IHBC NewsBlogs

The Diocese of London is encouraging churches to apply for the new England and Wales based eco church programme, which includes a gold, silver or bronze award status for eco-initiatives within a congregation (including building and energy related issues). 

The Diocese of London writes:
The new Eco Church programme was launched in St Paul’s Cathedral on 26 January.

Eco Church is a new environmental award scheme, designed and hosted by the Christian Environmental charity A Rocha UK. It is also supported by the Church of England, the Methodist Church, Christian Aid and Tearfund.

Bronze, silver and gold awards are given to churches for environmental attainment across a wide range of areas, including care of buildings and churchyards, energy-saving, recycling, food and lifestyle, worship, preaching and teaching, engagement in communities and the wider world.

In a time of unprecedented environmental stresses, Eco Church enables churches to respond to God’s mandate to human beings to care for His creation, by integrating environmental care throughout their church’s life and mission.

The Diocese of London warmly supports Eco Church. This complements and reinforces the Diocese’s environmental programmes for churches.

Eco Church awards are gained by completing an online questionnaire. Any church can complete the questionnaire and print it out, without commitment or on a trial basis.

To enter any church for an award, it is necessary to register and save the questionnaire answers. This registration and application are free.

The first Eco Church award, at Bronze level, was presented to St Paul’s Cathedral itself, by Archbishop Rowan Williams, after he addressed those present at the launch event.

Eco Church is supported by a comprehensive range of resources, including online links. These resources can be accessed via the same questionnaire page.

As churches in the Diocese begin to register for Eco Church, the Diocese is seeking its ‘First Eleven’ Eco Churches. Each of these First Eleven is encouraged to recruit eleven more churches to Eco Church. Just eleven churches recruiting eleven more each, will have the potential to gather up to 132 Eco Churches in total.

How fast can we do this? What are we waiting for? Let’s sign up to Eco Church today!

And please let the Diocese’s Head of Environment and Sustainability know after signing up for Eco Church.

View the Diocese of London environmental initiatives

View the news release

Apply for an eco-award

A recreation and social club built for Boots the Chemist workers, which is now a pub, has been granted listed building status; the building has many original features, including the founder Jesse Boots office.

The Nottingham Post reports on the listing ‘Historic Nottingham pub – built for Boots’ workers in the 1900s – awarded listed status’

View more information on the pub and photographs

English Heritage is marking the start of women’s history month with a new campaign to raise the profile of women who have made a significant impact to our lives, seeking nominations for blue plaques as part of the 150 year anniversary celebrations; their recent survey reveals that 40% of people think women have had less impact on history than men, and a quick video asking people to name three women from history resulted in some interesting responses! 

English Heritage write:
To celebrate the start of women’s history month – as well as 150th anniversary of the blue plaque scheme – we are asking you to nominate significant women from history who lived or worked in London, and made a notable contribution to their field.

Anna Eavis, English Heritage Curatorial Director, said: ‘This year to mark women’s history month English Heritage will be celebrating the profound impact women have had on history. We’re calling on the public to help us to include more women amongst those recognised by the iconic blue plaques scheme, and will be launching an online hub of content to help inspire people.

‘Since English Heritage took over the blue plaques scheme in 1986 we have unveiled over 70 plaques commemorating women (61% of the total number) but with the scheme entirely reliant on public nominations we’re hoping that the public can help us continue to celebrate the impact of women.’

Only 13% of over 900 English Heritage blue plaques across London are dedicated to women. They include Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the suffragette movement, Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain.

The blue plaques scheme relies on public nominations to commission new plaques, so we need you to nominate notable women who inspire you.

Proposed plaques must meet certain criteria, including:

• At least 20 years must have passed since a candidate’s death
• At least one building associated with the figure must survive within Greater London (but outside the City of London, which has its own scheme)
• Usually no more than two plaques are allowed on one building

View the press release and  ‘name three women…’ video

Find out more about these women on EH’s Women’s History hub, which highlights the achievements of women in history

More than 76,000 houses will be created in ten ‘healthy new towns’, planned and designed specifically with health in mind. 

NHS England writes:
The head of NHS England will today announced plans to create ten NHS-supported ‘healthy new towns’ across the country, covering more than 76,000 new homes with potential capacity for approximately 170,000 residents.

Simon Stevens, Chief Executive, will use a speech to the Kings Fund in London to name the sites that form NHS England’s Healthy New Towns programme, supported by Public Health England (PHE).

The NHS will help shape the way these new sites develop, so as to test creative solutions for the health and care challenges of the 21st century, including obesity, dementia and community cohesion. NHS England is bringing together renowned clinicians, designers and technology experts to reimagine how healthcare can be delivered in these places, to showcase what’s possible by joining up design of the built environment with modern health and care services, and to deploy new models of technology-enabled primary care. 

Mr Stevens says: ‘The much-needed push to kick start affordable housing across England creates a golden opportunity for the NHS to help promote health and keep people independent. As these new neighbourhoods and towns are built, we’ll kick ourselves if in ten years time we look back having missed the opportunity to ‘design out’ the obesogenic environment, and ‘design in’ health and wellbeing.  We want children to have places where they want to play with friends and can safely walk or cycle to school – rather than just exercising their fingers on video games. We want to see neighbourhoods and adaptable home designs that make it easier for older people to continue to live independently wherever possible. And we want new ways of providing new types of digitally-enabled local health services that share physical infrastructure and staff with schools and community groups.’

Expressions of interest in the Healthy New Towns programme were invited last summer, and attracted 114 applications from local authorities, housing associations, NHS organisations and housing developers, far exceeding expectations. After a rigorous selection process and presentations from the shortlisted projects, the first ten sites have now been chosen:

• Whitehill and Bordon, Hampshire – 3,350 new homes on a former army barracks. A new care campus will co-locate ‘care-ready homes’ specially designed to be adaptable to the needs of people with long term conditions with a nurse-led treatment centre, pharmacy and integrated care hub.
• Cranbrook, Devon – 8,000 new residential units. Data suggests that Cranbrook has three times the national average of 0-4 year olds and will look at how prevention and healthy lifestyles can be taught in schools from a young age.
• Darlington – 2,500 residential units across three linked sites in the Eastern Growth Zone. Darlington is developing a ‘virtual care home’ offer where a group of homes with shared facilities are configured to link directly into a digital care hub, avoiding institutionalisation in nursing homes.
• Barking Riverside – 10,800 residential units on London’s largest brownfield site.
• Whyndyke Farm in Fylde, Lancashire – 1,400 residential units.
• Halton Lea, Runcorn – 800 residential units.
• Bicester, Oxon – 393 houses in the Elmsbrook project, part of 1300 new homes planned.
• Northstowe, Cambridgeshire – 10,000 homes on former military land.
• Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent – up to 15,000 new homes in the first garden city for 100 years.
• Barton Park, Oxford – 885 residential units.

Options to be tested at some of these sites include fast food-free zones near schools, designing safe and appealing green spaces, building dementia-friendly streets and ensuring people can access new GP services using digital technology. The developments will reflect the needs of their local populations when working up their plans. Design questions being asked include: Why are children happy to walk all day round a theme park but often get bored on every-day journeys?  Could adventure areas be designed into streets to encourage walking and play? And for the aging population, How far away are we from a town where more older people live independently and safely in their own home, backed by better technology and social support?

Mr Stevens will point to facts showing that:

• Britain loses over 130 million working days to ill-health each year.
• 19 per cent of children aged 10-11 were obese and a further 14 per cent were overweight in 2014/15.  The figures for 4-5 year olds were 9 per cent obese and 13 per cent overweight. In other words, the proportion of children who are obese doubles during primary school – from one in ten five year olds, to one in five eleven year olds.
• Today only 21 per cent of children play outdoors, compared to 71 per cent of their parents when they were children, Design Council figures show.
• A Design Council guide also estimates that a quarter of British adults now walk for less than nine minutes a day.
• Physical inactivity is a direct factor in 1 in 6 deaths, and has an overall economic impact of £7.4 billion.
• The Building Research Establishment has published a report on the cost of poor quality housing to the NHS. It estimates that the 3.5m homes in England that have serious hazards such as damp and pests has led to health problems that cost the NHS at least £1.4bn every year. 

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director for Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England, said: ‘Some of the UK’s most pressing health challenges – such as obesity, mental health issues, physical inactivity and the needs of an ageing population – can all be influenced by the quality of our built and natural environment. The considerate design of spaces and places is critical to promote good health. This innovative programme will inform our thinking and planning of everyday environments to improve health for generations to come.

‘PHE is proud to have played an active role in the development of the Healthy New Towns programme and we will continue to support the delivery of high quality, healthy environments.

View the press release

The facade restoration of the Grade II* listed Grand Hotel in Birmingham, originally designed by Thomas Plevins in 1875, has won the first Victorian Society’s (Vic Soc) Birmingham and the West Midlands Group’s conservation award. 

The Victorian Society writes:
The restoration of facade of The Grand Hotel in Birmingham has won the Victorian Society’s Birmingham and the West Midlands Group’s first conservation award for work on Victorian and Edwardian buildings in the region. Hotel owners, Hortons’ Estate Limited, will receive a certificate and a bronze disc to display. The Society commended the huge amount of high quality conservation work done by nominees across the region.

The Grand Hotel in Birmingham was designed by Thomas Plevins in 1875 and is Grade II* listed. The announcement that the Hotel had won the Victorian Society’s Birmingham and West Midlands group’s first conservation award for work on buildings built, or substantially altered, between 1837 and 1914 was made at the Group’s AGM last night. Entries were judged on the care taken to retain the building’s original fabric, conservation of fragile aspects and careful adaption to meet current needs for re-use of the building. The high quality of the excellent conservation and restoration projects nominated from across Birmingham and the West Midlands was noted. Many have been individually commended and requested to submit entries for the Group’s 2016 award.

The winner, Hortons’ Estate Limited, receives an 18’ bronze disc recording the name of the winner and the year, for display on or in the building, and a framed illuminated scroll, signed by the Chairman of the Group, The Secretary of the Group and the Chairman of the Casework Committee. Formal presentation of the scroll and disc will take place at an official ceremony in May.  The work on the façade of The Grand Hotel required expert re-carving of lost stonework detail and exposed vivid marble columns which had been obscured under white paint for decades. Together the project will make a great improvement to Birmingham’s streetscape – seen by thousands of people every year. 

Stephen Hartland, Chairman of the Victorian Society’s Birmingham & West Midlands Group, said: ‘This process has illustrated the huge amount of high quality conservation work that goes on in Birmingham and the West Midlands. We would like to thank all those that submitted their work for consideration. The nominees were of a consistently high quality and many have been individually commended – we urge them to submit entries for this year’s award. Ultimately the work undertaken by Horton’s Estate on the facade of The Grand Hotel has been truly exceptional and has brought one of the city’s most important buildings back to life’. 

Tony Green, Chief Executive of Hortons’ Estate Limited, said: ‘We are honoured to won the Victorian Society Birmingham and West Midlands Group’s 2015 Conservation Award for the restoration of the Colmore Row and Church Street facades of the Grand Hotel. In 2009 some experts advised that the façades could not be saved and the outcome achieved is a tribute to all those, Hortons’ and the Victorian Society included, that did not accept their advice and worked together to find a way of proving them wrong.  Particular thanks must go to the team of talented and committed stonemasons that undertook the work with such care and dedication producing an outcome that we are very proud of.’    

View more information and pictures of the work

IHBC awards etc

New proposals for work in coastal community areas have been revealed in over 100 local economic plans.

DCLG writes:
Coastal communities across the country today (22 February 2016) unveiled over 100 radical plans in a drive to boost growth, jobs and prosperity – from building a new history centre in Plymouth to redesigning the high street in Scarborough.

More than 11 million people live in coastal communities, from major cities to seaside villages. The tourism industry alone accounts for the employment of 250,000 people across 150 seaside resorts, and contributes £4 billion to the UK economy.

Now the government is supporting ‘local coastal community teams’ to help revive towns and deliver their plans for future economic growth.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said: ‘Our Great British Coast has enormous economic potential and we are determined to see it thrive all year round – not just in the summer months.  The huge number of plans submitted, demonstrate the wave of optimism, and wealth of creative and practical ideas to boost economic lift-off.  I now want to see their hard work and enthusiasm come to fruition by helping to deliver their ideas through the Coastal Community teams.’

Over 100 local economic plans have been submitted with ideas including:

• Plymouth – who will build a brand new history centre to mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage to America. They will also secure investment to kick start a number of projects, including new digital hot spots across the city, restructuring the waterfront and encouraging a cycling culture
• Folkestone – who will get local people’s views about what makes their town great and use that to work with marketing specialists in developing a new town brand. They will also enhance the living environment through public art and green space landscaping, and support start-ups through a new business hub; and
• Scarborough – who will restructure their high street, redeveloping derelict floor space and bringing good-quality new homes into the city centre

View the news release

The Museums Association has highlighted the effect of major funding cuts on museums, with the closure of some major attractions and an uncertain future for others. 

The Museums Association writes:
A number of museums have been earmarked for closure as local authorities factor austerity cuts into future budgets.

Museums in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, are under threat as the local authority looks to make savings on the service of £531,000 by 2017-18.

Kirklees Council, which currently operates five museums and one art gallery, has proposed reducing the service to three institutions and cutting opening hours.

This means the future is uncertain for Tolson Museum, Oakwell Hall, Red House Museum, Bagshaw Museum and Dewsbury Museum.

According to local media, campaigners are also fighting to save the DH Lawrence Heritage Centre in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire after Broxtowe Borough Council put the property up for rent. The move follows proposals last year to close the centre and comes despite a £20,000 investment from Arts Council England and the area’s Unesco city of literature status.

Shropshire Council is proposing to cut Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery’s budget from £290,000 in 2015-16 to £200,000 in 2016-17. The council’s financial strategy report has forecasted that the 2017-18 net budget for museums and tourism will be zero.

The Durham Light Infantry Museum, which holds items covering 200 years of military history, will close on 1 April. There has been a high profile campaign to save it, but the council said low visitor numbers and austerity cuts were among the reasons behind its decision to close it.

The collection, which belongs to the museum’s trustees but is under the care of the council, will be moved to storage facilities in nearby Spennymoor in February. The council is in discussion with Durham University over the possibility of a five-year agreement that would see part of the collection on display at Palace Green Library.

Bede’s World in Jarrow closed its doors on 12 February due to a lack of funds. A statement on the museum’s website said: ‘Steps are being taken to put the company into administration through the appointment of an insolvency practitioner.

‘The Trustee Board have made arrangements for the immediate care of the farm animals and the security of the site. The board would like thank all staff, volunteers and stakeholders for their hard work and dedication to Bedes World.’

According to an article in the Independent, writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg has condemned the closure as ‘depressing’ and another example of London giving the North a ‘kick in the teeth’.

The demolition of Coalville’s Snibston Discovery Museum, which closed in July after a legal challenge to save it failed, began this week. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed that it will cost £180,000 to dismantle the site. 

View the Museum Association news item

The first Mayoral Development Corporation outside London is to be formed, relating to former steelworks sites. 

DCLG writes:
Plans to drive growth, create jobs and secure the economic future of Tees Valley took a major step forward recently (19 February 2016) as local leaders were put in pole position to transform the former SSI steelworks site.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine revealed plans would go full-steam ahead for a new Mayoral Development Corporation – the first of its kind outside of London – to drive forward regeneration and local economic growth in the Tees Valley area.

Work will start immediately to form the corporation. This will offer a vehicle for greater powers to be devolved, in areas including regeneration planning and business support. These powers will be available at the new Mayor’s disposal so the area can quickly take up economic opportunities as they arise.

Since the closure of SSI in October, the government has put in place a multi-million pound package of support for the affected local community. Lord Heseltine has been tasked with encouraging investment to create new job opportunities across the Tees Valley.

He visited PD Ports recently to witness the completion of a multi million-pound project to upgrade and improve infrastructure at Teesport – located at the centre of the site that will benefit from the new Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC).

Local business leaders say the investment will play a role in the return of economic vibrancy to the area – something the new corporation will look to deliver by securing investment from the UK and overseas to bring in new jobs and businesses.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said:  The closure of the SSI site has been incredibly difficult for Redcar and the wider Tees Valley and we’re determined to continue our support for the local community.  Already, up to £80 million government funding is in place to ensure former SSI workers and local affected businesses get the support they need.  This new Mayoral Development Corporation is the next step, putting local people who know the area best at the heart of driving regeneration and delivering new businesses and jobs for the community.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine said: Key to the economic future of the Tees Valley will be the regeneration of sites and securing strong business investment to create jobs for the skilled workforce affected by SSI’s closure.  Under dynamic leadership the new Mayoral Development Corporation will provide the strategic vision to make that happen and give investors from the UK and abroad the confidence to put down roots in the Tees Valley for years to come.

Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton said:  The work of Lord Heseltine’s taskforce is providing the catalyst to securing strong national and international investment in the Tees Valley in the wake of SSI’s closure.  The new interim MDC Board will set a future vision for regeneration and advise on the establishment of the Mayoral Development Corporation, in order to drive forward regeneration and growth across the Tees Valley.

Councillor Sue Jeffrey, Chair of the Tees Valley Shadow Combined Authority said:  I welcome this agreement and confirmation that government is to take responsibility for the SSI site and establish an intermediate body to ensure safety and security in the short-term. But it is the long-term regeneration of the area that is my main focus.

This announcement includes proposals to fast-track the Mayoral Development Corporation agreed in our devolution deal and this is a positive step forward. This can’t be just about new structures and boards – we will work with government to secure the necessary powers and funding to create a viable future for the area as a whole.

The government’s package of up to £80 million support for the Tees Valley includes:

• a £16.5 million Jobs and Skills Fund to help local firms employ former SSI workers or their spouses in full-time or part-time jobs for a minimum of 3 years
• £16 million support for firms in the SSI supply chain and wider Tees Valley impacted by the closure
• £1.7 million to help the 50 former SSI apprentices to continue their apprenticeships with alternative employers – all of whom are now continuing their training and are being paid

The recent devolution deal with Tees Valley councils recognised the potential for an MDC and the benefits it could bring to the area. It will now be able to start work to regenerate sites so the area can become a central part of the North East and the country’s future growth.

An advisory board will be established to provide leadership and direction to the MDC for the regeneration of sites across Tees Valley. Ministers will work with local partners to appoint members for the board. This means work will begin immediately to deliver a key part of the area’s recent devolution deal – with powers devolved from Westminster to the new Mayor from next year.

The Mayoral Development Corporation will be the first of its kind outside the capital and will follow a similar model to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). The LLDC is transforming the former Olympic site in East London with plans to deliver nearly 7,000 homes and create new business premises to support the creation of nearly 15,000 jobs.

View the press release

The Local Government Association (LGA) is warning that a new proposal for relaxing planning rules on mobile phone masts mean that people could be be ‘left powerless to object’. 

The Local Government Association (LGA) writes:
Mobile phone masts in excess of 50ft in height could appear in rural communities across the country under new government proposals to allow them to be built without the need for planning permission, councils warn today.

The Government is looking at relaxing planning rules to make it easier for mobile phone operators to install taller phone masts in a bid to plug the reception shortage in ‘not-spot’ areas where there is no phone signal.  The Local Government Association, which represent more than 370 councils, is warning the move could open the door to mobile phone masts cropping up in beauty spots, historic locations and next to schools.  People would be left powerless to object and councils would be left unable to intervene.

It comes as the Government’s three-year Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP) ends this month having so far built just 28 masts – after previously considering 600 sites.  The scheme – which aimed to install phone masts in some of the most remote locations and communities in the UK – has only spent £11.55 million of its £150 million budget since 2012.  The Government is now planning to extend permitted development rights to taller mobile phone masts.  The LGA is instead urging it to work with councils and communities to identify and address coverage blackspots and should reallocate the underspend of the MIP to new projects related to tackling poor mobile connectivity.

It said the fact councils approve nine in every 10 planning applications proves the system is not a barrier to development and planning rules do not need to be relaxed in this way.  Council leaders say rural areas need to be able to access 21st century technology but that the installation of masts should be a decision for councils to make in consultation with local residents.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Chairman of the LGA People and Places Board, said:  ‘More than a fifth of the UK’s land mass have no mobile phone connection and councils are committed to boosting mobile phone coverage in rural and more remote communities to ensure they are not left behind.  This must never come at the expense of the views of local people and to the detriment of local communities.

‘It would not be right for large phone companies to be able to build phone masts wherever they like. It is alarming that a phone mast more than the height of three double decker buses could be put up outside the front of someone’s home without them having any say in the matter.  Relaxing planning rules in this way risks mobile network operators being able to build huge masts in places where local residents and councils will have no say.  Building mobile phone masts is not a straightforward process. Planning controls exist to give people the power over developments that impact on their quality of life, and they should be respected.  It is vital that councils are able to work with network providers to ensure local areas get the best possible coverage in a way that residents are happy with.’

View the press release

Cheltenham Borough Council have voted to reduce the duration of planning consent validity from five to three years, in line with the 2008 Planning Act.

Cheltenham Borough Council writes:
Planning committee at its meeting on 18 February voted unanimously to reduce the period given for planning consents from five years to three years.

This brings Cheltenham in line with the national position set out in the 2008 Planning Act.  At the time of the national change the council was aware of the impact of the recession.  Whilst it is recognised that the implementation of certain planning permissions can remain challenging for developers, the economic justification for giving a longer period for implementation no longer remains.

The change will take effect on 1 March 2016.

Councillor Andrew McKinlay, cabinet member for development and safety said:  ‘The change sends the message to the development industry that they have a role to play in the delivery of new development.  With increasing pressure from government on delivery we all need to play our part.  As a council we have consistently been delivering permissions, but our monitoring shows that these are consistently not being translated into development on the ground. From 1st April 2011 to 31st March 2015 the total number of dwellings granted planning permission was 2,339, however the total number of dwellings completed during the same timeframe has been 1,031; this shows that only 44% of dwellings granted permission during that time have been delivered.”

View the press release

The Welsh Government has created a suite of guidance on the Developments of National Significance (DNS) process. 

The Welsh Government writes:
The Planning Inspectorate has prepared a suite of guidance for the Developments of National Significance (DNS) process.

We have finalised the main guidance chapters, and our Guide for Communities. We are close to completion of a number of appendices on the following topics:

• Appendix 1 – Role of Public Bodies
• Appendix 2 – Secondary and Related Consents
• Appendix 3 – Environmental Impact Assessment
• Appendix 4 – Habitats Regulations Assessment
• Appendix 5 – Local Impact Reports
• Appendix 6 – Statements of Common Ground
• Appendix 7 – Planning Obligations
• Appendix 9 – Completing the Application Form
• Appendix 10 – Feedback and Complaints
• Appendix 11 – Habitats Regulations Assessment Matrices
• Appendix 12 – Acceptance of Application Checklist

View the information

£87,000 of funding has been awarded to communities across Scotland to assist in the cost of repairs to war memorials.

Historic Scotland writes:
8 war memorials across Scotland have been awarded a total of £87k for repairs. The announcement coincides with the commemorations for  the centenary of the beginning of the Battle of Verdun – one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts of the First World War.

The recipients are located from across the country, with awards going to memorials in Barra, Falkirk, Orkney, Cowie, Strathblane, and East Dunbartonshire. The size of grant ranges from just over £48k for significant repairs to a large archway in Kirkintilloch, to £750 for the provision of professional advice to understand the complexities of works required before starting the full conservation of a war memorial.

Although the money isn’t exclusively for the repair of First World War memorials, communities are taking inspiration from the commemoration of the centenary to ensure their local war memorials are a fitting tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The grants have been awarded via the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund which is funded by the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland and administered by War Memorials Trust.

Frances Moreton, Director of War Memorials Trust said: ‘It is wonderful that since the Fund launched in 2013 communities across Scotland have received funding to support the repair and conservation of their local war memorials. Over 70 memorials have benefitted so far but hundreds of memorials across Scotland remain in Poor or Very bad condition. With funding still available we hope that many more repair and conservation projects will emerge.

‘If you have a war memorial concern, please get in touch to see how we can help. The centenary of World War I really is a unique opportunity to secure the preservation of our shared war memorial heritage for future generations.’

These grants bring to £617k the total amount offered to 73 Scottish war memorials since the scheme was launched by Former First Minister Alex Salmond in 2013. With a pot of £1 million made available through the centenary, communities can still apply for a share of the funds to repair and conserve their own monuments.

View the press release

IHBC NewsBlogs on funding

IHBC NewsBlogs on memorials

On 1 March the Planning (Wales) Act came into force. 

The Welsh Government writes:
New legislation under the Planning (Wales) Act comes into force today which will ensure that infrastructure projects which are of most significance to Wales are determined at the national level and are made directly to the Welsh Ministers, rather than the local planning authority.

The provisions in the Act, as well as associated subordinate legislation, establish a new process for the consenting of Developments of National Significance (DNS).

This process, which marks a flagship reform to the planning system, will ensure timely decision-making, particularly on renewable energy projects as well as other nationally significant developments in Wales.

It will create certainty for developers and communities, and help stimulate economic growth.

Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant said: ‘The DNS projects include energy projects with a generating capacity of between 10MW and 50MW, airports, railway infrastructure, dams and reservoirs, and other types of development requiring planning permission which are considered to be of national significance. I’m also planning to expand the thresholds to capture all onshore wind projects above 10MW.  The DNS process forms a key part of my ‘Green Growth’ agenda. Larger scale renewable energy projects, which this process captures, are vital to delivering further reductions in carbon emissions and sustainable development objectives, thus boosting the Welsh economy.  Inclusion of these projects within this process will improve the timeliness of decision-making, improve the quality of decision-making and create an environment of certainty for developers and communities.’

View the press release

The recruitment process for a new Chief Executive for the new charity Historic Environment Scotland – a successor body to Scotland’s national heritage agency Historic Scotland – is underway, with a closing date of 4 April. 

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) writes:
After successfully launching Historic Environment Scotland on the 1st October 2015, we are looking to the future with ambition and confidence.

Our first Corporate Plan is now in its final draft and will set out clearly our vision and values and how, as the lead body, we aim to deliver for the benefit of the wider sector. The plan, read together with the strategy Our Place in Time, provides the context for immediate action as well as long term development.

We are now moving to recruit a new Chief Executive who will translate the vision in our Corporate Plan into reality. The formal process is underway: applications are due by 4th April and we hope to have the successful candidate in place by the Autumn.  This is an exciting opportunity and we are looking to recruit someone with imagination, energy, drive and the ability to work across conventional boundaries, external and internal, combined with first rate leadership and management skills.

View information on the opportunity

To mark recent additions to the National Heritage List for England, Historic England (HE) is organising a workshop on post war sculpture taking place at Somerset House on 18 March, offering a chance to contribute to new guidance.  The event includes free entry to Historic England’s first major exhibition: ‘Out There: Our Post War Public Art’. 

Historic England writes:
Following the recent listing of 42 post-war public sculptures, there are now about 150 on the National Heritage List for England. These fascinating art works are in a range of idioms, materials and locations and present interesting conservation challenges. As part of Historic England’s wider campaign to champion the best of our post-war public art, we are holding a workshop on the conservation of post-war public sculpture. The workshop will accompany a major exhibition on post-war public art at Somerset House and there will be an opportunity to visit the exhibition on the day.

The workshop is for local authority and sector heritage, arts, culture and conservation professionals, estate managers and developers who have experience with post-war public sculpture. Through a series of short illustrated talks and discussion we hope to share knowledge, skills and experience in this emerging area of heritage and to invite you to contribute your ideas for the production of future illustrated guidance. 

View the full agenda and book your place at the workshop via the website

View more information on the exhibition

IHBC members with a more edgy twist may be interested to know of the Pavilion’s tunnel tours that will continue to the end of March. 

Culture 24 writes:
Stretching along 60 subterranean metres beneath George IV’s exotic pleasure palace, limewash is the only constant on the walls of the Royal Pavilion’s dark tunnels 

The passages beneath the former royal residence could scarcely offer a greater contrast to the unrestrained lavishness above them: pock-marked walls, wires, musty old non-descript boxes and gas vats mark out the hollow chambers of these rat run-style caverns and their often pretty uneven floors.

John Nash, who redesigned Henry Holland’s original 1787 Royal Pavilion 28 years later, was very derogatory about the basements, lambasting their inextensiveness and susceptibility to rot. ‘The Pavilion wasn’t built on the best foundations,’ says Meg Hogg, which might not come as a surprise given George IV’s famous desire for short-term gratification 

One twisting bottletop stairway leads to the office of Sir Benjamin Broomfield, a prestigious member of the household and ‘a fun character’, says Hogg, until his attempts to stop George buying jewels for his final mistress, Lady Conyngham, who responded by trying to ship Broomfield to Ceylon. But Broomfield’s rise from lowly duties illustrates the diversity of people involved in the sub-pavilion over the centuries, with the rooms of maids and footmen within darning distance of nobility. 

Hogg and fellow Visitor Services Officer Geoff Greenwood have devised a set of six tours along the tunnel between now and the end of March. ‘It is linked with George,’ she acknowledges, ‘but it’s been a pretty essential part of the city for a long time, often in quite unseen ways. It’s nice to know that we’ve always been here for the people of Brighton. 

NB: 45-minute tours run until March 31 2016.  Visit The Royal Pavilion Tunnel Tours for details. 

Culture24

We Love Brighton website

The gasholder near the Oval cricket ground in London has now been listed at Grade II; it was the worlds largest when constructed in 1847. 

Historic England writes:
The iconic Victorian gasholder that is the backdrop to test cricket at The Oval is now listed at Grade II.

Gasholder No.1, which stands next to the world famous cricket ground in Kennington, London, will be protected for future generations following advice from Historic England.

Designed by the eminent engineer, Sir Corbet Woodall, Gasholder No.1 was the world’s largest when it was built in 1847. It was later rebuilt in 1879 ahead of the first test match at The Oval in 1880. 

David Evennett, Heritage Minister, said:  ‘A lot of cricket fans will recognise this structure which provides an iconic backdrop to a world-famous cricket ground. It is also an important part of London’s Victorian history which is why I’m very pleased it will be protected for years to come.’

Gasholders have formed a part of Victorian London’s skyline for over 200 years, when the UK relied on gas power for energy.  Gasholder No.1 is an early example of the use of wrought-iron to construct the gasholder guide frame, which allowed the holder to double its capacity. 

Emily Gee, Head of Designation at Historic England, said:  ‘Gasholder No 1 at Kennington was the world’s largest gasholder when it was built in 1877-9. It also made early use of wrought iron in a frame and so marks an important moment in gasholder technology.  Furthermore, it provides a distinctive backdrop to the Oval cricket ground and its image has long been broadcast around the world.  We consider our industrial heritage very carefully, and must be rigorous when assessing these once ubiquitous, now redundant holders for listing. It is unlikely that many more will be listed, but we are delighted that this special one is now listed at Grade II.’

View the news release

The journal ‘Planning and Building Control Today’ has published an article about potentially unfair refusals of planning permission, and suggested that the rate of refusals is likely to increase when planning legislation changes.

View the article ‘Councils ‘Computer says no’ attitude leading to unfair planning rejections’

The £25 million Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) has resulted in another 26 projects across Scotland gaining assistance with projects to benefit capital projects, including works to listed buildings (LBs).

The Scottish Government writes:
Communities across Scotland are set to benefit from a share of £25 million to help regenerate their areas.

26 projects will receive funding from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF), Housing Minister Margaret Burgess and Cllr Stephen Hagan, COSLA Spokesperson for Development, Economy and Sustainability, announced today.

The fund, which has been developed in partnership with local authorities, supports projects that deliver new and improved infrastructure bringing significant positive outcomes for deprived areas. The funding brings the total number of RCGF projects supported to date to 66.

Projects receiving a share of the funding include:

• £1.8m for Stranraer Town Centre Regeneration Initiative, aiming to improve links within the town centre
• £290K to support the Craigsfarm Community Hub Project in West Lothian, which will create a create a space for recreation and office space
• £1.15m for the Fraserburgh 2021 Project, which aims to redevelop two listed buildings for business and community use.

Mrs Burgess said: ‘Local people are at the heart of these projects, which, with the help of this funding, will transform the spaces around them. Not only do these projects transform town centres, but they stimulate economic growth, and support and create jobs throughout Scotland.  Regenerating disadvantaged communities is a priority for this government, and I am delighted to continue to work with local authorities to announce this £25 million investment in a further 26 projects.’

Councillor Stephen Hagan said: ‘Once again the joint COSLA and Scottish Government RCGF is helping to support projects right across Scotland that will transform communities and improve social, economic, and physical outcomes.  Projects range from town centre regeneration schemes and community and business hubs, to more heritage based initiatives. The variety of projects being funded highlights the diversity of approaches to regeneration across Scotland, which is tailored and responsive to the needs of local communities.  Despite the current very challenging financial climate regeneration continues to be a key focus for all Scottish local authorities, and I look forward to seeing these projects come to life and transform our communities over the coming years.’

View the press release

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