Supplementary memoranda from the Historic
Houses Association (HHA)
A number of member properties of the Historic
Houses Association, as you will be aware, have participated in
the HPAs pilots and below is a summary of their experiences which
the Committee may find useful. Please do not hesitate to contact
me is I can help further.
HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENTS: HHA VIEWS
The development of Heritage Partnership Agreements
must be effectively resourced. The proposal to introduce management
agreements has, in our view, the potential to be one of the single
most useful elements of the review. These agreements can encourage
a positive approach to longer term management, promote effective
partnerships between stakeholders and give certainty and clarity
to those responsible for managing historic places.
Feedback from those HHA members who have taken
part in the pilots have shown, however, that there are some significant
shortcomings which need to be resolved:
— HPAs will not always give the flexibility
that may be needed. There appears to be no constructive way to
deal with proposals and projects that fall outside the plan (for
example, a project to find a use for a redundant listed building).
For a dynamic, viable estate this is a real issue.
— The local authority personal do not
seem to be empowered to give a holistic view of the development
of an historic asset and are unwilling to agree to proposals which
would also need planning permission and/or were subject to building
regulations. It is imperative that planning and building staff
are brought into discussions at an early state.
— There were some concerns about how
genuine the "partnership" actually is. It is the local
authority which appears to retain the decision-making powers and
there is no mechanism to appeal.
— Structural and resourcing issues
within local authorities is a grave concern. In one case an estate
which fell within two local authorities, appeared to cause almost
insurmountable difficulties. In another changes in personnel (the
entire teams changed three times) caused practical problems.
In summary, the key lesson is that agreements
take time and resources to put in place and their development
needs to be effectively resourced. Whilst agreements are likely
to result in longer-term savings, significant upfront investment
and time is required to establish them and make them work. We
also recommend that their availability should not be restricted
to "complex sites". Any heritage entity comprising more
than one type of asset—what could be termed "multiple
sites"—could benefit.
The HHA would like to reiterate its support
for HPAs. We are concerned that their potential will not be realised
as local authorities will not be able to resource their implementation
and they will remain very much the exception. This would be a
lost opportunity.
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