IHBC NewsBlogs

The North’s small and medium-sized cities (SMCs) contribute more than Wales and Northern Ireland combined to the UK economy every year – but they need to be better connected to the bigger cities, says a report from the thinktank IPPR North.

LocalGov writes:

The report, entitled City systems: the role of smaller towns and cities in growing the Northern Powerhouse, also revealed growth rates in the 20 SMCs with populations over 75,000 match levels seen in major cities.

IPPR does, however, argue that many SMCs do face significant challenges from not being better connected to bigger cities, and urges Whitehall to review the ‘London-centric’ system of transport funding which favours major cities.

The report also recommends the Government treat SMCs in a manner similar to how it treats small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with bespoke support to foster local strengths.

Ed Cox, director of IPPR North, said: ‘In the same way small and medium businesses are now seen as vital to the British economy and the success of our big companies, we need to refocus policy on the North’s small and medium towns and cities, and not just the big cities – vital as they are.

‘The evidence shows this is not ‘jam-spreading’ resources thinly but economically the right thing to do: Manchester needs a prosperous Wigan to succeed, and vice-versa.’

A report last month warned the Northern Powerhouse will only succeed if more resources are spent on underperforming cities in the region.

Read more….

A High Court hearing has been adjourned until 4 July to give the Surrey farmer who built a now-demolished illegal mock Tudor home at a green belt location more time to remove a patio, garden wall, steps and pond, as ‘to fully comply with the Court Order [Mr Fidler] must demolish all the unlawful structures completely and return the land to its former state’.

Reigate and Banstead, BC writes:

A High Court hearing to decide whether Mr Fidler has complied with the court order requiring him to demolish the unlawful house and structures at Honeycrock Farm has been adjourned to 4 July 2016.

A High Court hearing to decide whether Mr Fidler has complied with the court order requiring him to demolish the unlawful house and other unauthorised structures at Honeycrock Farm, has been adjourned until Monday 4 July 2016.

The Judge, Mr Justice Dove, agreed to the Council’s application to adjourn his judgment for a further four weeks to give Mr Fidler the opportunity to fully comply with the Order.

A spokesman for the Council said: ‘At our recent site visits, we were pleased to see that demolition of the house and conservatory are well advanced. However, the patio, garden wall, steps and pond, which are also subject to the Court Order and enforcement notices, remain. This means Mr Fidler remains in contempt of court. To allow Mr Fidler a little extra time to fully comply with the Court Order, we applied to the Court to request a four week adjournment for him to complete the work.

‘For Mr Fidler to fully comply with the Court Order he must demolish all the unlawful structures completely and return the land to its former state.

‘We hope that Mr Fidler heeds the Judge’s comments and removes the remainder of the unlawful structures and restores the land as described by the enforcement notices. This must be done before the 4 July, which Mr Fidler has agreed to do.

‘We have always only sought full compliance with our enforcement notices. If we had failed to act in this case, it would give others free reign to build in the Green Belt without fear of recrimination. 

‘We are committed to protecting the borough’s character and will take firm action against anyone who deliberately flouts planning rules.

‘Mr Fidler previously admitted that he deliberately set out to circumvent planning rules. Also, he had another home on the site when he began building the unlawful one.

‘We have given Mr Fidler advice about his the options for providing alternative accommodation in existing lawful buildings on his site, which he has so far not pursued.’

The Council will make a site visit prior to 4 July to check that Mr Fidler has complied with the Court Order and outstanding enforcement notices and provide an update to the High Court. If they have not been complied with then the court hearing will proceed and the Judge, Mr Justice Dove, will decide the next course of action.

At a High Court hearing in November 2015 Mr Fidler was given a three month prison sentence, suspended until 6 June 2016, to comply with a High Court Injunction Order to demolish the unlawful house and other unlawful structures and return the land to its former state, as per the Council’s original enforcement notices.

Mr Fidler must return the area of the house and conservatory to tarmac chippings and the patio, garden wall, steps and pond areas to grass.

Read more…

Trade body the National Pig Association (NPA) has complained that pig farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to get planning permission to replace worn-out buildings, which is leading to overuse of antibiotics.

The NPA writes:

‘If government and its regulatory agencies are serious about reducing antibiotics on farms, they should take early action to repair local authority planning processes, which have become progressively more clunky in recent years…’

Keeping livestock in new buildings dramatically reduces the need for veterinary interventions, yet pig farmers in particular are finding it increasingly difficult to get planning permission to replace worn-out buildings.

Therefore, as part of its recently introduced Pig Industry Antibiotic Stewardship Programme, NPA is urging Government to issue binding guidance on four fronts:

• That the level of detail demanded by planners should be proportionate to the scale of the application.?

• That planners should reject all attempts at interference by animal rights and vegan organisations, as such organisations are opposed to all livestock farming on principle, and their arguments are irrelevant to the planning process.?

• That planners should not accept representations from third parties after a consultation period has ended, as it adds cost and uncertainty for the planning applicant.?

• That strict timelines should be observed by statutory consultees such as the Environment Agency, to prevent unfeasible delays in the planning process.

Read the press release

The Queen has announced the appointment of the former Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Peter Ainsworth, as Chairman of Trustees of The Churches Conservation Trust from July 2016. 

The Churches Conservation Trust writes:

‘Peter has been UK Chair of the Big Lottery Fund since 2011 and is a Board member of the Environment Agency. He was previously Chairman of Plantlife International and the Elgar Foundation. A former investment banker, he is a founding partner of sustainability consultancy the Robertsbridge Group. He is also a Patron of the College of St Barnabas.

Peter has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Shadow Secretary of State of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and was Member of Parliament for East Surrey for 18 years until 2010. His involvement in the heritage sector dates back to 1995, when he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for National Heritage; he was a member of the DCMS Select Committee in 2009-10.

Peter Ainsworth said: ‘I am delighted to be joining The Churches Conservation Trust, an organisation which is pivotal to caring for our nation’s heritage whilst promoting cultural values, the arts, and regeneration. It returns important buildings to the heart of their communities.  I am hugely impressed by the Trust’s inspiring dedication to the communities it serves, and look forward to joining nearly two million visitors a year in enjoying some of its 349 wonderful churches.’

Crispin Truman, Chief Executive of The Churches Conservation Trust said: ‘We’re delighted that Peter is joining The Churches Conservation Trust as Chairman, and are very much looking forward to working with him. Peter brings a wealth of experience and opportunity to the CCT; not only is he a highly accomplished board chairman, but he brings the public-facing skills and the commitment we need at the CCT to help the Board and team raise our profile and attract wider support so we can secure the long-term future of our collection. I am hugely looking forward to showing him some of our stunning churches over the summer.’

The current Chairman Dr Loyd Grossman CBE FSA completes his second term in July. Previous Chairmen have included Rt Hon Frank Field MP, Sir David Stephens KCB CVO and Ivor Bulmer-Thomas CBE FS.

Read more….

The report of an independent review of the Scottish planning system, commissioned by Scottish Minsters in September 2015, has just been issued, entitled ‘Empowering Planning to Deliver Great Places’, with the aims of the review being ‘to provide an opportunity to simplify and strengthen the planning system, to empower all parties to deliver positive change and to re-establish the profession as a leader, an innovator and, above all, a strong and effective advocate for the public interest.’

Some may be interested to note that the recommendations do not include the introduction of third-party rights of appeal. 

Authors – Crawford Beveridge, Petra Biberbach and John Hamilton – state:

‘From the outset, it was clear to us that the main structure of our planning system is not broken. However, it was also clear that for the potential of planning to be realised, a strong commitment to change existing practices and culture, and to re-focus the profession’s improvement agenda will be required.  The Scottish Ministers set out 6 themes for us to address and as the review progressed it was obvious that those were the right areas for priority action.  Our report builds on these themes and proposes a package of measures for change.  Some of the recommendations represent large scale and in our view, game changing, proposals.  Others are smaller scale improvements to ensure existing processes are as effective as possible.  Some would require legislative change, others could be done quickly and easily with collective buy in and co-operation and embed a culture of inclusion.’

‘The report finds the planning system should be strengthened to achieve the vision established by the Planning Etc (Scotland) Act 2006.’

Planning Minister Kevin Stewart said the review would inform a ‘new, focused and revitalised planning system’.

The BBC states that :

• The report calls for strong and flexible local development plans, which should be updated regularly with a ‘20-year vision’, and an enhanced national planning framework.
• Recommendations also focus on delivering more, better housing, and improving infrastructure – local authorities generally were criticised as ‘appearing to lack the confidence to invest in infrastructure’.
• The group recommend setting up a national infrastructure agency, with statutory powers, and asking the government to examine options for a national or regional infrastructure levy to raise funds.
• And it said the Scottish government should ‘lead by example’ in public service reform, and increase planning fees on major applications ‘substantially’. 

The Report concludes:

‘9.1. We recognise that many of these changes are potentially far reaching, and that the recommendations are being made at a time when there is already pressure on public sector resources. However, by making a relatively modest investment and prioritising efforts on areas where there will be greatest impact, the recommendations set out here should make the planning system much more efficient and effective.

9.2. We have been unable to address every issue that has been raised but we are confident that we have prioritised the right areas.

9.3. We recognise that views vary on many of the key challenges. However, we have identified where there are widely recognised issues arising, and have considered how improvements under the six key headings can work together to achieve significant change.

9.4. Our review has been strategic and we are conscious that the practicalities of some of our recommendations require further consideration and consultation. In responding to our report, the Scottish Government will need to consider how a balance can be struck between bringing forward short term solutions and pursuing more fundamental changes over the longer term. We look forward to seeing the Scottish Ministers’ response to our recommendations in due course.’

See the analysis by the BBC’s Douglas Fraser

IHBC will report on the reaction of Scottish Ministers to the content and recommendations of the review as it is available.

See the report and its recommendations

Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS) welcomes new research findings on the state of volunteering in Scotland’s historic environment sector in ‘Volunteering and the Historic Environment’, published on 1 June.

BEFS writes:

The report sheds new light on the scale and range of voluntary work being carried out across the sector in Scotland. The research was commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland and managed in partnership with BEFS. Volunteer Scotland, the national centre for volunteering, carried out the research – the first of its kind since 2008.

The new study revealed that last year alone over 17,000 volunteers, throughout the country, clocked up more than 121,000 days’ worth of voluntary work in contributing to Scotland’s historic environment. It found that the efforts and contributions volunteers made towards helping to better understand, protect and value Scotland’s heritage and history in 2015 had an estimated economic worth of around £14.7 million. Researchers also discovered that 45% of participating organisations had increased their volunteer numbers in the last year, with 83% believing that volunteers helped realise improvements with community engagement.

The Executive Summary states:

• The historic environment involved 17,099 volunteers in 2015 – collectively these volunteers spent 121,175 days volunteering in the sector. Each volunteer contributed an average of 7 days per annum.
• The economic value of volunteering in the historic environment sector was estimated at £14.7 million in 2015.
• Almost half of responding organisations (46%) were entirely run by volunteers. Where organisations involved both paid staff and volunteers, there was an overall staff to volunteer ratio of 1 to 1.6.
• The top reasons given for involving volunteers were that volunteers improved the organisation’s community engagement, volunteers helped to increase the capacity of the organisation, and volunteers brought attributes, skills and expertise that the organisation did not have.
• Nearly half (40%) of responding organisations had increased their number of volunteers between 2014 and 2015, and more than half (54%) hoped to increase their number

Read more… including the full report, executive summary and details on the case studies

The Government has used its powers under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to issue a holding notice on the Birmingham Development Plan.

Planning Portal writes:

‘This intervention came after backbench MP Andrew Mitchell asked Communities Secretary Greg Clark to call-in the plan because it includes green belt boundary changes designed to allow 6,000 new homes to be built at Langley in Sutton Coldfield which is Mitchell’s constituency. There is considerable local and vocal opposition to the proposed green belt development.

The development plan including revised green belt boundaries was approved by a planning inspector two months ago.

John Clancy, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: ‘Clearly it is very disappointing that the government has chosen to make this decision in spite of the positive outcome of the independent planning inquiry. ‘The Inspector supported the city’s growth strategy, including the release of green belt. We will now work with the government to try to resolve this issue as soon as possible.’

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: ‘Ministers have issued a holding direction that prevents Birmingham from adopting its local plan until government has completed its consideration of a request from a local MP to intervene’. He added: ‘This direction does not in any way relate to the merits or otherwise of the soundness of Birmingham’s plan: it is simply to allow time for proper consideration of the issues.’

Read more at Planning Portal

Outline planning permission granted by Stratford-on-Avon District Council to Nexus Planning for 140-hectare development in Warwickshire, the largest scheme ever considered by the council…

The Planning Portal writes:

The proposals, on behalf of Commercial Estates Group (CEG) and the Bird Group, involve a new settlement of up to 2,000 new homes, a village centre with supermarket and retirement accommodation, a new primary school, community hub, health centre, sports and recreation facilities as well as a 47-hectare managed ecological reserve. Some 35 per cent of the housing will be affordable.

The 140-hectare site, on land adjacent to the village of Lighthorne Heath, near Gaydon in Warwickshire, forms the first phase of a 300-hectare strategic allocation identified in the council’s emerging Core Strategy for 3,000 new dwellings, 100-hectares of land for the expansion of Jaguar Land Rover, and 4.5-hectares of land for the expansion of Aston Martin Lagonda.

The site for the proposed ‘garden village’ is located along the M40 corridor within an area of high value automotive related research and development, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda employ around 7,000 staff in their research and production facilities immediately adjacent to the site. The strategic allocation provides scope for further expansion of those activities.’

Read more at Planning Portal

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has requested expressions of interest from parties who want to be involved in the administration’s new estates regeneration programme, with £140m available to target 100 estates around.

DCLG writes:

A panel chaired by Lord Heseltine is already considering how to foster partnership models of estate regeneration and will be preparing a report by the Autumn Statement.

To be eligible for the initiative schemes must deliver regeneration through the redevelopment of existing social housing estates.

Development vehicles should be private sector bodies or joint ventures to allow scope for the involvement of public bodies and the use of public sector funding.

Ultimately schemes should deliver a net increase in new housing supply and be ‘value for money’ according to the prospectus just published.

Read more….

Proposals have been unveiled for an urban village of 1000 homes on the site of a former West Yorkshire munitions factory, near Boston Spa, latterly Thorp Arch trading estate, to be named Rudgate Village. 

The Rudgate Village development will feature 1,000 new homes, a school and care home. Developers St Congar Land state that the scheme has been scaled back dramatically after a previous scheme for around 2,000 new homes has been withdrawn. The development’s website includes the draft proposals for the redevelopment of the site and invites feedback. 

Stray FM reports:

‘Tony Blackburn, director at St Congar Land, said: ‘Having listened to feedback on the previous applications, the new proposals for Rudgate Village are significantly smaller and we hope address concerns that have been voiced before.

‘We have spent significant time and effort developing a high-quality indicative masterplan focused on creating a village with a clear identity of its own. As well as homes and a new local centre, the design provides extensive areas of public open space, parks and green spaces, whilst protecting and managing the ecologically rich calcareous grassland on the site.

‘We believe that Rudgate Village is part of a sustainable and sympathetic solution to Leeds City Council’s housing requirement in the outer North East of the city and we look forward to hearing the views of local residents.’

The Rudgate Village website writes:

‘We will carefully consider all responses received to inform our proposals that may well be revised as a result. We will continue to engage in discussions with Leeds City Council to ensure that the proposed development is of a high standard. We intend to submit an outline planning application this summer. Residents and interested parties will have the opportunity to make further comments direct to Leeds City Council once the planning application has been submitted.

Subject to planning, we would hope to be commencing the development in 2018.’

Stray FM report – read more….

Visit the website rudgatevillage.co.uk

Differing national and local evaluations of the development of 150 new homes on Preston Road, Grimsargh, described as ‘basically building on open countryside’ has led to Preston City Council (CC) preparation to challenge the Secretary of State’s decision.

Preston City Council writes:

The City Council believes the decision to grant planning permission, on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate, is fundamentally flawed and based on incorrect information.  In particular, when allowing the appeal, the Inspector made an error and has mis-calculated the supply of housing in Preston over the next five years – which has been given as a key reason for allowing the appeal.

The Council is now seeking permission to lodge a legal challenge against the Secretary of State’s decision at the High Court in Manchester and hopes the case will be dealt with soon.

Councillor Brian Rollo, Chair of the Council’s Planning Committee, said: ‘There were very good reasons for refusing planning permission at Preston Road, Grimsargh so we are disappointed that the Planning Inspectorate, acting for the Secretary of State, has allowed this development on appeal. The simple fact is we believe they’ve got it wrong and made an error in their calculations – especially about how many homes are being built over the next five years.

‘There were strong local objections to the development and as the planning authority we shared those too.  It’s basically building on open countryside, so if we don’t stand up and say somebody somewhere has made a mistake, then future planning controls in Preston could be affected.

‘That’s why we’ve taken the unusual decision to seek the Court’s permission to challenge the Secretary of State. It’s important that we protect those areas that need protection against development, whilst also recognising the city needs to grow. We are confident we have got that balance right, certainly with the development at Preston Road, Grimsargh and look forward to making our case to the High Court.’

Read more….

The British Council has announced that the £30m Cultural Protection Fund to protect heritage overseas will be open for applications on the 27 June and launched a dedicated website offering further information about the Fund and how to register your interest in applying.

The British Council writes:

‘Our objective for the new £30 million fund is to help to create opportunities for economic and social development through building capacity to foster, safeguard and promote cultural heritage in conflict-affected regions overseas.

The intrinsic value of cultural heritage is immeasurable. Socially, it can embody the identities and histories of people and communities to support post-war recovery through cohesion and wellbeing. Economically, cultural heritage sites and buildings can provide opportunities for sustainable development, tourism and regeneration.

Initially the Fund will be focussed on UK organisations working in partnership with bodies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, specifically Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen.

Fund Design
The Cultural Protection Fund will invite applications for both smaller projects, grants under 100K, and larger projects, grants over 100k. It will be a two stage process. Applicants will be asked to complete an Expression of Interest Form, to confirm eligibility, before being invited to complete a full Application Form. These forms will be available to download on this webpage from 27 June.

It will be essential for applicants to have existing partners in the target countries. Information on the experience and credentials of these partnerships, as well as a strong knowledge and understanding of local context, will need to be provided.

Applicants will need to provide a clear project plan and timeline, evidence of demand and delivery capability including a full budget breakdown, and information on how security risks will be managed monitored and evaluated.

It will be possible to apply for multi-year grants and the anticipated maximum for any such application will be £3m. The anticipated maximum for an application in any one round will be £500K.

Timeline 2016
In the fund’s first year, there will be only one funding round for larger project applications. The deadline will be at the end of August, with the intention that awards will be made at the end of October / November 2016.

Rolling assessments will take place for smaller project applications in August, October and December 2016.

In order to strengthen the knowledge base for the Fund, British Council and DCMS have agreed to commission detailed country surveys in the first year. The surveys will provide information about needs, existing activity and potential partners. It will inform assessment and evaluation as well as supporting applicants to develop relevant and impactful projects

2017 onwards
There will be two grant application rounds for larger project applications in each financial year. Other than in the first year, the awards will be made for larger projects at the beginning of April and October in each financial year. In order to ensure maximum time for applicants to put together proposals, the rounds will open in proceeding September and March.

For smaller project applications will be reviewed on a rolling assessment programme every quarter (September, December, April and July).

If you have any questions, or would like to be notified once the Fund’s application forms go live, please email culturalprotection@britishcouncil.org.

Find out more…

Download the report of the consultation which informed the Fund

The Church of England (CoE) has launched the Church Heritage Record, a digital database of church buildings integrated with a Geographic Information System (GIS), which can be used for planning and development control, but also fulfils an educational and engagement role.

The Church of England writes:

ChurchCare – the Church of England’s national resource – began a strategic campaign to simplify the Faculty process in 2012. As part of this endeavour, and with the financial assistance of Historic England, ChurchCare developed the Church Heritage Record: a digital database of church buildings integrated with a Geographic Information System (GIS), which can be used for planning and development control, but also fulfils an educational and engagement role.

The Church Heritage Record contains over 16,000 entries on church buildings in England covering a wide variety of topics including architectural history, archaeology, art history and the surrounding natural environment. It is continuously being updated and should not be regarded as complete.

The online service also provides a map of renewable energy use in C of E churches.

Janet Gough, Director of the Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division of the Church of England said: ‘The Church of England’s 16,000 cathedrals and church buildings constitute 45% of England’s Grade I Listed buildings and are repositories of extraordinary works of art and treasures as well as telling local histories. The Church Heritage Record is the basis for our new church visiting website, and we are looking to dioceses and other local groups to populate it with as much useful information about each church as possible’.

Visit the online faculty system

Read the press release

The winners of million-pound tourism competition to boost rail-related tourism across Britain have been announced with prizes ranging from £25k to £75K.

The Department for Transport writes:

‘A host of innovative projects to boost rail-related tourism have been announced in a million pound competition, funded by the UK government.

The projects, based across England, Wales and Scotland, will create great new opportunities for UK and overseas tourists to enjoy the hidden gems of the country’s heritage and community railways.

Examples of the innovative projects funded by the competition include:

• extending the heritage line from Chinnor to its former terminus at Princes Risborough station
• expanding the luxury Pullman services on the North Yorkshire moors, and adapting them for wheelchair users in Sussex
• developing a new ‘velorail’ in Kidwelly, creating a new tourist attraction, giving visitors the chance to drive a train by pedal power

Rail Minister Claire Perry said: ‘We want to show the best of British to our visitors, and heritage and community railways are part of that package.  Thanks to this competition, 17 railways organisations right across Britain will be able to invest in promoting and boosting what they have to offer to visitors.’

The competition offers grants to rail operators for innovative ideas and trials and is aimed particularly at heritage railways and community rail partnerships. It hopes to encourage more tourists and make it easier to explore the UK by rail.

The competition has generated 17 winners, who will receive grants ranging from £25,000 to £75,000 to develop their ideas. It is part of the government’s 5-point plan to boost tourism across the UK.

Tourism and Heritage Minister David Evennett said: ‘We want more tourists to experience the hidden gems the whole of the UK has to offer.  Heritage and community railways are important local attractions, and these projects will help support our railway history and promote it to visitors from home and abroad.’

Deirdre Wells OBE, the Chief Executive of UK Inbound, said: ‘It was a privilege to be involved with his competition. Heritage and community rail plays a vital role in our vibrant and often quirky tourism industry.  We want to do all we can to encourage more of the 36 million annual inbound visitors to the UK to explore more of our beautiful country by rail.’

Judges for the competition included Mark Garnier MP, Lord Faulkner; Deirdre Wells OBE and Sir William McAlpine.’

See the list of winners

Alongside other bursary opportunities, the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) reports an extended closing date for applications for the lime mortar placement as part of its Building Traditional Skills Resilience Community in England Bursary Scheme, now open until 27 June 2016

NHTG writes:

The National Heritage Training Group’s (NHTG) bursary scheme is all about finding passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated people to be trained to work on England’s traditional buildings.  Please pass on the word if you know of anyone ‘in the frame’.

There is an exciting opportunity for a 12 month placement with a Historic Building Conservation company Oxford Lime Mortar Ltd specialising in lime mortars and associated materials working on historic projects within a 30mile radius of Oxford.

The National Heritage Training Group’s (NHTG) bursary scheme is all about finding passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated people to be trained to work on England’s traditional buildings.

Overall, there will be 30 variable-length educational bursaries offered, working on live heritage sites across England. The bursaries are being organised across the country by regional heritage coordinators.

For more information about the scheme please contact: Graham Lee, National Project Manager,

Tel: 07971 655692 Email: graham.lee@thebcc.ac.uk

For further information on this and other opportunities, and to download an application form, please visit: the-nhtg.org.uk

The merger of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust and The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, to become part of The Prince’s Foundation has just been announced, simplifying structures to strengthen the Prince’s provision of services for the built environment.

Ian Marcus writes:

‘I am delighted to inform you that The Prince’s Regeneration Trust (PRT) is joining forces with its sister charity, The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community (PFBC). Both charities were established by HRH The Prince of Wales and this move will create a strong and resilient built environment charity with an enhanced focus on heritage and regeneration.’

The Prince’s Regeneration Trust will become part of the Prince’s Foundation alongside PFBC’s international arm, INTBAU. PRT, under the leadership of Executive Director Rosie Fraser (currently Director of Operations at PRT) will continue, under the PRT brand, to deliver a programme of advisory work on heritage projects and its highly regarded BRICK community education programme. The PRT team will be based at PFBC’s Shoreditch offices and Rosie will work closely with PFBC’s CEO David Toman.

PRT’s own subsidiary charity, the United Kingdom Historic Building Preservation Trust, which owns the award winning Middleport Pottery and other sites, will operate as an independent charity with Peter Jenkins (currently Finance Director and Company Secretary of PRT) as its CEO. It will continue to be chaired by Stephen Musgrave and HRH The Prince of Wales is delighted to continue as its Patron.

‘I will be joining the board of PFBC and look forward to working alongside its Chair, David Brownlow, to ensure the delivery of the HRH’s vision for the built environment and the continuation of the great work of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust. I hope that PRT’s many friends and supporters will join me in welcoming this news.’

‘As you know our current CEO, Ros Kerslake, is leaving to join the Heritage Lottery Fund. We wish Ros all the very best and look forward to working with her in her new role.’

Read more….

Placements offered by Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division (ChurchCare) will give un-rivalled opportunities for practitioners to experience the work of the division and its committees, the Church Buildings Council and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, with a closing date of 20 June.

ChurchCare writes:

We have opportunities for two volunteers with an interest in history, architecture and conservation to work within our multidisciplinary team of experts this summer. This voluntary work experience will provide experience and exposure to the care of cathedrals and church buildings. We are looking for two hard-working, highly motivated and enthusiastic individuals, willing to take a hands-on approach to a range of tasks.

The first role would be suited to someone studying, about to start, or recently graduated from a course in a relevant subject, for example, historic building conservation or architecture.

The second role will be mainly working with our website content, and would be suited to someone with an active interest in architectural history and experience of website or blog editing, content management systems and social media. A previous volunteer described their experience with ChurchCare as ‘an ideal opportunity to introduce the subject of building conservation’ that has ‘equipped me with the knowledge of how conservation practice is applied in professional employment.’

You should be able to commit to a period of 3-4 weeks over the summer. In return, you will be introduced to the varied strands of our work and have the opportunity to shadow staff on casework site visits and in meetings. The usual place of work will be Church House, Westminster, London, with possible visits out of office. Some degree of flexibility in hours is possible, and reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

Contact Lisa McIntyre (lisa.mcintyre@churchofengland.org or 020 7898 1864) for further information. To apply, please submit a CV with a covering letter explaining why you are interested in the placement by 5pm on Monday 20 June 2016. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 29 June 2016.

Find out more…

Recommendations proposed in March by the Local Plans Expert Group to improve the local plan-making process have prompted an inquiry by the Commons Communities and Local Government Committee to determine what steps may be taken, with deadline for submissions on 27 June.

Parliament reports:

The LPEG was set up by Government in September last year to help streamline the local plan-making process and produced a report in March with 47 recommendations (PDF 658 KB). The Committee looks at these and examines how the Government intends to take them forward. The Committee also hears from John Rhodes, Chair of the LPEG.

• The Committee invites written evidence on the following areas:
• The Local Plans Expert Group’s recommendations
• The next steps for the local plan-making process
• The deadline for written submissions is Monday 27 June 2016.

Clive Betts, Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, said: ‘The Local Plans Expert Group concluded that substantial reform of the local plan-making process was required and made detailed recommendations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of local plan making. The Committee will consider these recommendations and look at how DCLG plans to act on them.’

The LPEG report highlighted difficulties assessing and meeting housing needs through local plans as a central issue, the dominance of which was sometimes to the detriment of other local plan elements. Other issues raised by the report included insufficient engagement with local communities.

In April 2016, the Committee reported on DCLG’s consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). In the previous parliament the Committee held an inquiry into the NPPF and an inquiry into the operation of the NPPF. 

Read more…. 

The Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal to campaigners seeking to challenge Dover District Council’s grant of planning permission for a major development in the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).

Read more….