{"id":45111,"date":"2026-01-16T16:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T16:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=45111"},"modified":"2026-01-16T17:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:19:11","slug":"ihbc-responds-to-mhclg-consultation-onreforms-to-the-statutory-consultee-system-highlighting-the-serious-threat-to-heritage-conservationthey-represent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=45111","title":{"rendered":"IHBC responds to MHCLG consultation on \u2018Reforms to the statutory consultee system\u2019, highlighting the \u2018serious threat to heritage conservation\u2019 they represent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IHBC_Consultations.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IHBC_Consultations.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30442\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The IHBC has submitted its response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities &amp; Local Government (MHCLG) consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system, highlighting their \u2018serious threat to heritage conservation\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Roy Lewis, Chair of the IHBC\u2019s Policy Committee and lead on IHBC\u2019s Consultation Panel responses, said: \u2018The proposed changes to statutory consultation are a serious threat to heritage conservation.&nbsp; Dispensing with the views of knowledgeable experts can only be unhelpful in securing well-informed decisions on development proposals that impact on heritage assets.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Removing the ability of The Gardens Trust, The Theatres Trust, and Historic England to influence decisions in a relatively small number of cases affecting places of acknowledged significance, without any evidence that their involvement serves no purpose, seems to me to be just another step in the arbitrary dismantling of the planning system.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IHBC writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026. Statutory consultees are key to shaping planning decisions by providing expert advice and guidance. Their insights help drive sustainable development whilst protecting our cultural heritage, and promoting community pride and well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Removing heritage bodies from the list of statutory consultees will do nothing to \u2018promote growth and unblock building\u2019 but it is likely to accelerate the loss of or harm to irreplaceable heritage assets\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See the <a href=\"https:\/\/ihbc.org.uk\/consultations\/docs\/Reforms%20to%20the%20statutory%20consultee%20system%20IHBC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IHBC\u2019s Consultation Response<\/a> in full<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>IHBC\u2019s Consultations Panel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IHBC constantly monitors Government Departments and other national and regional organisations for relevant proposed changes to legislation, policy and guidance. The Consultations Panel formulates responses to these documents on behalf of the IHBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ihbc.org.uk\/resources_head\/consultations\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See here for current relevant consultations that the IHBC is aware of and for past consultation responses.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>NOTE: The IHBC may not necessarily comment on all these consultations, but we are glad to hear opinions on them from both members and non-members.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The IHBC has submitted its response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities &amp; Local Government (MHCLG) consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system, highlighting their \u2018serious threat to heritage conservation\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,18,92,256,23,9,29,16,22],"class_list":["post-45111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog","tag-building","tag-conservation","tag-consultation","tag-development","tag-expertise","tag-government","tag-heritage","tag-planning","tag-skills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45111","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45111"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45124,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45111\/revisions\/45124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}