to commemorate the First World War.  If you are interested in applying, or perhaps you know someone who might be, tell them about this amazing initiative which aims to recognise their efforts.

If you would like to read more on the awards see Remember WW1

Former Communities Secretary Greg Clark has dismissed an appeal for a proposed road/rail freight interchange on metropolitan green belt land north of the A4 Colnbrook bypass.

Planning Portal writes:

In one of his last decisions former Communities Secretary Greg Clark last week dismissed an appeal over a proposed road/rail freight interchange on land north of the A4 Colnbrook bypass on the western flank of Slough close to Heathrow airport. The stance of the then SoS was in line with the recommendation of the planning inspector who held the recovered appeal inquiry. The site involved was in metropolitan green belt… Clark’s decision letter said the scheme was inappropriate development and by definition harmful to the green belt.

See Gov UK for more information for the recovered appeal: land north of A4 (Colnbrook Bypass), Colnbrook, Slough

Read more….

Historic England’s (HE) Annual Report and Accounts for 2015/16 have been issued.

Government writes:

Historic England’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2015/16 was laid before Parliament on 18 July. It comprises the audited accounts and, new for this year, Performance and Accountability Reports. Progress against the priorities in Historic England’s Management Agreement with DCMS is included within the Performance Report.

Read more….

Insurance giant Royal London’s bid to expand its Wilmslow campus on land in the green belt, creating up to 600 jobs, has been given the go-ahead by Cheshire East Council.

Planning Portal writes:

Its planning committee has approved an outline application by the Royal London Mutual Insurance Society and Property Alliance Group for a new office development to the east of its existing site and south of the town centre, subject to referral to the Communities Secretary. HOW Planning is the agent on the scheme.

View the Planning Application

Read more….

The Heritage Alliance (THA) has announced that its long-running annual award for heritage volunteers is renamed Ecclesiastical’s Award for Heritage Heroes in recognition of the insurance company’s generous sponsorship, with a deadline for applications of 16 September 2016.

THA writes:

The award aims to celebrate the achievements of the independent heritage sector; to increase mutual awareness among members of The Heritage Alliance and help individuals develop heritage business skills.

This year for the first time, the winner of Ecclesiastical’s Award for Heritage Heroes will benefit from Ecclesiastical’s own skills-based volunteering approach. In addition to the opportunity to present on the project at The Heritage Alliance’s popular Heritage Day on 1 December at the Freemasons Hall, London, Ecclesiastical will offer a day’s worth of in-kind support such as business management, marketing, communications or HR. The exact nature of the in-kind support will be agreed between the two parties as appropriate.

The Award scheme was established to celebrate the outstanding contribution to society made by heritage volunteers in England. Now in its seventh year, previous recipients include volunteers associated with Howsham Mill, Preston Bus Station, Bluebell Heritage Railway, Gorton Monastery in Manchester and SS Shieldhall in Southampton. John Lambourn was awarded the 2015 Heritage Heroes Award for his outstanding restoration and adaptive reuse of the 19th century fishing boat named Ripple in Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall.

The Award scheme is open to all Alliance members and their organisational members.

Entries should demonstrate a distinctive achievement in the past 12 months (up to July 2016) by a voluntary individual or team. Applying or nominating couldn’t be easier – please complete a short nomination form and send it to Alliance Trustee, Henry Cleary: jhenrycleary@gmail.com.

Find out more and to see the nomination forms

The National Churches Trust (NCT), the UK’s church repair and support charity, has launched ‘50 Things to do in a Church’, highlighting the range of activities and events that take place in and around church buildings and the many different ways that people use and experience churches and chapels.

The NCT writes:

‘50 Things to do in a Church’ celebrates the many and diverse uses of church buildings and asks the public to share their favourite things to do in a church or chapel…

As well as being places of worship, church buildings play a vital role in activities for the benefit of the wider community. It is estimated that nearly 90% of churches are used for community purposes as well as for regular worship.

Included in ‘50 Things to do in a Church’ are activities and things to see and do linked to music and the arts, the spiritual, helping the community, art and architecture, food and drink, history, nature and wildlife, and sport and leisure.

You can tell us about your favourite things to do in a church by filling in the form at the bottom of this webpage, on Twitter by using the hashtag #50thingsinachurch, on our Facebook page, at http://www.facebook.com/nationalchurchestrust, or email us at 50things@nationalchurchestrust.org.

Read more….

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport has announced that almost 40 cathedrals across England will benefit from government funding of £14.5 million for repairs to help secure their future.

DCMS writes:

Awarded from the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund, it will see 39 grants allocated to help safeguard cathedrals, including keeping buildings wind-proof, weather-tight, safe and open to the public.

The Chancellor announced the first £20 million phase of the fund in 2014, and allocated a further £20 million in the budget in March.

Decisions on funding allocations are taken by an expert panel which includes English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley said: ‘Cathedrals are powerful symbols of Britain’s shared history. They are important not only for their architecture and heritage, but also for the vital role they play in local communities.  I am delighted that the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund will ensure that these wonderful cathedrals remain in a good state of repair and are preserved for future generations.’

The Church of England’s 42 cathedrals are estimated to contribute £220 million to the economy every year, and welcome more than 11 million visitors annually.

Dame Fiona Reynolds, Chair of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, said:  ‘Cathedrals which benefitted from the first phase of this fund have been repaired and refurbished, and staff and volunteers have time and resources to serve their cities and regions with renewed energy.  It is fantastic that more cathedrals are now able to benefit from this scheme. England’s cathedrals are a wonderfully diverse group, encompassing not only vast, world-famous medieval buildings such as Durham, Lincoln and Canterbury, but also smaller churches like Wakefield and Leicester.’

Thirty-two Church of England cathedrals will receive between £15,000 to £870,000. The largest grant of £870,000 goes to Coventry Cathedral for re-fixing the exterior slates of the Chapel of Unity, designed by Sir Basil Spence.

Other cathedrals to receive funding include Bradford, Liverpool, Salisbury, Gloucester and Newcastle. 

Read about it on the IHBC’s Conservation Wiki

See the press release

The full list of all government appointments following Theresa May becoming Prime Minister has been published, as Sajid Javid replaces Clark as Communities Secretary and Gavin Barwell takes over from Lewis as planning and housing minister in the new Cabinet and ministerial team. 

Read more at Planning Portal

View the full list

Loyd Grossman The Heritage Alliance (THA) Chair, has launched what he calls, ‘the world’s greatest heritage festival’, rousing visitors to get out and about and ‘treasure your treasures’ during Heritage Open Days between Thursday 8 and Sunday 11 September.

THA writes

[Loyd] was speaking to an audience of event organisers and stakeholder representatives from the cultural sector at the Heritage Open Days 2016 launch event at RIBA in London on Tuesday 12 July.

‘Treasure Your Treasures’ is the theme for this year’s festival, which calls on communities to champion their local heritage and show their support for cultural and historic assets on their doorsteps. The theme comes following the results of a straw poll, which showed that 95% of Heritage Open Days organisers had fears about the future of places like museums, galleries, archives, theatres, parks and historic sites in their own communities, which may be facing financial uncertainty. 225 local organisers responded to the survey about their treasures and their level of concern about the effects of funding cuts. They felt overwhelmingly that Heritage Open Days had an important role to play in supporting the future of their local treasures.

Loyd Grossman said the 5,000 free events held during the festival provided the ideal platform to stand up and shout about local treasures, engaging people in heritage as visitors and volunteers, and getting behind campaigns to retain access to places like museums, archives, libraries, galleries, theatres, parks and historic sites.

See more….

Find out how you can also register to hold your own event until 1 August

Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Scotland has launched ‘Stories, Stones, and Bones’, a small grants programme to help people celebrate and create a legacy for Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology in 2017.

HLF writes:

Stories, Stones and Bones is all about making funding easily accessible to help communities celebrate Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology in 2017.

Grants from £3,000 – £10,000, with a straightforward application form and short decision time, will be available to fund projects that introduce lots of new people to heritage in new and creative ways.

Find out more…

Liverpool City Council has given the cold shoulder to a recommendation from UNESCO that there should be a moratorium on new development within the city’s world heritage site and the surrounding buffer zone as Mayor Joe Anderson has said he will write to the UN body rejecting its request.

A council spokesman said: ‘We work extremely hard to balance conservation with the development needs of a growing city, and UNESCO recognises we have made progress in addressing their concerns. The number of buildings in Liverpool on the at-risk register is at a 25 year low and Historic England says the city is an example of best practice nationally.  Liverpool remains open for business and all planning applications will continue to be determined in the usual way in line with national planning policies and guidance.  We can’t place developments in large parts of the city centre on hold as it would send out completely the wrong message to investors, cost jobs and leave us open to expensive legal challenges by developers.  We are working with the government, who make representations on behalf of World Heritage Sites at the UNESCO Committee, to look at how best to resolve the situation.’

View the news article in the Liverpool Echo

A joint venture between Patten Properties and Panacea Property Development has confirmed submission of plans for a major residential development overlooking Liverpool’s Albert Dock.

The joint venture proposes a stepped development rising to 19 storeys at its highest point. The proposals include the demolition of a four-storey office building, Strand House, and the creation of a new development of 395 residential units with private roof terraces at the upper levels and ground floor space for restaurants, bars and cafés.

View more information on Panacea’s website

On 13 July Geraint Davies MP introduced a Private Member’s Bill in the Commons to make provision for the safeguarding of standards of environmental protection derived from European Union legislation after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The summary of the ‘UK Environmental Protection (Maintenance of EU Standards) Bill 2016-17’ expands upon those areas of environmental protection with respect to water, air, soil, flood protection, and climate change. The heritage community will be especially keen to know whether the PMB will include aspects of cultural heritage, as currently provided for in EU Directives on Environmental Impact Assessment.

The Bill is expected to have its second reading debate on Friday 28 October 2016

Read more….

Historic England is working to improve co-ordination of research into the historic built environment. To this end, the organisation is inviting tenders for an 18-month project to develop a framework for research and to establish a research network to take this forward.

The project will produce the first national framework for historic built environment research.  It will be innovative, flexible and suitable for the needs of the historic built environment research sector, as well as being expandable to meet its changing needs. A research network is to be established which will support and sustain the framework in the future.

The main objectives of the framework will be to:

• Strategically coordinate and prioritise research and develop collaborative partnerships.
• Promote a better- coordinated and more inclusive research culture.
• Support the assessment of the significance of individual buildings or areas
• Support local decision making on individual historic buildings and places supporting the efficient functioning of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
• Support work to ensure the full value of developer-led investigation is realised.

For more information on tendering for the project please visit Historic England

Firms with a wages bill of more than £3million will have to pay two training levies in 2017.

The Stone Specialist writes:

Training body CITB and the Government Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) have come to an agreement that will see qualifying firms paying two training levies next year.

A levy for the government’s new Trailblazer apprenticeships is due to start being collected in April next year, although some major companies are still fighting the proposal. It will kick in at 0.5% when a company’s payroll exceeds £3million. It is supposed to replace the CITB levy, but a lot of sectors want to continue with CITB?apprenticeships, many in the stone industry among them.

Read more….

Councils must apply planning rules properly when considering applications for building on the Green Belt, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) Dr Jane Martin has warned, following a ruling against St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council for allowing a five bedroom house to replace a dormer bungalow in Green Belt.

Dr Martin said councils must take account of all the dimensions of any proposals to make sure they are not ‘materially larger’ than what they might replace.

She told to apologise to the neighbours who complained and pay £250 each to recognise the time they had spent on it, their trouble and frustration and loss of confidence in the authority.

Dr Martin said that councils must apply their policies ‘consistently’ and that the fair treatment of all planning applicants was ‘fundamental to good administration.’ 

Read more…

Recent LGO advice via IHBC NewsBlogs

An update for July 2016 on the arrangements for historic environment legislation and policy in Wales has been issues by Cadw, covering among other items the 2016 Act, implementation and consultations.

Cadw writes:

1. The Historic Environment (Wales) Bill received Royal Assent on 21 March 2016. The full text of the Act and the Explanatory Notes are available on the internet at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
2. Significant changes were made in two areas of the Act during Stage 3 consideration:

Historic Environment Records — The Assembly accepted amendments to transfer the duty for compiling and updating the historic environment records (HERs) from local planning authorities to the Welsh Ministers.  This will make it easier for the Welsh Ministers to maintain the current arrangements under which the four Welsh archaeological trusts successfully administer the HERs.  The Welsh Ministers must issue guidance on how certain public bodies — local authorities, National Park authorities and Natural Resources Wales — should use the HERs when carrying out their functions.

Listed buildings in disrepair — The Assembly unanimously supported a non-government amendment at Stage 3 that will give the Welsh Ministers powers to make regulations to allow local authorities to serve ‘preservation notices’ requiring specified works to listed buildings.  This provides a legislative framework within which detailed provisions can be developed.

Implementation

3. The provisions in the act will be implemented in stages. The following provisions came into force on 21 May 2016, two months after the legislation received Royal Assent.

4. Other provisions will not come into effect until the Welsh Ministers formally commence them by order. Some provisions will require supplementary secondary legislation, including:

5. Other provisions in the Act will need non-legislative preparations before they can be brought into force. These will involve:

Consultations

6. Consultation on the revised historic environment chapter (chapter 6) of Planning Policy Wales closed on the 13 June 2016. Planning Division are currently analysing the consultation responses and considering what changes are needed to the text. The intention is to publish the chapter in the autumn of this year.
7. Cadw is planning a series of consultations during 2016 and early 2017 on secondary legislation and best-practice documents intended to support the Act. The first twelve-week consultation will start during the week of the 11 July and cover:

• Regulations to set the interest rate for costs from urgent works to listed buildings;
• Procedures for compensation associated with temporary stop notices;
• Requirement for a heritage impact statement as part of historic asset consent applications and associated guidance;
• Simplification of the scheduled monument consent procedures;
• Guidance — Managing Change to Listed Buildings in Wales;
• Guidance — Managing Change in World Heritage Sites in Wales;
• Guidance — Managing Conservation Areas in Wales; and
• Guidance — Managing Lists of Historic Assets of Special Local Interest in Wales.
• Guidance — Setting of Historic Assets in Wales (how the setting of historic assets in Wales should be considered when assessing the potential impact of development or land management proposals).

8. In addition, Planning Division’s consultation on ‘Technical Advice Note 24: The Historic Environment’ will run in tandem with the Cadw consultation.

Other Best-practice Guidance Documents in preparation

9. The guidance documents identified below are also in preparation with a view to issuing them for consultation during 2016 and 2017.

• Managing Historic Character in Wales

This guidance will explain why it is important to recognise historic character in conservation, regeneration and planning work. . It will complement Managing Lists of Historic Assets of Special Local Interest in Wales.

• Managing Change to Registered Historic Parks and Gardens in Wales

Aimed at owners, managers and planners, this guidance will explain the roles and responsibilities of all partners who have a role to play in the management of registered historic parks and gardens. This will assist implementation of the Act’s measure to introduce a statutory register.

• Managing Historic Buildings at Risk

Aimed at local planning authorities, this will be a best-practice guide to using existing and new provisions for tackling historic buildings at risk.

• Historic Environment Records in Wales — Statutory Guidance for Public Bodies

This will reflect the powers in the Act, which place a duty on the Welsh Ministers to compile and keep up to date a historic environment record (HER) for each local authority area in Wales. It will advise public bodies how to use HERs in Wales in the exercise of their functions. 

• Managing Change to Scheduled Monuments in Wales

Aimed principally at owners and agents, this guidance will set out general principles to consider when making changes to scheduled monuments and explain how to apply for scheduled monument consent, including the roles and responsibilities of owners and Cadw.

• Heritage Partnership Agreements in Wales

Heritage partnership agreements aim to bring owners, consenting authorities and other interested parties together to create long-term management plans for historic assets and their settings. The agreements will cover agreed work programs and incorporate scheduled monument and/or listed building consents. Intended for both both owners and decision-making authorities, this guidance will explain the benefits and practicalities of setting up heritage partnership agreements.

Preservation Notices

10. Section 31 of the Act, Preservation of listed buildings in disrepair’ allows Welsh Ministers to make regulations setting out further steps that local authorities in Wales may take to secure the proper preservation of listed buildings that have fallen into disrepair. The Act allows the regulations to make provision for:

• the service of preservation notice specifying the works that the owner of a listed building in disrepair must execute to secure the proper preservation of the building and a deadline for the completion of works;
• a system of appeals against preservation notices;
• offences for failure to comply with preservation notices; and
• appeals in respect of such offences.

The Act also allows for civil sanctions for offences associated with preservation notices.

11. Whilst the Act provides the basic legal framework for preservation notices, the details of the regulations remain to be worked out. He aim is to gather evidence, including perhaps commissioned research, to inform the development of options during the coming months. Once the proposals are developed, public consultation will take place before the secondary legislation is introduced into the National Assembly for Wales.

Law Commission scoping report on planning law in Wales

12. The Law Commission launched a consultation on the 30 June 2016 on a scoping report to inform the Planning Law project they are undertaking for the Welsh Government. The aim is to consolidate and simplify planning legislation in Wales. The proposals — especially those in chapter 6 which propose to amalgamate the listed building and conservation area consent regimes with planning permission — will be of particular interest because of their potential impact on the management of the historic environment. This is not a Welsh Government consultation.

13. The consultation will close on 30 September 2016 and the documents are available on the Law Commission’s website (http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/planning-law-in-wales/). 

For Cadw see the website

A new report by the Smith Institute calls on Ministers to set-up a Government-sponsored task force to decide a strategy to halt the decline of suburban areas which, its research says, are falling behind urban centres.

The Smith Institute writes:

It is 17 years since the Urban Task Force led by Lord Rogers reported its findings in Towards an Urban Renaissance. The highly influential report set the tone and agenda for the regeneration and revitalisation of many of our city centres. Quite literally on the edge of that urban renaissance debate has been the future of our suburbs.

While there have been some useful reports warning about the marginalisation of suburbia they have rarely had the prominence they deserve. Moreover, when suburbs have been discussed, the debate has focused on creating new suburbs rather than examining what existing areas might need.

This report aims to build on the Institute’s previous work by examining some of the drivers of change in suburbs in three major cities, not least in respect of population change, housing, the economy, the labour market and welfare reform. The aim was not only to place the spotlight on the problems facing the suburbs, but also to set out constructive ideas for renewal.

Ignoring the evidence of decline is consigning these places to future failure. Market forces alone are unlikely to halt decline or regenerate ailing suburbs. Instead, as the evidence presented in this report demonstrates, cross-sector collaboration is needed. Not just between public and private sector, but between local authorities and with voluntary and community groups. However, just as with the urban renaissance, realising any renewal of the suburbs demands that government takes a lead.

It is now over a decade and half on from the Urban Task Force and some of the issues are inevitably very different. Prices and values have changed and public finances are under serious stress. Furthermore, the move to greater devolution is changing the ways decision making in suburbs will take place. Nevertheless, as the report makes clear, there is a strong case for a suburban task force to set out an agenda and consensus for change, and for local, city and national government to act on the findings. 

Read more… and see the publication

The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) has announced the appointment of its new Chairman as Robert (Bob) Howard MBE, long associated with the Tile Association.

NHTG writes:

For the next stage in our development as a fully independent organisation taking responsibility for the future of the heritage sector of UK construction, we are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Chairman.

Robert (Bob) Howard MBE will already be known to many as the voice of the Tile Association and says he is excited by the challenge of taking the NHTG forward at a time of increasing political and economic uncertainty.

‘Despite everything else that is going on around us, we must not lose focus on the challenges facing the heritage sector, not least the alarming shortages in our traditional crafts skills base’ he says.

‘Our architectural inheritance must be safeguarded for future generations and that can only be achieved through training and education. We must ensure vital skills, knowledge and experiences are passed on and I firmly believe it is the role and indeed the responsibility of the NHTG to oversee this transition.’

Bob also sees the work of the NHTG Project Management Board in delivering the new bursary programme (funded by HLF to provide heritage training in the workplace) as a great example of how the NHTG is shaping the future of the sector.

‘I hope my own extensive craft and industry experience, accumulated over the past 52 years will help NHTG in our promotion and delivery of heritage skills to a workforce which will be increasingly in demand.’

Born and educated in Manchester, Bob has been in the wall & floor tiling industry since leaving school. His career path took him from a five year bound indentured apprenticeship to become a Lecturer at the Manchester College of Building before moving south in 1978 to become Director and subsequently Managing Director of a London based Tiling Contractor.

He was the last Chairman of the National Association of Master Tile Fixers and one of the Founders of The Tile Association. As past Chairman and current board member of the TTA he chairs the Training Committee, represents the Technical Committee and carries out technical inspections on their behalf, but still finds time to run his own business as an independent Consultant for wall and floor tiling.

Bob also represents the TTA in Europe where he is President of the European Union of Tile Fixers, an umbrella organization that represents 11 European Trade Associations from its registered office in Brussels.

In 2012 in the Jubilee Honours List, Her Majesty the Queen presented Bob with the MBE for services to the British wall and floor tiling industry. He is also a Liveryman to The Worshipful Company of Tyler’s and Bricklayers.

The NHTG is delighted that such a passionate, influential and experienced individual will be leading the team forward in the next stages of its development as it continues to promote heritage skills as a priority for UK construction 

Read more about the NHTG

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has released the outcomes of the year-long Strategic Review of the organization, including an agreed strapline – ‘Built Environment professions together’ – and a new mission: ‘To improve the UK construction industry by collectively representing and supporting the built environment professions’.

CIC writes:

At its landmark 100th Council meeting last week, Construction Industry Council (CIC) members came together to discuss the outcomes of the year-long Strategic Review of the organisation and agree its recommendations for the next five years. The Review was facilitated by Richard Brindley and led by Tony Burton, with support from John Nolan, 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.

The Review has made the following recommendations for the CIC:

• A new Strapline – BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS TOGETHER – which will be implemented as soon as possible as part of an overall brand refresh.

• A new Vision – TO BE RECOGNISED AND RESPECTED BY GOVERNMENT AND ACROSS THE UK CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AS AN EFFECTIVE THOUGHT LEADER, REPRESENTING THE UK BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS TOGETHER

• A new Mission – TO IMPROVE THE UK CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY BY COLLECTIVELY REPRESENTING AND SUPPORTING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS

The Vision and Mission will be implemented immediately and will remain in place until reviewed in 2020 unless otherwise determined by Council.

The Council agreed three Strategic Priorities, which will be of equal importance. During 2016-2020, the CIC:

• PROVIDES THOUGHT LEADERSHIP RELEVANT TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND THE WIDER BUILT ENVIRONMENT
• CHAMPIONS AND COLLECTIVELY REPRESENTS UK BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS
• PROMOTES COLLBORATION AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING AMONGST ITS MEMBERS

Going forward all activities of CIC will be required to support one or more of these strategic priorities.

Speaking after the Council meeting Tony Burton (out-going CIC Chairman) said: ‘This has been a very constructive and informative process. It is a very bold move for a member led organisation to take itself apart, analyse and reassemble itself in a Strategic Review like this. It could not have been completed without the full support of the members of CIC. The new structures and governance model better reflect what our members require of CIC and have already created a greater desire for members to be involved with projects on some of the major issues facing our sector. The review is complete, we have had enough talk, now is the time for action.’

Incoming CIC Chairman John Nolan commented: ‘The challenges and opportunities for the industry going forward are manifold and complex. With these strategic priorities we will be able to focus our resources on how best to support our members.’

The Review implementation plan will be presented at the next CIC Executive Board meeting on 21 July for ratification. 

Read more….

The project to restore the front of Eastbourne’s Grade II* listed Congress Theatre has scooped an Excellence Award for design and innovation, winning the refurbishment category of the Schueco Excellence Awards 2016, which is run in conjunction with the Journal of the Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA).

Read more in the Eastbourne Independent & the Eastbourne Herald

Councils in England are invited by the Department for Transport (DfT) to apply for a share of £60 million of new funding to support sustainable travel, with a closing date of 9 September.

The DfT writes:

Walking and cycling in local communities will be boosted by a £60 million government competition now launched.

Councils across England are being asked to bid for a share of the Department for Transport’s green Sustainable Travel Access Fund.

The fund has been launched to encourage councils to offer sustainable transport initiatives which can improve access to jobs, skills, training and education.

The cash, which will support projects over 3 years from 2017 to 2020, is part of a wider government fund of over £300 million to boost walking and cycling during the current parliament.

Councils are being encouraged to look at opportunities to work together on devising schemes. The successful authorities will be asked to contribute 10% of their scheme costs.

They are encouraged to work alongside Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), many of whom will be including sustainable transport measures, including walking and cycling investment, proposals to be submitted next month in a further round of Growth Deals where up to £1.8 billion will be available.

Cycling and walking Minister Robert Goodwill said: ‘Green sustainable transport schemes cut congestion, improve air quality and can make it easier for people to get around more efficiently and effectively.  We are investing over £300 million to support cycling and walking schemes in this parliament, and this new scheme is aimed at kick-starting innovative and sustainable council projects.’

The results of an earlier competition were announced in May, with 23 local councils or combined authority projects sharing in £20.6 million of government cash to support a total of nearly £33.4 million worth of new projects up and down England, including:

• Let’s Get to Work in Greater Manchester
• Connecting Hampshire to Grow Rural Prosperity
• Go Smarter across the north-east

The closing date for councils to bid for a share of the new fund is Friday 9 September. Councils across England can apply, excluding London which falls under the jurisdiction of the Mayor.

Apply for the Sustainable Travel Access Fund

Read more….