Supplementary Memorandum by English Heritage
(HIS 32(b))
EXAMPLES OF
SPOT LISTING
PROCEDURES DURING
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
The Secretary of State is bound by law to list
any buildings that are of special interest when they are drawn
to her attention, but cases where buildings are listed when detailed
plans for their redevelopment have already been drawn up are nevertheless
rare. One recent case, which might have caused problems had the
decision gone the other way, was Birmingham Central Library, where,
having been advised by EH that the building was of listable quality,
the Secretary of State's decision was not to list; (that the building
was not of special interest). Another recent case involved Drapers
Gardens, a 1960s office block by Seifert and Partners in the City
of London. Although recommended by English Heritage for listing
in 1994, the then Secretary of State decided that it was not of
sufficient interest to merit listing. Redevelopment proposals
were drawn up with the support of English Heritage, and in 2002
the owners asked for confirmation that it was not listable. Since
there had been no change in the historic significance of the building,
English Heritage had no option but to repeat its earlier advice,
although aware of the problems that might be caused. In the event,
the Secretary of State reached the same decision as her predecessor.
ENGLISH HERITAGE'S
AREA GRANT
SCHEMES
English Heritage's Heritage Economic Regeneration
Schemes (HERS) were introduced in 1999 as the successor to its
Conservation Area Partnership Scheme (CAPS). In all, there have
been five annual rounds, the final one starting in 2003-04. As
each HERS round runs for three years, the final offers will be
made in 2005-06. There will then be a further two-year run-on
period to enable work to be completed and the grants claimed.
Following consultation, a new grants strategy
was approved by English Heritage's Commission in March 2003. This
will be implemented through a series of Regional Casework Delivery
Strategies which are being developed in consultation with regional
and local partners. These are due to be finalised in April. English
Heritage's regions will have the freedom to continue to support
partnerships with local authorities to encourage area regeneration,
and will be able to determine within the available funding what
the level of grants should be.
STAFF WITH
COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE,
AND STAFF
WITH DEGREES
IN ARCHAEOLOGY
We do not maintain central records of the degrees
held by our staff and their experience before they joined English
Heritage. It may be more helpful to the Committee to identify
the balance of specialist skills offered by front-line staff dealing
with casework:
— 32 Inspectors of Ancient Monuments,
most of whom are archaeologists by background.
— 103 Inspectors of Historic Buildings,
Historic Areas Advisors, Historic Buildings Architects, Historic
Buildings Surveyors, Landscape Architects and Planners. They are
architectural historians, architects, chartered surveyors and
qualified planners.
SECONDMENTS
English Heritage encourages the use of both
inward and outward secondments, which provide a flexible means
of resourcing new initiatives or projects and help employees develop
and apply their own skills.
Recent outward placements have been with ONE
North East, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,
Norton Rose, the Church of England, the National Heritage Memorial
Fund, the Historic Chapels Trust, the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport, the British Library and the Museums Documentation
Association. Staff have been seconded to English Heritage from
Avon Fire Brigade, the Department for Transport and the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport.
ADDITIONAL COSTS
OF LISTED
BUILDINGS
The most robust evidence for the costs and benefits
of occupying listed buildings are contained in The In vestment
Performance of Listed Office Buildings, a regular report carried
out by the Investment Property Databank for English Heritage and
the RICS Foundation. A copy of the most recent research, carried
out in 2002, is enclosed. This shows that over the 21 years from
1981 to 2001,the investment performance of listed offices outperformed
that of unlisted offices. The only sustained period of under-performance
was between 1990 and 1992 during the property crash. Other relevant
evidence is reported on pp 38-64 of Heritage Counts 2003,
also enclosed. On p 44 we report research demonstrating that Victorian
housing costs less to maintain and occupy than that erected in
the 1980s, largely due to the quality and durability of the materials
used.
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