24thJuly 2016
Challenges and Opportunities for the Heritage Sector
The response from RESCUE, The British Archaeological Trust.
Dear Tracey Crouch,
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion.RESCUE is a non-political organisation dedicated to supporting archaeology and archaeologists in Britain and abroad ( We do not receive any state support and are entirely dependent on the contributions of our members to support our work. We are pleased to see a recognition of the value of our heritage in the form of round-table discussion to address the current threats and maximise the opportunities for economic growth and community cohesion offered by the protection and promotion of our historic environment. We recently addressed some of these issues in our response to the Culture White Paper sent to your department and we attach a copy.
RESCUE has a number of concerns at the moment; in each case these are aspects of our heritage that are threatened by current government policy, (either directly or as an indirect result of the implementation of policy), but which by their enhancement and promotion offer opportunities to improve local communities, generate activity within local economies and boost heritage tourism which is likely to be a vital source of wealth generation in the years ahead as Britain stands alone. Heritage tourism has been estimated to contribute 2% of GDP ( Other surveys (e.g. Heritage Alliance, Heritage Fact Sheet 1) have shown that 7 out of 10 British adults visit a heritage site over the course of a year and that 30% of overseas visitors claim that heritage is the main driver for their visit (Heritage Alliance Heritage Fact Sheet 2). These are great opportunities to develop this lucrative part of the British economy, provided we respect and enhance all parts of our historic environment rather than denude it as we are as risk of doing now.
Our particular concerns are as follows.
- The impacts of cuts to LPA historic environment services
Our most pressing concern is the sustained pressure on local government archaeological services which are essential to the efficient running of the planning process and yet have been victims to relentless cuts in local government budgets. The officers who run these services and the integral Historic Environment Records (HERs) ensure that the historic environment is adequately taken account of before and during development, and the requirement for archaeological survey, excavation and protection measures is a central principle of the National Planning Policy Framework. Most local councils have reduced their service provision over the last six years and some have cut it altogether, leaving historic environment protection piecemeal and inconsistent across the country. Like many others, we consider it is essential that these local authority Historic Environment advice services and HERs are made a statutory requirement. This is the only way to ensure the safety of these vital services in the future. In 2014 the Howell-Redesdale review of local government archaeological services was commissioned by a DCMS minister in recognition of the deteriorating situation, offering a valuable opportunity to assess the national picture and to provide a framework for the future but this review has not been released. Rescue would like to see the Howell-Redesdale review published so that its recommendations can be discussed.
- Changes both implemented and proposed, to the planning system in relation to the historic environment
Related to the concern expressed under 1, above, we are concerned about the numerous modifications to the planning system that have been proposed (and some implemented) recently by DCLG and hope that you will maintain cross departmental communication about the potential impacts on the historic environment. RESCUE and other archaeological bodies commented on potential impacts of the Housing Act 2016, where we believe the introduction of ‘permission in principle’ for brownfield sites may lead to costly delays at a later stage rather than the intended speeding up of development, unless provision is included to ensure early archaeological surveys are carried out. We are extremely concerned about the new proposals within the Neighbourhood and Planning Infrastructure Bill to reduce pre-commencement conditions, which include historic and natural environment measures. Despite assurances that these two elements are not intended to be adversely affected by this Bill, we cannot see how this can be prevented unless relaxation of environmental protection is specifically excluded from the new proposals. We are alarmed to see the repeated claims that excessive planning conditions are responsible for hindering development while both anecdotal (the experiences of RESCUE members, including LA archaeological officers) and documentary (reports in the Guardian and other newspapers) indicate otherwise. There are many sites with outstanding planning permission being withheld by housebuilders, raising the suspicion that slow take-up is related to the market. Rescue would like to see the government tackle this directly rather than reducing the protection for Britain’s historic environment by numerous changes to the planning system. We are concerned that Historic England has also been under consistent financial pressure that may have reduced their effectiveness in advising on specific and national heritage protection issues..
- Cuts to museum services and museum closures
Again related to financial pressures, we have been watching and campaigning against cuts to museum services, including closing numbers of museums in a single county or district, e.g. in Lancashire, Kirklees, Leicestershire and Staffordshire; along with reductions in opening hours and/or staff. Any reduction in access for the local community and visitors reduces the attractiveness to tourists, who bring with them not just their money to spend on heritage but on other local businesses. At the same time, there is an unquantifiable but possibly more serious impact on the education and participation of children and communities in relation to their local history and cultures. The loss of specialist curators, even in the large national museums, is a concern, especially as the gradual diminishment and denigration of this expertise is not easily replaceable.
- Storage of archaeological finds and records
A long standing and growing problem is that of the storage of archaeological archives. RESCUE has been campaigning on this for many years and yet little progress has been made. We believe the provisions of the current planning process with regard to the curation and storage of archaeological archives, created through planning-related work, to be inadequate and to have clearly been so for a considerable period. RESCUE supports the creation of state-funded Regional Archaeological Resource Centres, where all site archives should be deposited and where facilities should exist for the display of items of note, and where the archives can be made readily accessible for research, education and enjoyment. Local and regional museums should not be obliged to provide curatorial and storage expertise for a burgeoning national archaeological research archive that is the creation of Government policy. It is clearly the responsibility of the national Government both to accept responsibility for this issue and to provide the financial resources needed for a resolution. Archives are not simply an inconvenient by-product of the completion of archaeological projects; they are the future research resource for the advancement of knowledge about the past, understanding of our forebears and development of new techniques of investigation. The profession has made more than adequate moves to to rationalise collections and to hone collection strategies in recent years, and we believe that no further meaningful progress can be made without appropriate Government support, both financially and in the form of a properly balanced strategic programme to provide for a long-term and educationally beneficial solution.
5Agricultural Grants System
One issue that may prove significant in heritage protection will be the future development of agricultural grants systems. At present many of our rural heritage assets, including many archaeological monuments of national importance, are managed beneficially through the Countryside Stewardship scheme. There will be a need for DCMS and HE to be involved at an early stage in any proposals for change.
We hope that you will find our comments helpful and that you will consider including us in your roundtable discussion.
Yours sincerely
Jude Plouviez, Chair