| 1. Heritage Counts East Midlands: The annual Heritage Counts report for 2008 can be downloaded from www.heritagecounts.org.uk and hard copies can be ordered via paul.bodenham@english-heritage.co.uk. It provides a snapshot of the state of the region’’s historic environment, and a summary of changes proposed to the way it is managed in future. For highlights see the article at item 12. Please feel free to include this article in your organisation’’s newsletter and circulate it with this bulletin to your contacts.
2. Draft Heritage Protection Bill: The Government response to the report of the Culture Media and Sport Committee is at http://www.dcms.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5075.aspx. A more detailed assessment of costs and staffing implications for local authorities is being undertaken, and work has begun on drafting of a new Planning Policy Statement to replace PPGs 15 and 16. In the event the Bill was not included in this year’’s Queen’’s Speech on 3 December, although much of the programme of reform can continue to proceed. For further details see http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/historic_environment/5644.aspx and www.english-heritage.org.uk/reform .
3. EMDA Heritage Investment Framework: The framework, trailed at the recent sub-regional historic environment Summits will be available on the EMDA website before Christmas.
4. Sub-National Review: The outcome of the government’’s consultation on future arrangements for economic development and regeneration was announced after the Forum’’s meeting –– see http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/citiesandregions/govresponseprosperousplaces. Meanwhile negotiations are taking place on new arrangements for the devolution of EMDA funding to upper-tier local authority level.
A regional economic cabinet has been established to address the downturn, which will be chaired by the Regional Minister Phil Hope.
5. Crafts and skills: The regional action group met for a second time on 22 September. It is developing a work programme and aproposal with which to seek funds for a co-ordinator. 6. Cultural Olympiad: Between now and the 2012 Games the region will be offering a varied and extensive cultural programme in the Cultural Olympiad. One scheme in it is Access All Areas, which in 2011 and 2012 will build on the success of Heritage Open Days. It will be part of a wider programme called Discovering Places, which will include O.space, promoted by CABE to showcase the regeneration and architectural transformation at the London 2012 Olympic Park and its relevance to neighbourhoods across the UK; Leeds Metropolitan University, whose Action Replay roadshow will give young people the opportunity to participate in and learn about early sports and how they shaped the global games of today; and Natural England, whose Open up to Nature programme will complement Access All Areas and connect new audiences to the inspiration of the UK’’s natural environment. The programme will be co-ordinated by Catharine Bull at Heritage Link.
Besides Discovering Places, other Cultural Olympiad programmes are being developed. MLA has a national programme of initiatives for the museums, libraries and archives sector –– Setting The Pace (http://www.mlaeastmidlands.org.uk/our_work/cultural_olympiad/setting_the_pace.html), and regionally for this sector Renaissance East Midlands and MLA East Midlands are commissioning a programme of activities to commence in 2009 marking the Special Olympics in Leicester.
7. Constructive Conservation in Practice: This new English Heritage publication illustrates successes from collaborative approaches to conservation-led development (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.19364).
8. East Midlands Cultural Partnership: English Heritage, together with Arts Council, MLA and Sport England, are forming a new regional partnership to deliver a programme of work in each region, which includes support for local government improvement and the Cultural Olympiad. The changes were announced in the summer by the then Culture Minister Margaret Hodge, and will include the winding-up of regional consortiums including Culture East Midlands. English Heritage will be able to ensure that voluntary and third sector organisations are kept in touch through the Heritage Forum.
9. K6 Telephone Kiosks: The telephone kiosks designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott are a much loved feature in the street scene, but with the fall in demand for payphone services British Telecom is proposing a substantial reduction. Listed K6 kiosks will be retained in use, but for the rest local authorities have been invited register interest in the adoption of redundant kiosks by local communities. They may also appeal against a proposal to remove.
10. Sub-regional historic environment summits: Nearly 300 people attended the five events which took place in June and October round the region. The Heritage Forum agreed a report on the outcomes, which will be circulated shortly to everyone who booked.
11. Review of Heritage Forum: The Forum has reviewed its own way of working in the light of the outcomes from the summits. We would like to share the information available to the Forum with a wider audience. A bulletin like this one will therefore be circulated via Forum representatives to the organisations they represent, and to officers and Heritage Champions in local authorities. The Forum will also be seeking to strengthen relations with people who work at sub-regional level as it travels round the region for meetings in 2009.
12. A busy year for heritage, and there’s more to come –
The East Midlands Heritage Forum has launched the annual report Heritage Counts 2008: East Midlands, which provides a snapshot of the state of the region’’s historic environment in 2008. It reports success in reducing the number of sites on the English Heritage ‘‘Heritage at Risk’’ register, and a busy year for the region’’s historic attractions and museums.
The chair of the East Midlands Heritage Forum, Anthony Streeten, said ‘‘Heritage Counts is a testament to the efforts of the many dedicated people who care deeply about the places where they live and work. But it also contains a warning: we need to work together to make sure our heritage gains from an ever-changing political and economic climate.’’
A number of forthcoming changes were examined recently in five ‘‘summits’’ which the Heritage Forum organised around the region. In total nearly 300 professionals, councillors and volunteers gathered to make plans for the future of their areas.
Far-reaching reforms to local government are beginning to take effect, and there is an increasing focus on the way councils protect historic buildings and monuments. A shake-up is planned to the way regeneration is funded in the East Midlands. Furthermore, decisions have to be made on major housing developments throughout the region.
‘There was a real appetite at the summits to work together at local level’, said Dr Streeten, who is also Regional Director for English Heritage. ‘The Forum has a leadership role at regional level, but we will also be making sure that people at local level –– in councils and the wider community –– have the tools they need’.
The Forum plans a ‘Prospectus’ to ensure that the heritage sector’s voice is heard. Heritage Counts: East Midlands has been published in the meantime to coincide with the launch of a national Heritage Counts report which shows trends affecting the historic environment across England as a whole.
The six-page regional report illustrates how communities round the region are already showing the way. Northamptonshire has undertaken work to ensure that a proposed housing development is sensitive to characteristics and features of the landscape. A scheme to renovate shop fronts, streets and buildings in the Derbyshire town of Swadlincote has brought its industrial heritage, and its economy, to life. Leicester has used its variety of faith buildings to bring diverse communities together. In a prize-winning scheme the Peak District has used Environmental Stewardship funds to secure the future of its archaeology, and Lincolnshire is involving people at community level in a concerted strategy to protect local heritage.
Hard copies of the report can be ordered from English Heritage, 44 Derngate, Northampton NN1 1UH. Email paul.bodenham@english-heritage.org.uk or call 01949 869135.
|
