IHBC NewsBlogs

A new joint project by English Heritage, Civic Voice, the Imperial War Museums and War Memorials Trust has been launched this week, aimed at helping people find out more about the care and conservation of war memorials and giving access to training and research opportunities as part of the commemorations of the centenary of the First World War. 

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) writes:
First World War Minister Helen Grant yesterday visited the Grade II listed Watford Peace Memorial and announced an ambitious four-year programme to create ukwarmemorials.org, a one stop shop for information on all UK war memorials along with where to go for advice and funding.  The move means local people will once again be at the heart of protecting and conserving war memorials.

Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport from the fines paid by banks that attempted to manipulate the LIBOR, the initiative draws resources together from across the UK.  The website will allow easy access to what specialist organisations know about war memorials and tap into expert advice on how best to look after them. This includes how to get grants for conservation and how to get memorials listed. It will expand in stages over the next four years so that by the end of the project ukwarmemorials.org will be easily searchable, helping people track down historical information, listed status, condition and inscribed names.  The website will eventually cover war memorials commemorating all modern conflicts up to and including Afghanistan.

Visiting Watford Peace Memorial, successfully restored by the local community with a grant of almost £5000 from the War Memorials Trust, Helen Grant said: ‘After the First World War, war memorials were erected across the country in a huge wave of remembrance. They were and remain records of our nation’s sacrifice, our personal and collective memories carved in stone. Our part in this ongoing story is to learn, record, restore and protect them for the future.  Drawing attention to a series of new listings, from the Tintagel Cross War Memorial in Cornwall to the Alnmouth War Memorial in Northumberland, Helen Grant said: ‘I am delighted these monuments have been listed and protected. It is wonderful to see how deeply people care about their local history and want to preserve it.’

A partnership between English Heritage, Civic Voice, Imperial War Museums and War Memorials Trust has been set up to help communities discover, care and conserve their Local First World War memorials. The partnership was formed following the DCMS pledge of £4.5m in July 2014 towards war memorials as part of the activities to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.  Over the centenary programme the programme will deliver, funding to help local communities repair and conserve their war memorials, practical conservation training, hundreds of public workshops to encourage people to record and protect their local war memorials, and the listing of up to 500 memorials a year so their historical importance is recognised for years to come.

View the DCMS press release

View the war memorial conservation website

IHBC newsblogs on war memorials 

The Welsh Government are seeking views on local government reforms, and launched a consultation this week on the ‘Reforming Local Government’ White Paper, with the deadline for responses of 28 April. 

The Welsh Government writes
During a visit to the Gwent Archives yesterday, the Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews launched a White Paper setting out the terms of a new deal for Local Government in Wales.

Reforming Local Government: Power to Local People sets out the Welsh Government’s vision for the future of Local Government – one which is more inclusive and accountable, and which shares power and responsibility with the communities it serves.  The proposals put forward fundamental reforms that will ensure strong performance, robust democracy, good governance and effective delivery of key services such as education, social services, waste and planning.

The Minister for Public Services, Leighton Andrews said yesterday: ‘The Gwent Archives’ magnificent new facility in the General Offices of the former steelworks in Ebbw Vale holds the minutes from meetings of the Tredegar Workmen’s Medical Aid Society. They show Councillor Aneurin Bevan and his colleagues seeking to put in place co-operative health solutions for their local community.  Their recorded minutes are a reminder that at its best, Local Government in Wales has always had an activist nature, engaging co-operatively with local communities to find collective solutions.

‘We want all our Councils to be activist Councils, engaged in delivering modern, accessible, high quality public services with their communities.  In this White Paper, we set out the terms of a new deal for local government in Wales, one based on a smaller number of stronger councils, which will result in national government in Wales setting a small number of clear national priorities.

‘This is about reform not reorganisation. It is about rebuilding councils from the inside out, rebuilding trust and confidence in local government and a new relationship between Councils and the people they serve.  My role is to set the right framework to ensure local leadership can deliver for their communities. We will ensure value for money by cutting the cost of politics and management in local government, ensuring councillors reflect the diversity in their communities and ensuring the culture in local government is open to challenge and has involving and supporting its communities as its core value. This is about profound change in the way Councils work and deliver for their communities.  Our vision is for stronger, more representative Local Government delivering, and accountable for, quality local services which meet the needs of local communities.

‘The consultation opens today (3rd February) and will close on 28th April and I encourage anyone who would like their views known to engage in the process.’

The White Paper, an Everyday (Summary) and a Youth Friendly version of the White Paper can be accessed via the Welsh Government website.

Access the news release

View a summary of local government changes planned

View the consultation

The CLG Commons Select Committee has called for changes to community powers, with more time for local people to acquire potential assets of community value, greater clarity over the ‘right to reclaim land’ powers and the integration of ‘right to build’ within the neighbourhood planning process.

A video featuring interviews with people who have been through the right to bid process, and views of members of the CLG committee has been posted online, together with minutes of the meeting and the full report of proceedings. The video includes footage of the first public house to be bought by local people using the community right to bid powers (The Ivy House in London).

View the CLG committee report and video

IHBC newsblogs on localism 

The new ‘self build’ plots issued under Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) custom build regulations have been approved by planning, providing new affordable housing in Cornwall.

The HCA writes:
People can soon design their dream home at one of England’s biggest dedicated custom build sites after proposals to bring nearly 150 new and affordable homes to Cornwall were backed by planners.  Cornwall Council’s approval of Carillion-Igloo and Coastline Housing’s planning applications to build 144 homes beside the Heartlands regeneration project at Trevenson Park, Pool, enables construction work and marketing to start later this year.

The development includes 54 Custom Build plots, which will offer people from across Cornwall the chance to design and build their own home with a manufacturer chosen from Carillion-igloo’s specialist panel. This site is one of the Homes and Communities Agency’s biggest Custom Build projects and is set up by Government to boost house-building by unlocking a wave of new homes designed and built by their owners.

Coastline Housing will also develop 90 new and affordable homes, which includes a well-designed block of 23 flats for older people overlooking the Heartlands Park.  It is estimated that around 200 full time equivalent annual jobs will be created by the construction work, with the majority of jobs going to people who live in Cornwall.

HCA area manager Paul Britton said: ’This project clearly demonstrates one of the many approaches we are taking to provide more opportunities for people to get the homes they can afford in Cornwall.  Custom Build offers people a more accessible route onto the housing ladder whilst providing an opportunity for people to design the home of their dreams. We know there is high demand for more homes in Cornwall, which has a history of ‘self build’ housing. This scheme from Carillion-igloo and Coastline will make a positive contribution. I look forward to seeing the new homes come forward on this important and exciting site.’

Carillion-igloo head of custom build housing Jon Sawyer said: ‘Carillion-igloo are very excited about securing planning for 54 Custom Build homes in Cornwall, which is an important milestone for this project and the custom build housing sector as a whole. We are grateful for the support of our partners HCA and Coastline and the pragmatism of Cornwall Council in adopting a new approach to approving the appearance of homes, the first of its type in the UK. We will now be working hard to make the first serviced plots available in the spring and we aim to see the first custom build homes coming out of the ground by the end of 2015.’

Christine Coonan, Coastline Housing’s development manager, added: ‘We are very pleased to be able to provide a further 90 much needed homes in the centre of the Camborne-Pool-Redruth area. Our mix of rental and shared ownership properties will give many local people high quality homes at affordable cost.

It is expected that the plots will be made available to prospective buyers from next spring, with work on the affordable homes starting early next year.’

The HCA has recently launched a £150m loan fund for Custom Build projects which will provide finance for the development of serviced plots to support people who want to build their own home.

View the HCA press release

IHBC newsblogs on housing

The Heritage Alliance (THA) is holding an event to discuss the changes to Historic England and ways in which more people can become involved in caring for heritage, to be held on 11 March in London, but please note that priority will be given to Alliance members

THA writes
From 1 April 2015, English Heritage becomes two organisations: the English Heritage charity which will manage the 400+ properties and Historic England which will retain the role of statutory advisor on the historic environment.  Historic England would like to involve more people in caring for our heritage and in understanding it, starting with very young children and including people who don’t have much to do with their historic environment at present.

The future Historic England would like to talk to Heritage Alliance members and the independent heritage sector about the best way to develop a new education and inclusion strategy. It would like to explore: what Historic England could most usefully do itself and how it could support and facilitate work across the sector.

The Heritage Alliance’s Inclusion and Learning Advocacy Group and the future Historic England Education team would therefore like to invite you to an open discussion from 1400-1630 on 11 March 2014 at the Churchill Room, Goodenough College, London.  The session will be chaired by David Souden, chair of the Inclusion and Learning Advocacy Group (and former Trustee) of The Heritage Alliance, and a director of the Heritage Education Trust.  Please come and let us know what you think, even if you are not an education specialist. We’re not looking for education and inclusion expertise as such, although of course we’d really like to hear about work your organisation is doing of has done in those areas.

To book your place, please visit The Heritage Alliance website  (Please note, priority will be given to Alliance members)

Information on THA inclusion and learning advocacy group

The results of a Scottish household survey on attendance and participation in cultural activities reveal a positive attitude towards the importance of historic buildings and cultural assets 

The Scottish Government writes:
A new survey shows nine in ten Scots agree heritage buildings and places should be well looked after – and nine in ten have taken part in cultural activities in the past year.

The figures, taken from the Scottish Household Survey 2013, show that people in Scotland are engaged in and value culture and heritage.  Nearly nine in ten (89 per cent) of adults agreed that ‘It is important to me that heritage buildings and places are well looked after’ – while only 3 per cent disagreed with the statement. And seven in ten (72 per cent) agreed that the heritage in their local area is well looked after.

Fifty seven per cent agreed that there are lots of opportunities to get involved in culture and the arts, with sixteen per cent disagreeing.   54 per cent of adults strongly agreed or tended to agree with the statement ‘Culture and the arts make a positive difference to my local area’, while 17 per cent disagreed with this statement.

The figures give further detail on the Scottish Household Survey, which showed nine in ten (91 per cent) of adults in Scotland engaged in culture in 2013. Four in five adults (80 per cent) attended a cultural event or place of culture and 78 per cent participated in a cultural activity in the previous 12 months.

However, 33 per cent of people in Scotland’s most deprived areas were more likely to agree that culture and the arts are ‘not really for people like me’ compared to 16 per cent in the least deprived areas.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop said: ‘These figures show the value the Scottish people place on culture and heritage, with nine in ten adults engaging in cultural activities in 2013, and the same number agreeing that it is important that our heritage buildings and places are well looked after. Culture underpins the very fabric of our national life as well as bringing wider social and economic benefits. These figures show that people across Scotland appreciate the value of culture and heritage.  Our new First Minister has set out her ‘One Scotland’ Programme for Government. This underlined the Government’s intentions about how we create a wealthier and more equal society. Tackling social justice and reducing inequalities in Scotland is one of our most important priorities, which is why we are pleased to work in partnership with bodies and agencies across Scotland because we know that culture and heritage have an important role to play. ‘

‘We are committed to protecting and promoting Scotland’s heritage and we have established Historic Environment Scotland as the new lead body to take forward the government’s contribution to delivering Scotland’s first national strategy for the historic environment, Our Place in Time, to ensure our diverse historic environment is understood, valued, cared for, protected, enjoyed and enhanced – now and for future generations. Our Place in Time, makes increasing participation in heritage a priority, especially among those who feel it is ‘not for me’ and there is a dedicated group established, with wide representation, to take this forward.

‘Our work with young people under the umbrella of Scotland’s youth arts strategy, Time To Shine, is similarly designed to ensure that no-one’s background is a barrier to taking part in cultural life. It is supported by initiatives including the Youth Music Initiative, and Cashback for Creativity.  Government funding helps to support programmes such as Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise Orchestras in Govanhill and Raploch; Get Scotland Dancing, which brought dance to 66,000 participants throughout Scotland; and Aspire Dundee, delivering cultural activities to 9 schools in the city. These are helping young people across Scotland to take part in the arts. Our primary route for this support is through our arts body, Creative Scotland which is tasked with delivery of Time To Shine.  Through all these activities, the Scottish Government is working to ensure that everyone in Scotland has an opportunity to access, enjoy and benefit from our culture and heritage. ‘

View the news release

Access the full survey

The most recent awards under the Theatres Trust Small Grants Scheme have been announced, with repair, restoration, access and improvement works being funded across the UK, including those to a grade II listed venue in Halifax and a category B theatre in Scotland.

The Theatres Trust writes:
The Theatres Trust is pleased to announce its sixth round of small capital grants to theatres.

Successful theatres in this round include the Category B-listed Burgh Hall in Dunoon in Scotland, the Little Angel Puppet Theatre in London, and local community theatre, the People’s Theatre in Newcastle.

Grants from the Trust’s Theatres Protection Fund Small Grants Scheme are awarded to:

• Little Angel Theatre, London receives £3,700 towards its ‘Exterior Repair and Restoration’ project to undertake urgent repairs to its flat roof.
• Actors Workshop Halifax receives £4,020 towards its ‘Urgent Roof Repairs’ project to repair and replace weather-damaged roof tiles and guttering.
• Dunoon Burgh Hall in Scotland receives £5,000 towards its ‘Stage Lift’ project to install a low rise platform lift to allow fully disabled access to the stage.
• People’s Theatre Newcastle receives £5,000 towards its ‘People’s Theatre Redevelopment’ project to improve its building services infrastructure in preparation for a redevelopment of the theatre.
• Polka Theatre, London receives £5,000 towards its ‘Ventilation Upgrade’ project to replace air conditioning and heating units in its main theatre with more energy efficient models.

Mhora Samuel, Director of The Theatres Trust said: ‘This round marks the third year of our Small Grants Scheme with funds from our Theatres Protection Fund. Through the Scheme, The Theatres Trust has been able to financially assist 32 theatres with their capital projects including these five exceptional venues. We would not be able to do this without the generous donations of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and Judy Craymer MBE to the Theatres Protection Fund and we continue to be grateful for their support.’

The Trust’s Small Grants Scheme helps theatres in need and at risk address urgent building repairs, improve their operational viability, introduce environmental improvements, and enhance physical accessibility.  We recommend that all applicants discuss any potential application with the Trust before submission. Trustees of The Theatres Trust will meet in June 2015 to consider further Small Grants Scheme awards. Deadline for Round 7 applications is 5pm Wednesday 27 May 2015.

View the press release from the Theatres Trust

View an article in ‘The Stage’ about the grants, with images of some of the awarded properties

Find out more about the Theatres Trust grants and previous awardees 

IHBC newsblogs on theatres

IHBC newsblogs on funding

Members in the south west region and visitors to Bristol may be interested in a unique event being organised on 22 February: a ‘diverse doors open day’ where every faith in the city is offering architectural, cultural and spiritual tours of selected buildings across the city.

Find out more about the events

Download a trail leaflet 

Scarborough Market, Saltdean Lido, Spanish City (Whitley Bay) and MV Balmoral Fund Ltd (Bristol) are among the historic assets awarded funding through the latest round of Coastal Community Funds announced this week.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) writes:
Blackpool’s iconic illuminations are one of many seaside attractions across England to benefit from a record £36 million government investment to boost growth in coastal areas.   The money – from the Coastal Communities Fund – will support projects that will create nearly 3,000 jobs and almost 1,500 apprenticeships and training places. It is the biggest round of cash provided by the Fund for schemes that are also attracting £36 million in additional financing.

Projects to benefit include:

• Blackpool’s world famous illuminations receive nearly £2 million to help create new light shows that will become a major tourist attraction and create and support nearly 550 new jobs
• Tate St Ives will get £3.8 million to help extend the art gallery so it can welcome 76,000 new visitors a year to the area and create more than 200 local jobs
• a cycle and walking path in Dawlish linking the town centre with the iconic Exe Estuary Trail tourist route and designed to increase visitor numbers will receive £1.3 million and create more than 35 local jobs
• Scarborough’s historic market will get £2.7 million to refurbish the market and create space for 30 new businesses creating more than 80 jobs and apprenticeships

Supporting coastal communities to unlock their enormous potential, boost local economies and contribute to the wider area is an important part of the government’s long-term economic plan.

Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: I created the Coastal Communities Fund because, as someone who grew up on a small island, I know how much difference targeted investment can make to people’s lives. It’s already supported scores of coastal communities from the Highlands of Scotland to the south coast of England.  Projects benefitting from the latest round of funding include a new Submarine Museum in Helensburgh, and a restored harbour at Carbost in Skye. Overall, hundreds of communities across the UK will benefit, creating jobs and making sure that some of our most remote and fragile communities share in the economic recovery.

Coastal Communities Minister Penny Mordaunt said: Backing our coastal towns so they can rise up and drive forward their local economies is a key part of our long-term economic plan to secure a brighter future for Britain. This money will help create jobs, boost skills and open up new business opportunities, benefitting hardworking people in coastal communities across the country.  These fantastic projects demonstrate the creativity, enterprise and passion needed to help seaside towns become year round destinations that people are proud to live and work in.

More than £90 million has been allocated by the Coastal Communities Fund to projects around England’s coast, in total these will create more than 11,000 jobs, provide over 5,000 training places and apprenticeships for young people and attract more than £128 million in other investment.

The Coastal Communities Fund was created in 2012 to invest in seaside towns to help them achieve their economic potential, reduce unemployment and create new opportunities for young people in their local area.

Today’s announcement brings the total of the Coastal Communities Fund spending to £116 million. Across the UK, it is funding 211 projects, which will create almost 12,400 jobs and provide over 6,000 training places and apprenticeships. The programme’s first annual report is published today.

View the full news release including allocations throughout IHBC regions

View the annual report on the CCF 

View images of the Scarborough Market proposals and news from the original bid in September 2014 from the Scarborough News

View information on MV Balmoral and its plans for the historic ship

View news on the Spanish City development and conservation in the Chronicle news online

Find out more about the Grade II* listed Saltdean Lido plans 

IHBC newsblogs on coastal heritage and funding news  

The Natural Capital Committee have issued their latest report (the third state of natural capital) and have highlighted the Grade I Listed Crown Estate’s Windsor Estate as a case study showing how natural capital can contribute to the overall benefits to a community, providing major environmental and cultural benefits that are not fully reflected in the financial accounts, as external benefits can be valued at £49million.

View more information on the work of the Natural Capital Committee

Download the report

Find out more about the Windsor Estate

IHBC newsblogs on historic parks and gardens

If you work with community groups in England you might be interested in the fund announced by Big Lottery which aims to help champion community businesses and new social enterprises which help regenerate communities.

Big Lottery writes:
The Big Lottery Fund has today awarded a £150m endowment to the Power to Change, a new independent grant-making foundation that will champion community businesses across England.

The Power to Change will be the largest trust of its kind in Europe and will provide funding and support to existing and new community businesses.

Backed by Trinity Mirror and the National Lottery, the Power to Change will support local people who want to save their local library or leisure centre, run their community shop or pub, or start new enterprises to regenerate a neighbourhood or high street.  The charitable trust will be led by newly appointed Chief Executive, Vidhya Alakeson, and chaired by Richard Handover CBE DL, former Chairman and Chief Executive of WHSmith.

The announcement of the endowment coincides with the publication of a new report from Social Finance, which conducted an in-depth analysis of the state of the community business sector. Researchers found that there are around 4,500 community businesses in England and Wales, with a combined income of £800m a year and assets of £1 billion. These community businesses employ around 24,000 staff and engage nearly 120,000 volunteers.

It is envisaged that a full range of the Power to Change funding programmes and support activities will be rolled out later this year. In the meantime the Power to Change will operate an initial grants programme, in conjunction with a call for Community Business Champions to identify existing community businesses already making a difference in their local areas and providing inspiration for others.

Nat Sloane, Big Lottery Fund England Chair, said: ‘As a funder, we believe people should be in the lead in improving their lives and communities. We want our grant-making to support the skills, assets and energy of local people and the potential in their ideas. Our £150 million endowment will be used by the trust to support existing and new community businesses to positively benefit local areas. This could range from saving a local library, pub or shop from closure to setting up a housing regeneration enterprise that provides local people with training and jobs. In addition, the Power to Change will produce learning that the wider community business sector can gain from.’

Richard Handover, Chair of the Power to Change, said: ‘The Power to Change will enable many more community-led businesses to transform local places and bring sustainable social and economic benefits to local people. We believe we can use this £150m as a cornerstone to leverage £1.5billion of additional resources to support community businesses, and leave a permanent legacy.’

The programme is one of a range of Big Lottery Fund initiatives that aim to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises. Other programmes include Big Potential and Big Assist.

Practical support is available for community businesses ranging from a peer support network to online learning. A community enterprise checker that enables you to assess your community business is also on offer. The support is run by a consortium led by Locality, UnLtd and Plunkett Foundation.

View the Big Lottery press release 

For more information on the Power to Change and to register your interest as a Community Business Champion, visit http://www.thepowertochange.org.uk/

You can follow news of the fund on Twitter https://twitter.com/peoplesbiz and comment using the hashtag #powertochange

IHBC newsblogs on funding 

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has revealed further details of projects to be funded under the £1 billion expansion of the ‘Growth Deal’, including housing and infrastructure work such as £6 million for the Black Country to bring forward new housing sites as well as 6000 new homes at Lincolnshire Lakes.

DCLG writes:
As part of its long-term plan to build a stronger economy and a fairer society, the government is investing a further £1 billion in local economies across England by expanding the successful Growth Deals.

Agreement has been reached with all 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to expand significantly the Growth Deals that were struck last July. The funding, to be devolved from central government into the hands of local authorities, businesses, colleges and universities will help to train young people, create thousands of new jobs, build thousands of new homes and start hundreds of infrastructure project, including transport improvements and superfast broadband networks.

Growth Deals are a revolution in the way our economy is run. For the first time ever, infrastructure, housing and other funding has been brought together in a single pot, and put directly into the hands of local authorities and businesses to invest with their knowledge of what is needed in their area to maximise their potential economic growth.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: Giving local communities the power and the money to unlock growth and development and make the spending decisions that work for them is a key part of our long-term economic plan to secure a brighter future for Britain and ensure a recovery for all. That’s what Growth Deals are all about, backing local people and investing in the infrastructure, housing and skills that will drive forward local economies, create more jobs and opportunities for hardworking people and supercharge all parts of our country.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said: A quiet revolution is underway in regions across the country and Growth Deals signal the death of the culture where Whitehall calls the shots. I’ve seen for myself the difference it makes to give local areas real power over skills, over business support, and over infrastructure spending. The coalition government has been relentless in our efforts to sort out the public finances and set firm foundations for growth. Growth Deals help create a stronger economy and a fairer society by boosting local economies, and providing more jobs, better transport and affordable homes.

Greg Clark, Minister for Cities, said: For Britain to fulfill its potential every part of the country must be an engine of growth. Our successful programme of City Deals and Growth Deals has put power and resources into the hands of local leaders. This billion-pound expansion of Growth Deals fuels the momentum that is now underway in our local economies. 

Some of the major projects that are being taken forward as part of the expansion of Growth Deals are:

• Improving infrastructure and unlocking developments which will create thousands of new homes, These include:
  • £17 million investment in improvements to the A2300 Burgess Hill link road which will relieve congestion and enable a significant housing development and £15.8 million towards the multi-year transport project in Fareham and Gosport, which will improve access to this area and the Solent Enterprise Zone. In addition, this investment will support the proposed development of 6,000 homes at Welborne.
  • The Tolgus and Barncoose junction improvement project (£5.9 million matched with £1.7 million) will create a gateway between Redruth and Camborne in Cornwall, unlocking access for over 600 homes, 5,000 square metres of commercial space and the Kresen Kernow cultural project.
  • The first phase of the development of the Lincolnshire Lakes scheme that will ultimately deliver 6,000 new homes, delivering the first of 5 large lakes, surrounded by watercourses, sustainable drainage systems and green infrastructure corridors creating 310 new homes, 150 new jobs and £2 million leverage.
  • Around £6 million to help to bring forward sites for housing and jobs in the Black Country, including £2.3 million in Sandwell, and £0.4 million towards the development of Walsall Waterfront.
• Millions of pounds for projects around the country to boost the skills that local businesses say they need; These projects include:
  • £8.7 million investment in Greater Birmingham and Solihull to create new training facilities, in Solihull and Birmingham, helping to address skills shortages in key sectors of the local economy
  • £25 million (£5 million plus £20 million local match funding) towards the development of a National Maritime Systems Centre of Excellence in Portsmouth. This centre will focus on maritime and marine capabilities, safeguard and create jobs as well as increasing exports.
  • £18.3 million for new innovation and training centres in New Anglia to allow more people to get the skills they need for jobs in growth sectors including energy, engineering, technology and advanced manufacturing. This includes £3 million for an aviation academy which brings together the public and private sectors to support young people to develop skills, including 80 apprenticeships a year to train staff in the full range of aviation skills. This not only helps businesses, but also young people who might struggle to get a job.
  • £5 million for the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing at Nottingham University, which has match funding from the University and industry of £95 million. This project will train more than 3,000 manufacturing engineers and deliver research and knowledge exchange worth £60 million.

Lord Heseltine said: The first round of Growth Deals proved that this model can work well, and this further set of deals demonstrates the government’s commitment to driving growth. The work that this government is doing through these deals represents the most bottom-up approach to growth that I have seen in my life time, and the opportunity that it offers to local areas to drive their own agenda is huge.

Alex Pratt, Chair of the LEP Network Management Board said: This expansion of growth deals with another £1 billion of projects is very welcome and a further vote of confidence in LEPs and the importance local decisions setting the priorities for economic growth. The partnership of local business and local authorities continues to strengthen as more responsibilities are passed to them and LEPs remain focused on delivering these projects for the benefit of local communities.

View the press release

View the interactive map

IHBC newsblogs on housing

IHBC newsblogs on Growth Deal

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has announced the successful bidders for ‘Delivering Differently in Neighbourhoods funding’ with allocations relating to the built and natural environments including Leicester City Council gaining support for large scale transfer of public assets to community ownership, the Royal Burgh of Windsor and Maidenhead devolving some environmental services to Parish Council level and Lambeth Borough and Plymouth City Council both introducing new management strategies for green spaces.

DCLG writes:
Projects which help councils deliver more for less by working with local communities and neighbourhood groups to redesign services to address their needs have today been awarded a share of £2 million to develop them further.

Communities Minister Stephen Williams announced 24 successful bidders for Delivering Differently in Neighbourhoods funding after they set out innovative approaches to transform services, drawing on the energy and expertise of local people to help to reduce reliance on public services and cut waste – giving local people a greater role in solving problems in their local area by themselves.The successful bids include:

• reducing loneliness and making lives better for older people in Croydon by redesigning the meals on wheels service
• helping support the needs of vulnerable people in rural Herefordshire by developing a number of local Wellbeing Hubs with local GPs
• working with survivors of domestic violence to help support current users in North Somerset
• ensuring older adults can stay in their own homes for longer in Leeds through care delivery in partnership with the voluntary sector
• improving public health in Buckinghamshire through using the expertise of residents to create neighbourhood-led physical activity programmes

Communities Minister Stephen Williams said: The councils behind these projects are outlining plans to cleverly use resources and provide services that make a real difference to people’s lives.  Empowering local people to have a greater role in local services will not only help eliminate needless duplication and cut waste but it will ensure better services are delivered to people how they want them – at a local neighbourhood level.  The government will work with all 24 authorities to understand the impact of these new approaches, their costs and benefits and to share effective models for service delivery at neighbourhood level.  Delivering Differently in Neighbourhoods will complement the government’s Our Place programme, which is working with neighbourhood groups seeking to redesign services in their area. 

View the DCLG press release

View more information on the ‘delivering Differently in Neighbourhoods’ programme

View more information on the ‘Our Place’ programme

IHBC newsblogs on local government reform and service delivery

Members who are involved in procurement for historic building construction work will be interested to learn that the new provider of Constructionline (which provides verified lists of suppliers which have passed industry checks) has been announced as Capita.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS) writes:
Capita is the successful bidder in the sale of Constructionline Business Minister Matthew Hancock announced today (28 January 2015).

Through its database of more than 23,000 companies Constructionline cuts out red tape for the construction industry. It provides a verified list of suppliers who have already passed industry checks, saving time and money. This helps speed up building work across the UK.

Capita has purchased the business from the government for £35 million, following an open competitive sales process which launched last summer. Capita’s bid met the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) objective of ensuring a safe and efficient continuation of service to existing Constructionline customers, whilst achieving the highest price for the business.

Matthew Hancock said: Construction benefits from the quality-assured, time-saving service of Constructionline and this sale aims to cut red tape further by freeing it of government ownership. Capita now has an exciting opportunity to expand its valued services to meet the needs of the construction industry and especially small and medium sized businesses.  Commercial ownership will enable the business, which has built up a strong reputation for reducing duplication and tender costs within the sector since its establishment in 1998, to achieve its full potential.

View the DBIS news release

View more information on Constructionline

View the Constructionline news release about the acquisition by Capita

IHBC newsblogs on construction

A new £4 million fund has been launched by the Scottish Government (SG) this week, aiming to tackle vacancies within town centres and provide affordable accommodation. 

The Scottish Government writes:
Empty shops and properties which are blighting Scotland’s town centres could be transformed into affordable housing thanks to a new £4 million fund.   The Town Centre Empty Homes Fund will provide grant and loan funding to help increase the supply of housing in Scotland’s urban and rural towns.

The Fund, which will open for bids shortly, will offer funding to regenerate both homes which have been lying empty for long periods of time, and to convert empty commercial spaces into residential accommodation. The properties will then be available for affordable rent or sale.  It comes on top of the work of the Shelter Scotland managed Empty Homes Partnership which recently had its funding doubled and received a three year extension, to help bring more private sector empty homes back into use.

Housing Minister Margaret Burgess announced details of the new Fund at the Shelter Scotland Homelessness Conference. She said: ‘Making sure everyone has access to affordable homes where they can feel safe and warm, is a priority for the Scottish Government. But it’s not just about building new homes, we need to make better use of our existing housing stock and properties.  It makes absolutely no sense for us to have more than 30,000 homes lying empty when homelessness still exists in Scotland. Empty shops and flats can be an eyesore in our communities, devaluing our properties and even encouraging anti-social behaviour. Bringing these empty properties back into use is a cost-effective way of increasing the supply of housing available to families across Scotland and it also aides community regeneration. By transforming derelict shops and flats into new homes, we will be able to inject some life back into our town centres and make them attractive places to live and work.’

Overall, the number of unoccupied properties (second homes and long term empty) is falling. Currently, 31,457 homes are recorded as being empty for six months or more.  The Town Centre Empty Homes Fund is a mix of £2 million grant and £2 million loan funding and aims to target ‘problem’ empty homes and conversion of empty commercial space into residential.

The new fund has been developed from lessons learned in rolling out the Empty Homes Loan Fund (£4.5 million, projected to deliver more than 400 homes over a 10 year period), and Town Centre Housing Fund (£2.75 million, 82 homes across seven towns). The fund complements the other activities the Scottish Government is implementing through the Town Centre Action Plan.

View the news release

IHBC newsblogs on regeneration

IHBC newsblogs on funding

IHBC members will be aware of the Institute’s emphasis and research into the roles and values of conservation staffing and services in Local Authorities (LAs) so of special interest will be the latest Commons Select Committee report into the financial stability of Local Authorities, which highlighted the potential threat to statutory services given the effect of continued cuts amd the impact of changing legislation on delivery of housing and development.

The Public Accounts Committee writes:
The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, today said: ‘Councils must cope with funding reductions of around 37% between 2010–11 and 2015–16.   These cuts have not hit all local authorities equally, with reductions ranging between 5% and 40%.  Councils with the greatest spending needs – the most deprived authorities – have been receiving the largest reductions. Further cuts could not just undermine the entire viability of most optional services, but might threaten some statutory services in these areas. Value for money could be undermined by reductions in spending which lead to ‘cost-shunting’ between local government and other service providers – for example, reductions in social care provision leading to bed blocking in NHS hospitals.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has overall responsibility for funding to councils. However, it takes a largely ‘hands off’ approach and does not have a good enough understanding of the impact of funding reductions, either on local authorities’ finances or on services.  It looks only at data on spending and has little information on service levels, service quality, and financial sustainability. Without at least an idea of the amount of funding required to maintain statutory services to a minimum standard, it is hard to see how the Department could ensure that local authorities are able to fulfil their statutory duties.

Looking to the future, if funding reductions were to continue following the next spending review, we question whether the Department would be in a position to provide assurance that all local authorities could maintain the full range of their statutory services.  The Department cannot at present satisfy us that it understands whether it is feasible and practical for local authorities to deliver the service transformation necessary to maintain financial sustainability. Nor does it understand what the effects on service users would be.

Late funding announcements by the Department in this Parliament, coupled with incentive-based mechanisms such as the Business Rates retention scheme, have increased financial uncertainty which undermines the ability of local authorities to act according to longer-term savings plans.  This uncertainty over future income has meant that local authorities have built up significant increases in their financial reserves, up to a third of annual net revenue expenditure. This takes even more money away from services at a time of spending reductions.’

Margaret Hodge was speaking as the Committee published its 34th Report of this Session which – on the basis of evidence from Sir Bob Kerslake, Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government, Matthew Style, Director of Local Government Finance, Department for Communities and Local Government, and Sharon White, Second Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury – examined the financial sustainability of local authorities 2014.

View the full report

View the Public Accounts Committee news release

View IHBC research into conservation staffing ‘Implementing the Heritage Protection Reforms – A Second Report on Local Authority Staff Resources’ Produced by English Heritage, the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in August 2010

View the IHBC Research Note 2013/1 ‘Loss of senior conservation staff and senior conservation posts in England: March 2011 – April 2012’

IHBC newsblogs on local government reform and service delivery

Details of the most recent ‘new homes bonuses’ awarded to English Councils as a result of successful delivery of housing allocations have been announced, with £1.2 billion allocated this year including news that 100,000 empty homes have been brought back into use since the bonus scheme was introduced. 

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) writes:
Communities across the country will be rewarded for their part in delivering hundreds of thousands of new homes, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said today (30 January 2015).

The minister published final allocations of New Homes Bonus payments to England’s 353 councils – totalling £1.2 billion this year.  This brings the total awarded to councils since the scheme’s introduction to £3.4 billion, for delivering more than 700,000 new homes and conversions, and bringing over 100,000 empty homes back into use.  The numbers of empty homes are now at a record low, while housebuilding starts are at a 7-year high.

The New Homes Bonus is a powerful and transparent incentive for communities and councils to say yes to new development in their area.  Launched in 2011, it is a permanent part of the local government finance system and matches the additional council tax raised for new homes and empty homes brought back into use for 6 years – with extra funding for new affordable homes.  Councils are then free to use that funding as they see fit to benefit their local area – from providing new facilities, to protecting frontline services or simply freezing council tax.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: In the past councils were penalised for supporting new housebuilding – now, thanks to the New Homes Bonus, those that build are rewarded for it. Since the scheme’s launch communities have received some £3.4 billion for delivering over 700,000 new homes, and bringing empty homes down to a record low. It continues to offer a clear incentive for residents to say yes to new development – on top of the powers we’ve given them to determine where homes get built in their area.

Communities Minister Stephen Williams said: The New Homes Bonus payments we have made are a clear recognition of the effort councils have made to turn 100,000 empty properties into secure homes for families in need over the past 4 years. But while the numbers of empty homes are now at a record low, I want to see councils continuing their strong efforts to ensure we don’t lose momentum and ensure we bring as many as possible back into use. 

View the full press release

Download the full list of bonuses allocated

IHBC newsblogs on housing

The Scottish Government have called a moratorium on granting consents for unconventional oil and gas developments in Scotland whilst further research and a public consultation is carried out, emphasising the role of Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) relating to this issue; in the same week DECC announced a ban on fracking in national parks.

The Scottish Government writes:
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has yesterday announced that there is to be a moratorium on granting consents for unconventional oil and gas developments in Scotland whilst further research and a public consultation is carried out. The decision comes days after the UK Government voted against a moratorium.

Last Friday, following the publication of the Smith Command Paper, Mr Ewing wrote to UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey requesting that the UK Government do not issue further licences in Scotland as the powers over licencing are due to be devolved.  In his statement to Parliament Mr Ewing set out that the Scottish Government will undertake additional work to increase the evidence base for decision making on this issue.  In particular Mr Ewing set out that the Scottish Government will:

• Undertake a full public consultation on unconventional oil and gas extraction
• Commission a full public health impact assessment
• Conduct further work into strengthen planning guidance
• Look at further tightening of environmental regulation.

Mr Ewing said yesterday: ‘I am announcing a moratorium on the granting of planning consents for all unconventional oil and gas developments, including fracking. This moratorium will continue until such time as the work I have set out to Parliament today, including a full public consultation, is completed.  The Scottish Government has taken a cautious, considered and evidence-based approach to unconventional oil and gas and fracking.  I have listened carefully to concerns raised by local communities and environmental campaigners. We have put in place robust environmental regulation, tougher planning rules and successfully opposed the UK Government’s plans to end Scottish householders’ rights to object to drilling under their homes.  We recognise that local communities are likely to bear the brunt of any unconventional oil and gas developments, particularly in terms of increased traffic and related emissions and noise impacts. These are issues that must be researched further.  We have listened to legitimate concerns about potential negative impacts. However, we must also acknowledge that some take a different view and see opportunities in unconventional oil and gas extraction.  We should never close our minds to the potential opportunities of new technologies – but we must also ensure that community, environmental and health concerns are never simply brushed aside. This government will not allow that to happen and I hope the actions I have announced today will be widely welcomed as proportionate and responsible.’

The Scottish Planning Policy relating to onshore unconventional oil and gas extraction states:

• Confirmation that the concept of buffer zones should be applied to all proposals for the first time;
• Putting in place an additional requirement for risk assessments to be prepared, using a source-pathway-receptor model, to ensure a transparent and evidence-based approach to assessing whether proposed buffer zones are acceptable;
• Making explicit that buffer zones will be assessed by the planning authority and statutory consultees, with a strong expectation that planning permission should be refused if they are unacceptable;
• Ensuring that operators are upfront about their plans and that communities are consulted on all unconventional gas developments, including close involvement in the risk assessment process;
• Requiring a fresh planning application (and public consultation) if permission was not sought for hydraulic fracturing but developers subsequently intend to undertake this process. 

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) writes:
We are today:

• Making a public commitment to an outright ban on fracking in National Parks, SSSI and AONB.
• Putting in place a range of measures to provide the public with confidence that this industry is being taken forward in a balanced way, including environmental impact assessments, groundwater monitoring and community benefit measures.
• Building on a previous amendment, if the Committee on Climate Change advise us that shale gas may adversely impact on climate change objectives, we commit to either deactivate the underground access provisions or make a written statement to parliament explaining the reasons for not doing so.

View the SG news release

IHBC newsblogs on SPP

View the DECC news release 

Following a recent English Heritage (EH) survey into post-war office buildings, fourteen buildings throughout England have been granted Grade II (GII) listing, and the roof gardens at Mountbatten House in Basingstoke have also been added to the Register of Parks and Gardens at Grade II.

EH writes:
The work of leading modern architects is celebrated today with the listing of 14 of the finest post-war office buildings in England. This follows an English Heritage project to assess commercial buildings from 1964 to 1984.   The new additions to the National Heritage List for England include four buildings by Arup & Associates (1 Finsbury Avenue in London, Gateway House in Basingstoke, Central Electricity Generating Board in Bristol, Gun Wharf in Chatham), two by Richard Seifert & Partners (Space House, London, Alpha Tower in Birmingham) and IBM Pilot Head Office, Cosham by Foster Associates.

Office buildings shape the face of our cities and today’s listings have ensured that this area of architectural achievement is recognised for future generations. Listing helps the nation acknowledge and understand its shared history. It marks and celebrates a building’s special architectural and historic interest, and also brings it under the consideration of the planning system, so that some thought will be given to its future when change is underway.

English Heritage was very selective in which buildings were recommended to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport because the threshold for special architectural or historic interest in recent buildings is particularly high. From the original research we selected 23 buildings for assessment.   Buildings generally become eligible for listing once they pass 30 years from the start of construction, and the earlier on owners can establish whether their building is likely to become listed, the earlier on they can start to plan. This is particularly desirable with commercial buildings which are especially prone to frequent adaptation.   The deregulation introduced to the planning system by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act in 2013 is pertinent to this type of building. With modern offices, the special interest is often concentrated in certain parts of the building: it might be just the lobby, boardroom and façade, that are of special interest, and so it can be clearly set out in the List description which parts of the building are not of interest and can therefore be changed without consent (potentially open office floors, underground car parks etc).

Heritage Minister, Ed Vaizey, said: ‘Listed buildings are not just about historic houses and ancient monuments, they also serve to protect our recent heritage and preserve the best examples of our fantastic architecture. This group of listings reflect the changing face of our working environment and represent the very best in design and it’s entirely right that they be listed Grade II.’

Roger Bowdler, Director of Designation at English Heritage, said:  ‘The clearer we can be about what deserves to be listed, the better for all. These offices show how architecture has adapted to recent radical changes in how we work: they show how the open-plan working space for computer-led work came about, and how architects responded to the need for lettable, attractive spaces with ingenuity and a deep understanding of human needs. Our project has aimed to deliver certainty for owners, while adding to the range of those key buildings which are protected by law. These are all remarkable designs, capable of years of commercially vibrant use. The project has been notable for its extensive research, and for close dialogue with owners.’

Tim Roberts, Head of Offices, British Land, said:  ‘The Grade II listing of 1 Finsbury Avenue has been arrived at after a constructive dialogue between British Land, English Heritage and the City of London Corporation.  The rigorous and detailed analysis and assessment of elements contributing to the significance of 1 Finsbury Avenue means that British Land will have the flexibility to adapt the building to keep pace with the continued evolution of Broadgate as an exemplar of flexible and adaptable commercial place making.’

The 14 buildings listed at Grade II announced today are:

• Brown Shipley, Moorgate, City of London, Fitzroy Robinson & Partners, 1973-5
• 30 Cannon Street (formerly Credit Lyonnais), London, Whinney, Son & Austen Hall, 1974-7
• 1 Finsbury Avenue, City of London, Arup Associates’ Group 2 led by Peter Foggo, 1982-4
• Civil Aviation Authority House, (formerly Space House), Kingsway, Camden London, George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners, 1964-8
• Mountbatten House (formerly Gateway House), Basingstoke, Arup Associates’ Group 2 led by Peter Foggo, 1974-76. The roof gardens at Mountbatten House have also been added to the Register of Parks and Gardens at Grade II
• IBM Pilot Head Office, Cosham, Foster Associates, 1970-71
• Gun Wharf (built as administrative headquarters for Lloyds of London, now civic headquarters for Medway Council), Chatham, Kent, Arup Associates, 1976-8
• Former office of Ryder and Yates, Killingworth, Newcastle, Ryder and Yates, 1964-5
• MEA House, Newcastle upon Tyne, Ryder and Yates, 1972-4
• Bank House, King Street, Leeds, Building Design Partnership, 1969-71
• Former Midland Bank, Dale Street, Liverpool, Raymond Fletcher of Bradshaw, Rowse & Harker, 1971
• St James’s House, Frederick Street, Birmingham, John Madin, 1954-7
• Alpha Tower, Birmingham, George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners, 1970-2
• Former Central Electricity Generating Board Building (The Pavilions), Bristol, Arup Associates, 1975-8

The buildings that were fully assessed but not recommended for listing are:

• Tower 42 (Natwest Tower), London, Richard Seifert & Partners, 1973-81
• Bush Lane House, 80 Cannon Street, London, Arup Associates, 1972-76
• 150 Leadenhall Street & 6-8 Bishopsgate, London, GMW Partnership, 1974-78 & 1977-81
• Gateway Two, Belvedere House, Basingstoke, Arup Associates, 1981-82
• PA Technology and Science Centre, Melbourn, Hertfordshire, Piano & Rogers, 1974-75, 1982-84
• Newspaper House, Oxford, Arup Associates, 1969-71
• Neville House, Birmingham, John Madin, 1975-76
• Natwest, Colmore Road, Birmingham, John Madin, 1969

View the EH press release including images of some of the newly listed buildings 

IHBC newsblogs on listing 

A new independent report commissioned by the The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has stressed the important role which local authorities have in delivering housing provision, urging the government to support them appropriately in this role.

DCLG writes:
Councils can play a greater role in getting the country building, an independent review finds today (27 January 2015).  In their report to the government, Natalie Elphicke and Councillor Keith House argue for councils to be put at the heart of providing more homes across all tenures in their local area.

Under their proposals, councils would become ‘housing delivery enablers’ – assessing the housing need of their area, working with businesses, housing associations and others to provide the homes their residents want and need to build strong and sustainable communities.  In particular, the report urges councils to consider how they can actively support smaller and start-up housing businesses locally – whether with land, finance or training.

Ms Elphicke and Councillor House also urge the government to take steps to support councils as they take on this new role.  Natalie Elphicke said:  All hands are needed on deck. Unlocking councils will help to deliver the homes we need and get more young people onto the housing ladder.  We have talked for a decade. There have been many great reforms. Now it’s time for councils to foster a homebuilding revolution.  Councils hold the key to shake up the status quo and to get Britain building.

Councillor Keith House said:  We have seen some inspiring examples of councils driving housing for their areas, particularly where they have set up housing companies to drive forward housebuilding. With skills and confidence, more councils can help to deliver that step-change in housing supply.  Councils will be central to a successful step-change in housebuilding. It’s now time for action not words. Our report sets out how that can happen.

View the DCLG press release

Download the Elphicke-House report