The IHBC has condemned as \u2018a miserable and avoidable saga\u2019 the continuing cuts in local authority (LA) conservation services revealed in recent research carried by the Institute, which confirms that conservation capacity has been reduced by a further 1.4% in the last year, making it a cumulative decline of over 35% since 2006<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n
IHBC Chair Mike Brown said: \u2018Continuous and relentless cuts in conservation services over the past nine years have had a devastating effect on local authorities which often are no longer even able to carry out their statutory conservation duties.\u00a0 This is a long-term decline that is now set into the minds of managers and politicians, and in many places shows no signs of changing.\u00a0 The threat to our heritage through this lack of specialist professional capacity is immense.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018These statistics represent a miserable and avoidable saga: owners of listed buildings have been let down and left without anyone to turn to for advice; planners are making decisions on our most precious buildings without specialist input, and developers are finding out about conservation issues too late in the development process, with knock on additional costs and extended timescales.\u2019<\/p>\n
The seventh annual report on local authority staff resources captures the dramatic impact of local government cutbacks on the infrastructure of heritage management, highlighting that, while the scale of decline has reduced:<\/p>\n
IHBC Director Sean O’Reilly said: ‘These statistics represent another thread in the most substantial body of data, research and knowledge in conservation services in the UK, all centred on\u00a0the IHBC’s work.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018That data and research, produced in parallel to archaeological statistics by ALGAO also funded by Historic England, and shaped by our own expertise as well as that of our colleagues and partners, means that the IHBC is perfectly placed to advise on the capacity of an organisation or service to respond to their statutory or non-statutory obligations relating to conservation and related services and outcomes. \u00a0So if you would like to know more about our work in these areas please feel free to contact the institute direct.’<\/p>\n
Download the report HERE<\/a><\/p>\n Find out more about the IHBC at www.ihbc.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The IHBC has condemned as \u2018a miserable and avoidable saga\u2019 the continuing cuts in local authority (LA) conservation services revealed in recent research carried by the Institute, which confirms that conservation capacity has been reduced by a further 1.4% in … Continue reading