IHBC NewsBlogs

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has released its latest ‘State of Trade’ survey, considering the effect of skills shortages on construction firms and predicting that the majority of small construction firms expect wages to increase in the next six months. 

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) writes:
Salaries for small building firms are soaring as a result of the growing skills shortage, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Commenting on the results of the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 2016, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: ‘More than half of small construction firms are predicting that wages and salaries will increase over the coming six months. Given that brickies are already able to command wages of up to £60,000 per year in London and around £45,000 a year in the North of England, it’s clear that the skills squeeze is starting to push up costs for construction SMEs. A whopping 55% of small building firms are currently reporting difficulties hiring bricklayers, which makes these tradespeople the most in-demand of all construction workers. This particular skills shortage is of course linked to the steady growth in private house building.’

Berry continued: ‘The results for the first three months of this year show consistent growth among small construction firms in almost all parts of the UK. What’s more, despite evidence of the EU referendum causing some uncertainty within the business community, more than two-thirds of firms expect their workloads to increase over the coming three months. These results are heartening but skills shortages, and the knock-on effect on wages and salaries, remains a major cause for concern.’

Berry concluded: ‘We need tens of thousands of new and returning construction workers to pick up the slack, or this growth among construction SMEs could so easily unravel. The Government is hoping to address the skills shortages through the new Apprenticeship Levy, which is due to come into force in exactly one year. However, I have spoken to many small construction bosses who have major concerns about the impact that the new funding arrangements, which will come into effect alongside the levy, will have on their ability to hire an apprentice. The Government must work closely with the construction industry to ensure its new system is as easy to use as possible, or else we could see apprenticeship training by small firms nose dive at exactly the wrong time.’

View the press release

View the full FMB report

New research funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has concluded that we need new ways looking at ‘cultural value’, the report also looks at the debates around heritage value and intangible heritage in research. 

The AHRC writes:
The UK has a rich and vibrant cultural story and one that we all engage and participate in, whether it is going to the theatre or a concert, streaming a film or going to a weekly book club. Culture, creativity and business meet in this important space and involvement in cultural activity helps define us as individuals and as communities, as well as influencing how the rest of the world views us and wants to engage with us.

A new report Understanding the value of arts and culture by Professor Geoffrey Crossick and Dr Patrycja Kaszynska presents how we think about the value of the arts and culture to individuals and society, and the methodologies we can use for capturing cultural value.

The AHRC’s three-year Cultural Value Project involved 70 original pieces of work that provide the most in-depth attempt to understand the difference made by arts and culture.

Professor Crossick states: ‘In recent years debate about cultural value has not grasped the range of the ways in which people engage with arts and culture. The Project broadens the scope of the discussion on cultural value to include alongside the subsidised cultural sectors the commercial sector, and amateur and participatory arts and culture, which are how most people engage. It also emphasises the way they are part of a single ecology.’

What emerges from the project is the need to make first-hand, individual experience of arts and culture central to our understanding of their value. To fully appreciate the impact of culture on the economy, on cities or on health we must start with understanding the individual experience, whether this is in helping people to become more reflective about themselves and others or more imaginative and innovative as members of society. So many other benefits flow from that.

Dr Kaszynska commented: ‘If we start with the individual and work outwards to broader society and the economy we quickly realise we need a wider and more subtle methodological repertoire to talk about the concept of cultural value and how we evaluate it.’

The report sheds new light on a number of areas where research shows arts and culture to make a difference. These include:

• Personal reflectiveness and empathy, illustrated by case studies of the role of arts and culture in the criminal justice system and their place in supporting professional and informal carers
• The relationship between arts and culture in producing engaged citizens, more active in voting and volunteering, and more willing to articulate alternatives and fuel a broader political imagination
• A critical assessment of the widespread use of arts and cultural interventions to help peace-building and healing after armed conflict, including civil conflict such as that in Northern Ireland
• Whether the role of small-scale arts in generating healthy urban communities might be more important for the health of towns than large-scale culture-led regeneration projects
• The ways in which arts and culture feeds into the creative industries, supports the innovation system and attracts talent and investment to places
• The contribution of arts and culture to addressing key health challenges such as mental health, an ageing population and dementia.

In reframing and advancing thinking about our understanding of cultural value and how to capture it, the report draws attention to the need for:

• Wider use of evaluation as a tool within the cultural sector. Better evaluation can help cultural organisations and practitioners learn from their activities and their audiences, and it should not be seen as primarily undertaken to satisfy funders
• Appropriate tools to be used for the particular subject being studied with no automatic assumption that quantitative or experimental methods are superior to qualitative or humanities-based ones; it identifies, a broad range of methodologies that include approaches drawn from the social sciences, ethnography, economics, the arts and hermeneutics, and science and medicine
• The further development of economic valuation methodologies that are recognised by the Treasury for evaluating public expenditure decisions, where the Project has made a significant contribution
• Better understanding of the ways in which digital engagement is affecting people’s experience of arts and culture, including the rise of co-production of digital content and experiences
• Finally, the report recommends that the AHRC alongside other funders considers establishing an Observatory for Cultural Value, to help take research on cultural value further.

Professor Andrew Thompson, Chief Executive of the AHRC, comments: ‘The cultural and creative industries are growing, which means that we are looking at a coming decade with growing demand for research that generates historical, linguistic, intercultural, artistic and religious understanding that feeds the UK cultural sector. We must also have new ways of thinking – and evaluating – how we best capture and communicate that elusive thing we call ’cultural value‘. The cultural infrastructure we support as a Research Council is expanding and we need to prepare for that expansion and be clear about the ways we can support and sustain it. The Cultural Value Project has to be placed in that broader context for its rationale to be properly understood.’

View the press release

View the full report

The National Trust (NT) has released a blog post that suggests ‘Apathy towards our world heritage poses a greater risk to it than climate change, war and conflict, bad planning or natural disasters’, responding to the latest report from International National Trusts Organisation (INTO) on global heritage.

According to NT, the greatest risks (five key threats) to global heritage are as follows:

• Planning and development
• Climate change and natural disasters
• War and conflict
• Insufficient funding
• Public awareness and attitudes towards the value of heritage

The blog has a commentary on how these issues apply closer to home, and discussion on world heritage issues.

View the blog

View more information

View the ‘state of global heritage’ report

Planning Portal reports that Gladman Developments has won on appeal an outline proposal for nearly 300 new homes on a greenfield site as the inspector concluded that the scheme represented a sustainable form of development and that the harm to the setting of a non-designated historic park was less than substantial.

An appeal decision against Telford and Wreckin Council for refusal of permission for 330 dwellings in Shropshire has been allowed, taking into account matters of landscape issues, effect on a listed building and a registered park and garden.

Matters of particular note regarding historic environment issues include:

• The proposed development would not have an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, and would therefore not be at odds with the relevant development plan policies (section 94)
• there is general agreement that the appeal proposal would not give rise to any material impact on either this listed building or its setting (section 95)
• Insofar as impact on the Registered Park is concerned, by not seeking to provide development on the southernmost part of the site, adjacent to Haygate Road, the scheme for a maximum of 290 dwellings would only result in a low level of ‘less than substantial’ harm to weigh against the proposal (section 145) 

Appeal reference APP/C3240/W/15/3025042

Planning Inspectorate appeals… 

Read more at Planning Portal

A large, unauthorised building constructed at the rear of a proposed care home facility in Southall has been demolished by Ealing Council as the result of enforcement action due to it ‘causing significant harm to neighbouring residents and properties’. 

Ealing Council writes:
The building at 46-52 Beresford Road was taken down by the council’s contractors over two days after the owner failed to comply with an enforcement notice which required them to remove it.

Planning permission granted in March 2012 was for a large-scale care home on the site with a detached, single-storey building at the rear containing additional facilities and wardens’ residential unit.

A site inspection by council officers during construction works found the detached building had not been built as specified in the approved plans, causing significant harm to neighbouring residents and properties. In September 2013 the owner was served with the enforcement notice which required the structure to be removed by the end of April 2014.

The council offered the owner advice to help address the impact of the development and bring the building back to an acceptable state, including that of reapplying for planning permission. However, the developer failed to obtain planning permission to keep the structure as built and ignored the requirement to remove it.

Further warnings to comply with the notice were also ignored and the council had no choice but to take direct action and demolish the unauthorised building on 16 and 17 March.

Pat Hayes, the council’s executive director for regeneration and housing, said: ‘Planning laws are in place to protect communities and stop unauthorised structures being put up indiscriminately. If necessary the council will use these powers to take strong action and demolish buildings that do not comply with approved plans.’

‘The owner of this building was given every opportunity to find an alternative solution that would have been acceptable in planning terms. Failure to do so has resulted in the building being demolished by the council and the owner paying the cost for flouting the law.’

As a result of the demolition the owner will be sent a bill for the cost of the works. If this is not settled a charge will be placed on the property which will incur interest until the outstanding money is paid in full.

Anyone who has information about suspected unauthorised development can report it in confidence to the council’s planning enforcement team at planningenforcement@ealing.gov.uk

Alternatively, residents can also report suspected planning breaches online at: www.ealing.gov.uk/reportit

Ealing Council news

The UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage is offering an Ecclesiastical Insurance Bursary, with a closing date for receipt of applications of Monday 25 July 2016

UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage writes:
High calibre applicants should apply for bursaries. This support could be used to cover part of the course fees, travel and/or living expenses, depending on the status of the applicant and the specific criteria of the bursaries.

The Ecclesiastical Insurance Bursary is available to enable heritage professionals to study on the MSc Sustainable Heritage. Up to £20,000 (to cover the cost of fees and a stipend) is available for Home applicants (as defined by UCL General Regulations) who have the offer of a place for either full-time or part-time study on this course and who intend to accept or have already firmly accepted an offer.

The Bursaries will be awarded on the basis of academic merit, assessed on the information provided in the Graduate Application Form, and on financial need, assessed on the information provided in the Ecclesiastical Insurance Bursary Application Form.

View more information on the course, the bursary and how to apply

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and Bilfinger GVA have published a first of its kind report into the effect of recently introduced housing policy, highlighting the need to construct new houses in the right places, close to transport links, and monitor the effectiveness of policy changes.

The Royal Town Planning Institute writes:
In the wake of the Chancellor’s budget announcements to boost housing and provide new infrastructure, a report published today warns the government that it needs to monitor the effectiveness of changes it has made to national planning policy, to ensure we are building new homes in the right places, close to jobs and supported by infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and sustainable transport.

The report, Location of development: Mapping planning permissions for housing in twelve English city-regions, was carried out on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) by Bilfinger GVA, one of the UK’s largest commercial property advisors. It is the largest study of its kind, mapping over 165,000 new homes granted planning permission across 12 English towns and cities between 2012 and 2015. An analysis of their location reveals that almost 75% were within reach of major employment opportunities, but only 13% within easy walking distance of a railway station.

Phil Williams, President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) said:  ‘With the government devolving powers to towns and cities, we need to ensure that housing, employment and infrastructure is properly coordinated to deliver sustainable growth. Our research scrutinised over 700 housing schemes and while it is encouraging that the majority of new homes are currently being built close to jobs, many are not.’

‘Many growing areas already suffer from congestion and lack of infrastructure capacity and poorly located housing would make these problems worse. Given the current need to increase housing supply, we think it is crucial to monitor these trends and make sure that new housing is built in the right places.  No one has been examining the effectiveness of the changes the government made to national planning policy in 2012 which are now shaping patterns of housing growth.  This report takes an important first step.  This should be a role for government. Ultimately, we may need greater emphasis within national planning policy on the importance of ‘location’ as an important factor in determining development. Monitoring current delivery and performance beyond the numbers of planning permissions is essential to delivering sustainable homes for our communities.  We limited our study to the relationship between homes, employment and rail, metro or trams stations, but there are many other factors that make for a sustainable location and these also need to be taken into account.’

Joanna Averley, Director of Planning, Development and Regeneration, Bilfinger GVA, said: ‘We were delighted to support the RTPI with this research. As we know creating sustainable patterns of development is a complex process in the UK, given historic patterns of growth and infrastructure, such as proximity to employment clusters and public transport options.  Therefore being able to consider the cumulative impact of planning permissions on the shape of our urban areas is very valuable.  The study provides an important contribution to the debate about the scale of development and location of new homes in the English city-regions. Within the limits of the methodology, it indicates which cities are notably responding to the economic growth in their wider catchment area.’

The research also found that of schemes comprising of at least 50 housing units, around 50% of these developments were of 450 units or more. 

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), introduced in 2012, revised planning policy into a single, much reduced document of just 59 pages. While there is evidence at the national level on the number of planning permissions for housing, the same is not true for where they are and the scale of developments.  The direction of major Government policies, such as new funding and devolution powers for cities, its plans to allow ‘permission in principle’ on brownfield land and the way employment is increasingly being concentrated into major regional ‘clusters’ highlights why it is crucial we get new homes built in the right places over the next decade.

View the press release

The latest DCLG statistics for housing show that the number of empty homes is currently at its lowest since records began. 

DCLG writes:
The number of empty homes is now at its lowest level since records began.

• reversal of downward trend in numbers of owner occupied households
• record drop in number of empty homes

New figures show that the number of empty homes is now at its lowest level since records began. This equates to a drop of over a third from 318,642 in 2004 to 203,596 in 2015.

Figures also show an increase in the number of owner-occupied homes in the past year, after 7 years of decline, starting in 2007.

The downward trend in ownership is continuing to level out after a fall from a peak of 69.5% in 2002 to 62.5% in 2015 and 62.8% in 2014.

And the government has got the country building again – with the number of new homes up by a quarter in the last year alone, the highest annual percentage increase in net additional homes for 28 years.

Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘We are turning around the housing market and making sure the best use is made of all housing including empty homes.  We are very clear that a house should be a home which is why we have taken action to stop homes being bought up and left as an empty investment.’

View the press release

The latest edition of the THA bulletin notes that a new range of  Giving to Heritage workshops have been launched; ‘Social Investment in Heritage’ sessions are now available, tailored to the needs of the historic environment sector.

The Heritage Alliance (THA) writes:
The UK has witnessed an explosion on the social enterprise economy and the UK social investment market, worth over £200m, is growing by 20% per year. Ipsos Mori has estimated new social investment capital could be worth of £480 over the next 5 years. Much of this is expected come from an appetite for social investment amongst high net worth individuals who want their money to do good. There have also been significant social investment pools set up by Big Society Capital and others.

The heritage sector has tended to lag behind arts organisations in taking advantage of this valuable source of repayable funds, which sit between philanthropy and full investment. With social investment, the social return is equally important as the financial return. There are also significant tax advantages of taking up social investment loans.

The Alliance, supported by its new Heritage Lottery Fund grant for Giving to Heritage, has set up a series of practical, easy to follow workshops on how to apply for social investments funds. They will include training on: where to apply for funds, what types of funding are appropriate for different heritage organisations, how to develop the skills and organisational change to be ‘investment ready’ and how to develop the right fundraising/ social investment mix. As with all Giving to Heritage workshops, there will be a big heritage focus including relevant case studies.

The first workshops will be held on 27 September in London and on 1 November in Manchester. Workshops in other locations will follow in 2017. Each workshop will run between 10.00 and 16.30 and will cost just £20 per head. Details on how to book will be available shortly.

If you have any enquiries about the new social investment workshops, please contact The Heritage Alliance or register your interest by emailing mark.webb@theheritagealliance.org.uk.

View more information on Giving to Heritage

The Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh Environmental Research Unit (MEARU) has conducted research into the health and wellbeing of building occupants in new homes, and issued a film designed to help people appreciate the effects of poor ventilation in overly airtight places. 

MEARU writes:
Make sure you ventilate your home is a key message that people need to grasp if we are to help reduce exposure to indoor pollutants and chemicals that contribute to risks of ill health such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This was emphasised today 26 April 2016 with the launch of an awareness-raising film created by experts in health and wellbeing in buildings in the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit(MEARU) at The Glasgow School of Art. The film aims to help more people become aware of the impact of poor ventilation on health and general living environments.

‘Poor indoor air quality, particularly in bedrooms, is hard for people to detect,’ says Professor Tim Sharpe, Head MEARU which has undertaken detailed research in this area in partnership with Innovate UK. ’There are clear links between poor ventilation and ill-health so people need to be aware of the build up of CO₂ and other pollutants in their homes and their potential impact on health.’

‘Modern homes are increasingly airtight and can also contain a great number of pollutants and chemicals, many of which can have serious health effects. It is clear from this research that buildings are simply not well ventilated and this could seriously impact on occupants health, especially vunerable people such as those with COPD and asthma,’ he adds. 

Based at the Mackintosh School of Architecture ?at the GSA MEARU has a 15-year track record of high quality research into environmental architecture. ?It operates at a unique interface between architectural design, science based research and building occupants. ?The ventilation research complements work undertaken by MEARU into other impacts on air quality in buildings including the widely reported domestic laundry research 

View the GSA press release 

View the BBC article ‘Pollutant warning over ‘airtight’ modern homes’

View the MEARU video on home ventilation

Members who deal with statutory issues on land use and building repairs may be interested to learn that The House of Commons Library has issued a summary of the current and planned operations of the Land Registry and an Early Day Motion (EDM) has been launched following the announcement of a consultation on potential privatisation of the Land Registry (closing date of 26 May). 

View the House of Commons Library Research Briefing Paper

View information on the Early Day Motion

Respond to the consultation

The latest statistics on unimplemented planning permissions has been released by the Local Government Association (LGA), and PAS have issued a commentary on its use, highlighting differences between local authority areas.

View the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) blog on housing completions

View the LGA report

Research from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) shows that 275,000 houses are now planned for England’s Green Belt, an increase of 50,000 on last year and nearly 200,000 more than when the Government introduced its planning reforms back in March 2012. 

CPRE writes:
Compiled from draft and adopted local plans, the research is the latest finding to challenge the Government’s commitment to the Green Belt. Only last year Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that the protection of the ‘precious’ Green Belt was ‘paramount’, reiterating the commitment made in the Conservative party’s 2015 manifesto.

Yet last month the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Greg Clark decided that 1,500 new homes should be built on Green Belt between Gloucester and Cheltenham in one of the biggest developments on Green Belt for a decade. This followed proposals in the Government’s planning policy consultation to release small sites in the Green Belt for ‘starter homes’. A Government-appointed body, the ‘Local Plans Expert Group’, has also encouraged Green Belt reviews.

CPRE’s Green Belt under siege report illustrates that Green Belt boundaries are being changed to accommodate housing at the fastest rate for two decades [6]. In the year to 2015, 11 local authorities finalised boundary changes to accommodate development. The 275,000 houses now planned are an increase of 25% on 2015, and almost double the 147,000 houses outlined for Green Belt in Labour’s 2009 regional plans. There is particular pressure in the Metropolitan and West Midlands Green Belt.

Green Belt policy is gradually being weakened through loopholes in planning guidance. Under pressure from Government to set and meet high housing targets, councils are releasing Green Belt for new development through a misappropriated ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause. At least three local authorities – Bradford, Durham and Northumberland – have claimed that economic growth justifies an ‘exceptional’ change to the Green Belt.

Green Belt designation was formally introduced in 1955 to prevent urban sprawl. Last year a poll showed widespread support for the Green Belt, with 64% of the public supporting its protection.

CPRE news

A news item concerning a historic public house in Sherston in Wiltshire has been brought to the IHBC’s attention, concerning the installation of external insulation and wall covering of ‘naked stone’ within a conservation area, without planning permission.

View the Gazette and Herald article ‘Outrage over council order on Sherston pub’

Living Streets, a charity set up to ‘get people of all generations to enjoy the benefits that this simple act brings and to ensure all our streets are fit for walking’ is urging us all to sign up to walking more in May, and groups such as Transport for London are organising free heritage walks.

View ‘Walk London’ heritage walks

Find events near you and discover more about Living Streets

IHBC NewsBlogs on street planning

Sara Crofts, IHBC Member and Head of Historic Environment at the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has written a blog for the Historic Houses Association magazine, abridged on the HLF website, explaining how HLF funding can help in bringing privately owned historic houses to a wider audience.

Sara Crofts writes:
Compelling stories can spring not only from the architecture of our nation’s houses, their expansive landscapes or beautiful gardens but also from the families that have cared for these places for centuries – and the wider communities whose lives have been touched by their connections with the estates.

View the full blog

The Theatres Trust is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2016, and has launched a new strategy to guide its future development, along with a new visual identity and a programme of events (including a ‘protecting theatres’ conference). 

The Theatres Trust writes:
The Theatres Trust, the national advisory public body for theatres, is pleased to announce a renewed commitment to the protection of theatres with a new strategy and visual identity and the launch of our Theatres Trust 40 programme of events.

As the voice for theatres we use our knowledge of policy and practice to promote the value and benefits of theatres in use. We want live theatre to have a place in everyone’s lives.

We are committed to delivering a more powerful campaigning voice. Our expert advice will be more visible and more influential in the planning system and within the theatre industry. We will create new opportunities to discover more about theatres, and we will increase the levels of capital grants and funding we provide.

Chair of the Theatres Trust, Tim Eyles, says, ‘Our new strategy and visual identity mark the start of an exciting next chapter in the life of the Trust. We are passionate about great live theatre, and I look forward to the Trust’s expertise being channeled with renewed energy to help the nation’s theatres thrive into the future.’

Director of the Theatres Trust, Mhora Samuel, says, ‘Our influence means it’s now very rare to see theatres demolished without being replaced. We’re proud that the quality of theatre design is the best it’s ever been. We’ve achieved great things for theatres by speaking loudly in the planning system. In our anniversary year I invite everyone to join us at a Theatres Trust 40 event, and online, to debate how we continue to protect and promote our nation’s theatres now and in the future.’

Our Theatres Trust 40 programme includes:

• Debate atPLASA Focus Leeds on 10 / 11 May at the Royal Armouries
• Mini Conference at Theatre2016 on 12 /13 May
• Discover more about theatres at West End Live, Trafalgar Square on 18 /19 June
• Conference 16: Protecting Theatres on 21 June at the New London Theatre, chaired by Mark Shenton
• Launch of our new website in July
• Debate atPLASA Show London on 18 / 20 September, Olympia, London
• Inaugural Annual Lecture on 16 November, London.

To be kept up-to-date with our Theatres Trust 40 programme, please sign up to our mailing list, if you are on Twitter please follow #theatrestrust40 and #livetheatre.

View the news release and sign up for more information