IHBC NewsBlogs

Planning Portal continues its analysis of manifestos on planning matters, and the RTPI continues its coverage and analysis on its election news pages, while The Heritage Alliance has released an analysis of manifestos relating to heritage, and Arts Council England has analysed pledges on arts and cultural matters.

The IHBC hopes to bring you a fully digested analysis of key issues for members in the coming days, but for now you can:

Download the ‘Dods Monitoring’ Culture Media and Sport summary 

Download the ‘Dods Monitoring’ Housing and Planning summary

View the Arts Council England analysis of manifestos

Planning Portal analysis

View the Heritage Alliance analysis

RTPI election portal main page (containing analysis of each party)

New statistics from the latest RICS BCIS study reveal that 3% of GDP is accounted for by the £55 billion spent on building maintenance.

RICS writes:
The £55billion a year spent on building maintenance makes a significant contribution to the economy, accounting for over 3% of GDP

On most buildings, both cleaning and energy costs can be as significant as maintenance, which suggests that we spend up to 10% of GDP each year on the existing building stock.

The maintenance estimate is taken from a recent report by BCIS, which analyses all available statistics on construction maintenance, to produce an overall estimate for the sector. The estimate is compiled from Office of National Statistics figures for construction maintenance output and householders’ expenditure on DIY and insurance, together with an estimate of private sector direct labour output.

The BCIS study also looks at the relationship between the value of building stock, both housing and non-housing, and the amount spent on maintaining these buildings. The figures show that while the value of UK building stock is increasing steadily from year to year, the amount spent on maintaining these assets appears to be decreasing.

Why this relationship has been steadily decreasing over the last ten years is not clear, though it is possible that much of the stock has been renovated over the past 20 years and owners and developers have increasingly considered the whole life performance of a building when constructing and refurbishing a property. 

View the news release 

View more information on the BCIS Economic Significance of Maintenance Report 2015, from the BCIS Running Costs Online RICS tool 

The European Union Committee of the Regions has highlighted the need for more investment into assisting with sustainability initiatives in the building industry in relation to meeting EU indicators on sustainability and waste, and the importance of the use of traditional materials alongside new recycling technology.

The European Union Committee of the Regions writes:
EU plans to improve resource efficiency in the building sector may only be successful with local government involvement and support to the weaker regions.  Reacting to European Commission proposals, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) raised concern that ‘the role of local and regional authorities had been worryingly overlooked’ despite their responsibility for local housing development and resource efficiency. Led by Csaba Borboly, President of Harghita County Council in Romania, the CoRs’ opinion adopted today further calls for greater EU investment in overcoming the challenges in developing sustainable buildings and expanding local green infrastructure.

Europe’s building sector produces roughly half of all extracted materials and generates about one third of all waste. The Commission review of the life-cycle of building production seeks to improve resource efficiency. Speaking in Brussels President Borboly welcomes the proposals but raised serious concerns: despite being responsible for implementing EU and national legislation, supporting local business and providing information to investors and the public, local and regional authorities had been ignored. ‘Improving resource efficiency in the sector is a huge global issue and Europe must lead the way in promoting more efficient use of materials, energy and water consumption, as well as better waste management. The Commission is right to pull together existing policies and set out plans to promote resource efficiency in the building sector’, Borboly added.

The development of EU-wide core indicators to measure and boost resource efficiency in the building sector is the corner stone of the current Commission proposals. The Committee – the assembly of the EU’s local and regional representatives – feels that it could boost local economies and make a considerable contribution to the EU’s commitment to creating a sustainable economy, but far greater clarity was also needed in defining the guidelines. The EU must also consider the use of traditional methods and materials – such as wood – complemented by new technologies to bolster recycling of construction and demolition waste, and offer improved incentives for clients, contractors and developers in the construction sector. Borboly further commented, ‘Indicators are not the only way to green the building sector. While sustainable green buildings will save money, to maximise performance they must be supported by robust commissioning, effective management and collaboration between owners and occupiers delivered at the local and regional level.’

The Committee recognises the economic, social and environmental potential of setting out European guidelines in order to green the building industry, better manage resources and create new jobs. However, with wide regional disparities and growing pressures on local government funding, the Committee calls on the EU to develop a compensation mechanism to help less developed regions to meet the challenges involved in creating sustainable buildings and expanding green infrastructure in those regions most affected by changes in land use. Rural regions and small and medium-sized towns should be backed with proper investment and research into new technologies through EU funding pots such as Horizon 2020.

European Building news

Commission review of the life-cycle of building production

View the news release

The Stevenage Comet reported on the case of the unauthorised demolition of a Grade II Listed Building (LB), an outbuilding, for which the owner was ordered to pay a £35,000 fine.

View the article and photographs

IHBC research pages (including enforcement matters)

The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that staff shortages at the organisation have led to delays of up to 10 weeks to validate planning and householder appeals, with worst affected categories appear to involve enforcement appeal inquires, listed building/conservation area consent appeals considered by written representations, while for some inquiry categories this means decisions may take 12 months or thereabouts.

The admission of problems has been posted on the Planning Portal. The post says: ‘We apologise for the delay and are taking measures to address this. We would like to thank you for your understanding and patience during this period.  When your appeal has been confirmed as valid we will then issue a start date letter giving details of the timetable for the appeal.’

According the latest appeal handling times published by PINS, the worst affected categories appear to involve enforcement appeal inquires, listed building/conservation area consent appeals considered by written representations and appeals involving lawful development certificates.

PINS advised it was recruiting more staff to deal with the growing backlog.

View the appeal handling time statistics 

Planning Portal Blog

The latest polls by YouGov reveal that 58% of people would like to see empty and derelict homes brought back into use to help meet housing requirements.

Callcredit Information Group writes:
Research released by Callcredit Information Group, has revealed that 58 per cent of consumers would prefer to see the regeneration and bringing back into use of dilapidated and empty housing to meet housing requirements.

Specialising in public sector solutions, Callcredit’s research highlights a need for local authorities to look at their existing housing stock and better understand which long-term empty properties could be brought back into use to help address the needs of the 1.37 million households that are on waiting lists for social housing. This is shown with the stark difference between the 58 per cent preferring regeneration and bringing back into use of dilapidated and empty housing compared to 26 per cent opting for the replacement of dilapidated and empty housing with newly built housing.

The independent research undertaken by YouGov also asked consumers what type of housing they thought was most needed where they lived and what the main actions should be to reduce the number of households on waiting lists.

The top three types of housing highlighted as most needed were:

• Social housing, provided by the local authority or a housing association – 25 per cent
• New housing for outright purchase by individual homeowners – 19 per cent
• Affordable rented housing, (rent charged at up to 80 per cent of the cost of private rent) – 17 per cent.

The top three main priorities identified to reduce the number of households on waiting lists were:

• Building more social housing for people to live in – 29 per cent
• Building more affordable housing for people to buy – 20 per cent
• Forcing owners of empty housing to rent or sell it – 16 per cent

Andrew Davis, Director of public sector, Callcredit Information Group said: ‘For local authorities to be able to serve their areas more effectively they need to get beneath the real needs of the consumer.  It is interesting the views that our research is highlighting and provides a deeper understanding to what consumers believe are the housing issues in their local area and what they would prefer to be done to overcome these.’

Overall consumers highlighted there is a need for more social housing but the results also indicate a clear north south divide with Scotland having a strong desire for social housing with 36 per cent compared to lower figures across England & Wales.

• Scotland -36 per cent
• London – 23 per cent
• Rest of south – 24 per cent
• Midlands/Wales – 23 per cent
• North – 24 per cent

Interestingly the research also revealed a difference in views across age groups indicating that the younger generation has a clear aspiration to get onto the property ladder.

• 26 per cent of 18-24 and 20 per cent of 25-39 year olds opted for new housing for outright purchase by individual as the most needed compared to 17 per cent of 40-59 and 16 per cent of 60+.
• Only 11 per cent of 18-24 and 16 per cent of 25–39 year olds selected social housing as the most needed compared to 28 per cent of 40-59 year olds and 34 per cent of 60+.

Andrew concluded: ‘We’re in the middle of one of the most closely fought election campaigns in our modern political history and this week, all the parties have set out their own proposals on how to address Britain’s housing crisis. Our survey results show that there is a strong desire to bring empty homes back in to use through regeneration—rather than demolition—and that a mix of more social homes and private homes for ownership are wanted.’

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 1,782 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9th – 10th April 2015.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

IHBC newsblogs on housing

YouGov polls

View the press release

Funding opportunities offering up to 80% support for rural historic buildings have been announced by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) under the countryside stewardship scheme. 

DEFRA states that the higher tier projects eligible for grant may include:

• non-residential buildings built with traditional materials and methods in a characteristic local, vernacular or ‘designed’ architectural style
• ornamental or architecturally designed buildings – for example, those on model farms, or in parklands or designed landscapes
• ‘transitional buildings’, buildings that show the introduction of modern materials, but are otherwise in traditional materials, style and function – written support from a Natural England historic environment adviser will be needed
• buildings of historic significance, whether traditional or later construction – for example, late-19th to early-20th century Dutch barns (curved head barns), mine buildings or military buildings, such as World War 2 pillboxes
• unconverted historic buildings used in ways they weren’t originally designed for, but without affecting the historic integrity and character – for example, light industrial, educational access or livery use 

IHBC newsblogs on funding

IHBC newsblogs on stewardship

View the grants advice

The Victorian Society has reported their disappointment at the loss of an unlisted, but locally important, building designed by the internationally celebrated Bristol architect E.H. Godwin, following its demolition by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

View the news release and images of the demolition

Proposals to partially convert an iconic art deco cinema into a church have been rejected by Luton Borough Council.

It had received a planning application to refurbish the front section of the ABC cinema in George Street, which would have been sublet to a Pentecostal church.

Applicants Fenton Property Management indicated that the old cinema’s screens would have been left untouched and sealed off from the rest of the building.

A council spokesperson said: ‘It is considered that the granting of a temporary consent for use of the site for a place of worship would not facilitate the redevelopment of this prominent site within the central shopping area as the predominant activities of a use of this kind would take place outside the core shopping and leisure times and therefore it fails to contribute to the regeneration of the town centre in the short term.’ 

Planning Portal Blog 

Locals in Carlisle are having issues with electoral publicity materials as banners that the council say need Listed Building Consent (LBC) have been put up without any application being made.

View the article

The High Court challenge relating to the refusal for replacement of original Crittall windows with double glazed timber units at a property in Hampshire is available online. 

Listed building consent was refused in September 2013 (and appeal refused in June 2014. The High Court decision was made in November 2014, documented in December 2014 (case number CO/3640/2014)

The case referred to four grounds, all of which were dismissed:

• decision making process was irrational or perverse.. introduction would not cause harm to, and would therefore preserve the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses’ (para 22, ground 1, page 9)
• ‘procedural unfairness or lack of due process as the inspector stated that measured drawings were needed when the Council had agreed that they were not and as the inspector relied upon the fact that the photomontages were not scaled’ (para 29, ground 2, page 10)
• ‘Failure to take material considerations into account ‘ (para 35, ground 3, page 11)
• ‘decision was irrational or perverse in the Wednesbury sense’ (para 43, ground 4, page 12)

View the decision notice

View the original NewsBlog on this issue

Members may recall that the IHBC held a round table event at the Scotland’s Towns Conference in November 2014, and members who are interested in town centre issues will be interested to learn of the new resources available from Scotland’s Towns Partnership in their online portal, including toolkits and case studies. 

Scotland’s Towns Partnership writes:
Over the last few months the team at Scotland’s Towns Partnership have been working hard behind the scenes to create a vibrant online community space where you can connect, learn and share best practice. Significant investment has been made in a number of new and improved products and services, all of which have been based upon what you told us you wanted to see.

Please take an opportunity to explore the new towns portal where you’ll find a host of new and improved resources, supports and toolkits. Some of these are listed below:

• Visit the new Towns Library where you can access the latest knowledge, research, policy, and data sources relating to towns.
• Book on to one of our events to learn about the latest in town developments, support and innovation.
• We will be running another large annual towns conference this year as well as a couple of exciting new events and conferences over the next few months – watch this space.
• The Town Centre Toolkit will feature all the best in sustainable streetscapes, design and planning guidance.
• Later in April we will be hosting the Understanding Scottish Places toolkit – a new, unique and dynamic typology resource which shows for the first time how every town in Scotland with a population of 1,000 or more is interacting with its surrounding settlements and performing against a range of economic and inter/dependency relationships. To come along to the launch in Musselburgh on 29^th April, please contact Georgina Bowyer mailto:georgina@carnegieuk.org
• The Towns Forum will help you influence policy, share and seek advice and stimulate debate around towns.
• We are working with national media, sponsors and partners to develop a number of exciting competitions and features on towns; all designed to keep our towns high up in the political and media focus.

This list is not exhaustive and we welcome you to explore the Towns Portal yourself. If you feel you can add to the website in any way, please contact Rebecca Mather rebecca@scotlandstowns.org 

Scotland’s Towns Partnership

IHBC at Scotland’s Towns Conference event

The recent changes to development management (DM) and permitted development (PD) legislation – relating to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 and the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 – have now been introduced.

New rules on conversion to residential for amusement arcades or casinos have been introduced, as well as the PD rules for solar panels being relaxed.  The rules on larger household extensions have also been extended for a further 3 years.

Download the summary memorandum relating to the new introductions

A cross-border guide to sustainable construction has been produced by SmartEco Hub for the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland (DoENI), looking at the uses of renewable technology and the practicalities of collaborative approaches between the public and private sectors, as well as a tool for Local Authorities to use for the planning decision making process.

The Department of the Environment Northern Ireland (DoENI) writes:
Cross border organisation, Smart Eco Hub has produced the ‘Sustainable Building Guide’ to assist and educate those in the construction industry.

Speaking at the launch, which saw representatives from local businesses, local government and the construction industry, North and South, Minister Durkan said: ‘I very much support the use of sustainable renewable technologies in new buildings. We have geared planning policy to help integrate renewable energy technology into the design, siting and layout of existing and new buildings.

‘This Guide demonstrates another good example of the benefits of collaboration between local authorities and the private sector. It has produced a practical document that can be applied in the planning and adaption of buildings in the North and South.

‘It is important that we continue to work together and share our experiences as well as exchange ideas that will support our wider understanding of issues that affect our environment.

‘There is money to be saved here as well. Sustainable building design can deliver buildings with lower running costs, an attribute that is highly attractive to both householders and businesses. The launch of the Sustainable Building Guide is appropriately timed with the recent transfer of the majority of planning powers from DOE to councils. It also coincides with the Department recently receiving a prestigious UK planning award for outstanding placemaking work in Northern Ireland for its ‘Living Places’ guide, which complements the Sustainable Buildings Guide.

‘This is an additional tool available to assist councils in their new roles as decision takers and plan makers in achieving good quality sustainable development through appropriately designed buildings.’

Read the press release

Find out more about SmartEco Hub and how to order a guide

IHBC newsblogs on sustainability

A new research project has been launched by the BRE Trust, aiming to improve the resilience of the built environment towards climate change. 

BRE writes:
The largest UK charity dedicated specifically to built environment research, the BRE Trust, has announced a major three year funding programme to improve the resilience of buildings and infrastructure to the growing threats of flooding, wind damage and overheating associated with climate change.

In January 2014 parts of the UK experienced rainfall of three times the historic average.  An estimated 7,000 properties were flooded and 750,000 homes were left without power. This added to growing evidence that the early impacts of climate change will be the more frequent occurrence of damaging weather events, ranging from storms and flooding to heatwaves and droughts.

‘Last year’s devastating floods and storms revealed our vulnerability to extreme weather and were indicative of wider resilience problems,’ says Guy Hammersley, BRE Group Board Director, Research & Innovation. ‘Our built environment is struggling to cope with a rapidly changing world, and there is an urgent need to strengthen its resistance to short-term shocks and long-term change – and to improve its ability to quickly recover from crises.’

To this end the BRE Trust, is funding a Resilient Built Environment themed research programme, with a focus on climate resilience. Earlier research and consultations have highlighted three major climatic impacts with associated gaps in existing knowledge – flooding, wind and overheating – which are the priority areas for this programme.

The research will be closely aligned with the work of the BRE Centre for Resilience, created in 2014 to address adverse weather effects, as well as social, security and disaster issues. The BRE University Centres of Excellence are an integral part of the Centre and will also be fully integrated into the programme.

The programme will be begin in April 2015 with five initial projects on:

• Flood resilient homes – repair standards.  A project to develop appropriate standards for flood resilient repairs, and technical guidance to help contractors deliver cost-effective measures.
• Wind loading on buildings.  More that 90% of building wind damage occurs at wind speeds below the basic design wind pressure – this project will address this serious performance gap.
• Tackling overheating in urban dwellings. This project will provide vital guidance and information based on hard scientific data, including a detailed review of the potential risk of flats to overheat.
• Resilience to natural disasters.  Builds on the successful BRE Trust and IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) funded work to develop the QSAND Tool for post disaster reconstruction/redevelopment projects.
• Community resilience. This will be a precursor to a wider project which is in preparation to develop a tool for assessing and managing resilience at a community level.

View the press release

Arts Council England has made available the results of data which reveals trends in visitor experience and spend at museums and heritage sites, via a new service ‘Insight’ and are inviting interested professionals to sign up for a free trial for the portal.

Arts Council England writes:
Following a trial last year, digital research project, Insight, is now live and is inviting museums and heritage sites in the UK to join trial participants to receive a free report detailing what factors most greatly influence visitor spend for their site.

The first trial of its kind in the sector, Insight combines information submitted by museums and heritage sites with wider ‘Big Data’ sets and uses predictive analytic techniques to provide a new approach to benchmarking.  Project Manager Peter Collins explains: ‘This type of analysis has not been available to the sector before now. In a time where most organisations are focusing on resilience, this interface is tailored specifically towards improving commercial income.’

Dr Joe Collins, Software Developer at Ryan O’Neil Partnership, says: ‘We are collecting information across a wide range of parameters to explore what the key drivers may be that encourage, or discourage visitor spend.’

Participating organisations can expect to see a personalised online analysis platform and planning tools using benchmarking data that has been collected from participating organisations throughout the UK.

Supported by the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts – Nesta, Arts & Humanities Research Council and public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England – Insight is being delivered by three project partners; enterprise experts and cultural sector consultants Black Radley, software developers Ryan O’Neill Partnership and researchers from Bath Spa University’s Centre for Creative Computing.

John Orna-Ornstein, Director, Museums, Arts Council England commented: ‘Investment from the Arts Council is supporting museums and heritage sites across the country, ensuring people continue to have access to our nation’s wealth of historical collections.  In the current economic climate, however, it’s crucial that the cultural sector becomes more resilient, finding new ways to generate commercial income. Insight is a great opportunity for museums and heritage sites to benefit from data which will offer a greater understanding of how this can be achieved.’

Museums, art galleries, historic sites and houses, and other cultural attractions interested in taking part can find out more or sign up for the free no obligation trial.

View the press release

View more information about Insight

IHBC newsblogs on tourism

The Scottish Heritage Angel awards have been launched, with a call for entries to recognise and celebrate the work of individuals and community groups by 30 June. 

Historic Scotland writes:
A new awards programme has been launched to celebrate the contribution of volunteers across Scotland who work to protect, understand and value the historic environment.

The Scottish Heritage Angel Awards will recognise the work of voluntary groups and individuals in protecting and celebrating our build heritage, and will be funded by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation.

A partnership between the Foundation and Historic Scotland, RCAHMS, the Scottish Government, Scottish Civic Trust and Archaeology Scotland , the new awards will seek entries from across Scotland with the first awards ceremony taking place in autumn 2015.

The first of such awards in Scotland, the programme supports the delivery of the new Historic Environment Strategy, Our Place in Time, with its strong emphasis on community participation in heritage.

Joint Chief Executives Ian Walford and Diana Murray said: ‘This awards programme is the first of its kind in Scotland, and will celebrate the valuable contribution of the voluntary sector in championing our heritage. The award categories will be wide ranging and will give us the chance to recognise the work of a broad selection of voluntary groups and individuals.

‘The English Heritage Angel Awards do a fantastic job of celebrating community and grass-roots projects and we are delighted that the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation will fund this similar initiative to highlight the work of volunteers in Scotland.’

The timetable for the Awards will be announced at Scotland’s Community Heritage Conference on 8 November 2014.

View the news release 

Visit the Scottish Heritage Angel Awards website