{"id":4267,"date":"2012-06-01T16:32:51","date_gmt":"2012-06-01T16:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=4267"},"modified":"2012-06-01T16:32:51","modified_gmt":"2012-06-01T16:32:51","slug":"ihbc-englands-new-heritage-bill-proposals-can-work-only-with-skills-capacity-political-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=4267","title":{"rendered":"IHBC: England\u2019s new heritage bill proposals can work only with \u2018skills, capacity & political will\u2019!"},"content":{"rendered":"

A suite of heritage legislation has been introduced in England\u2019s new Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, including<\/span>:<\/p>\n

\u00b7 the merger of planning permission & Conservation Area Consent<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Heritage Partnership Agreements<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 A statutory basis for circumscribing the boundaries of \u2018special interest\u2019 in list descriptions<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the UK\u2019s lead professional body for built and historic environment conservation specialists, has said that the reforms can work only if supported by relevant conservation skills in both private and public sectors, essential local authority capacity, and the political will to implement them.<\/p>\n

Jo Evans, IHBC Chair, said: \u2018The current heritage proposals are a legacy of the old reforms promoted under English Heritage’s ‘Heritage Protection Reform’ initiative. These were endorsed in the IHBC-led joint response to the 2008 Heritage Bill – supported by organisations representing some 250,000 professional memberships – with the caveat that skills, capacity and political will were there to underpin the changes. That caveat still stands!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018These proposals also address concerns raised in the planning review led by Adrian Penfold for the Department for Business Industry and Skills (DBIS). Penfold stressed that, for the planning system to work, there was an over-riding need for proper conservation skills both inside and outside local authorities, and he specified the IHBC\u2019s professional skills as a model for professionals.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The IHBC supported Penfold\u2019s original call for skills and capacity to underpin any successful reform. So while we see real value in the proposals, without wider change and investment they will not resolve the huge burden currently placed on conservation professionals responsible for managing one of the nation\u2019s most valuable resources, its built heritage\u2019.<\/p>\n

Mike Brown, IHBC Policy Secretary, said: \u2018Hospitals could not work without skilled staff, nor can conservation services. Our support for the proposals in the original Heritage Bill was offered in the context of integrated reform and capacity-building, not least with requirements for appropriately skilled conservation advice in local authorities. That was, and is, essential to any successful progress in heritage management.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018With the dramatic cut-backs in local authority conservation capacity since then \u2013 down nearly a quarter in little more than 5 years – alongside a wider lack of recognition of conservation skills, the IHBC is not confident that the reforms can bring benefits without threats to the wider public interest in England\u2019s heritage.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018On the proposals themselves, in our original comments on the unification of planning permission and Conservation Area Consent, we asked that the criminal penalty for contravention be continued into any new system, and now welcome the fact that the current drafting recognises that need.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018We are also happy to see that the Heritage Partner Agreements will have a substantial legislative foundation as they should encourage an appropriate level of expert input at the heart of the management process. However we are, as ever, unclear on the capacity of local authorities to help get these operational, not least due to the front-loading investment such agreements usually demand.\u2019<\/p>\n

‘Circumscribing the limits of list descriptions is a challenging concept that must be treated with caution. However, once the proper skills and resources are employed in determining the special interest in listed heritage, this should make it easier for managers, owners and other interested parties to target that public interest. Clearly this idea also resonates with the flexibility that the modification to the certificate of immunity from listing can provide, now allowing the application to be submitted at any time.\u2019<\/p>\n

Notes<\/span>
\nThe new Regulatory Reform Bill, presented to Parliament by business secretary Vince Cable, is aimed at creating sustainable growth, with the centre-piece being the creation of the UK Green Investment Bank. A heritage \u2018coda\u2019 \u2013 Schedule 16 \u2013 has been used to introduce select initiatives left over from the former failed Heritage Bill of 2008, English Heritage\u2019s flagship attempt to reconstruct heritage legislation under its \u2018Heritage Protection Reform\u2019 (HPR) initiative.<\/p>\n

See Urban Splash\u2019s response at<\/span>: LINK
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

See English Heritage\u2019s response at<\/span>: LINK<\/a><\/p>\n

See the Bill progress and links at<\/span>: LINK<\/a><\/p>\n

See the Bill as introduced at<\/span>: LINK<\/a><\/p>\n

Search Planning Portal<\/span>: LINK<\/a><\/p>\n

BIS Gov News<\/span>: LINK<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A suite of heritage legislation has been introduced in England\u2019s new Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, including: \u00b7 the merger of planning permission & Conservation Area Consent \u00b7 Heritage Partnership Agreements \u00b7 A statutory basis for circumscribing the boundaries of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4268,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions\/4268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}