Memorandum submitted by Dr Celia Clark
What should the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport identify as priorities in the forthcoming Heritage White
Paper?
The department's first priority should be to
ensure that existing courses of specialist training for craftspeople
skilled enough to work on historic buildings are supported—if
necessary via a subsidy to the Construction Industry Training
Board or other relevant funders—and that new courses are
started up, in order to address the national shortage of craftspeople
in building conservation. Universities and colleges are closing
such courses because their costs—in specialist teaching,
materials and space requirements are said to be too high. They
need to be persuaded instead to promote such courses at different
levels: initial, advanced and cpd—more widely within the
conservation industry, in order to ensure that the necessary skills
more widely available. An element of subsidy—perhpas via
the CITB—may be necessary.
Local authorities also need stronger encouragement
to recruit and retain specialist conservation staff within planning
departments—who have sufficient understanding of historic
buildings but also of how excellent modern design can be integrated
with and within them. This might be provided at university and
cpd levels.
Local authorities also need to be reminded of
their duty to repair and maintain their own historic buildings.
In times of financial stringency, maintenance budgets are too
often reduced or cut out altogether, with disastrous, and expensive
long term consequences.
Where historic buildings grants are no longer
available, local authorities should be supported by government
in offering these, along with professionally skilled advice. Gains
are then made by owners and by the general public whose money
is used as our historic fabric is kept in good repair.
VAT MUST BE
LEVELLED BETWEEN
NEW WORK
AND REPAIR
TO HISTORIC
BUILDINGS
The remit and effectiveness of DCMS, English Heritage
and other relevant organisations in representing heritage interests
inside and outside Government
Volunteers in the conservation movement are
concerned that the English Heritage budget is cut, and that the
strong links between building and area reuse and the achievement
of sustainability are not acknowledged eg in ODPM.
The balance between heritage and development needs
in planning policy
As above: the strong links between building
and area reuse and the achievement of sustainability should be
acknowledged and drawn upon in policy-making—eg in ODPM.
Sustainable objectives for new development MUST
be reinstated by government, instead of being watered down.
Access to heritage and the position of heritage
as a cultural asset in the community
Even within built up areas, many tourist attractions
are too expensive for local people to visit, so they do not perceive
them as "theirs" or go to see them. Maybe a "locals"
ticket needs to be subsidised by government.
Funding, with particular reference to the adequacy
of the budget for English Heritage and for museums and galleries,
the impact of the London 2012 Olympics on Lottery funding for
heritage projects, and forthcoming decisions on the sharing of
funds from Lottery sources between good causes
The funding for English Heritage needs to be
considerably increased. Competition for Lottery funding leads
to enormous waste of resources and time, and to disappointment
for those involved in unsuccessful bids.
What the roles and responsibilities should be
for English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, local authorities,
museums and galleries, charitable and other non-Governmental organisations
in maintaining the nation's heritage
Non-profit conservation organisations such as
building preservation trusts must be helped by tax incentives
and other incentive measures to take on "difficult"
cases which are not attractive to commercial developers.
Whether there is an adequate supply of professionals
with conservation skills; the priority planned by planning authorities
on conservation; and means of making conservation expertise more
accessible to planning officers, councillors and the general public
As above—the department's first priority
should be to ensure that existing courses of specialist training
for craftspeople skilled enough to work on historic buildings
are supported—if necessary via a subsidy to the Construction
Industry Training Board or other relevant funders—and that
new courses are started up, in order to address the national shortage
of craftspeople in building conservation. Universities and colleges
are closing such courses because their costs—in specialist
teaching, materials and space requirements are said to be too
high. They need to be persuaded instead to promote such courses
at different levels: initial, advanced and cpd—more widely
within the conservation industry, in order to ensure that the
necessary skills more widely available. An element of subsidy—perhaps
via the CITB—may be necessary.
Local authorities also need stronger encouragement
to recruit and retain specialist conservation staff within planning
departments—who have sufficient understanding of historic
buildings but also of how excellent modern design can be integrated
with and within them. This might be provided at university and
cpd levels.
Local authorities also need to be reminded of
their duty to repair and maintain their own historic buildings.
In times of financial stringency, maintenance budgets are too
often reduced or cut out altogether, with disastrous, and expensive
long term consequences, as well as setting a very bad example
to commercial property owners, and giving a poor impression to
visitors and tourists.
Where local centres of design quality advice
in the historic environment and elsewhere exist—eg the South
East Design Panel and the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design—local
authority planners, developers, housing associations, councillors
and the general public—should be encouraged to use their
services. Takeup may be limited by restrictions on local authority
budgets; subsidised courses for these categories would spread
knowledge and expertise.
While television programmes about the historic
environment are not within the government or government agencies'
remit, companies should be encouraged to focus on the challenges
and achievements of conservationists. However, a lottery such
as Restoration, which was bound to be won by places with large
populations is not a useful model.
19 January 2006
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