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Morning [firstname,fallback=Subscriber] / Issue 253 - Friday26April2013

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/ HEADLINES /
Registration open for Heritage Debate York!
The Alliance is delighted to announce the second in its series of public heritage debates to examine some of the more controversial issues we face in caring for the huge range of hstoric assets we have in this country.
Registration is now open for the Alliance's new Debate 'Heritage and Television - Who Profits More?', to be held from 6:30pm on 12 June at the Merchant Adventurer's Hall in York.
Building on the extremely popular 'Heritage and Tourism - Who Needs Whom?' held in Cambridge last October, this York Debate will be chaired by Alliance Chairman Loyd Grossman and will feature Dr Anna Whitelock,Director of the Centre for Public History, Heritage and Engagement with the Past at Royal Holloway; John Goodall, Architectural Editor of Country Life and Ed Taylor, Executive Producer at ITV Studios.
Generously sponsored by Ecclesiastical and held in partnership with the Centre for Conservation Studies, York University. The event is free of charge but tickets are limited, so book now. For more details please click here and to register email .

Culture Secretary is 'fighting culture’s corner in an age of austerity'
Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture Media &Sport, gave her first major culture speech at the British Museum on 24 April. While she assured the audience that culture had a fundamental role in society today, she warned against the arts being treated a special case in terms of the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. She encouraged all ‘to get a proper grasp of the economic impact of culture’ asking for help in ‘reframing the arguments to hammer home the hidden values of arts to the economy’. One new element was the emphasis she put on the international impact of our culture, in soft diplomacy and in developing the trade deals of the future.
In reply to the Heritage Alliance’s question on whether her comments on the arts applied equally to heritage interests, she confirmed the national values applied to heritage and that some sectors were more forward-thinking than others. At the recent Heritage Round Table she had convened, she had been impressed with what heritage organisations had shown her about the economic impact of heritage.
To help her make the case to Treasury, she concluded: ‘My call to you as arts and cultural leaders then is simple. I ask you: to continue to build resilience, self-confidence and self-reliance; to seek out new artistic and commercial opportunities; to position yourself squarely within the visitor economy; and to look for international opportunities which will benefit Britain’.

HLF launches Heritage Enterprise
The Heritage Lottery Fund has launched an innovative new grant scheme aimed at unlocking the economic potential of historic buildings and sites across the UK.
Heritage Enterprise will provide grants of between £100,000 and £5 million to support the repair, adaptation and refurbishment of buildings, turning them into offices, workshops or flats. Community groups are even encouraged to work with private developers to achieve their goals.
With a commitment of at least £25million per annum over the next five years, HLF’s new scheme will empower not-for-profit organisations, such as community groups and social enterprises to work in partnership with the private sector to rescue and return neglected historic buildings to productive use.
Heritage Enterprise is designed to address 'market failure' – where historic buildings have failed to attract investment to realise their potential business premium because their cost of repair has meant that it is not commercially viable for private developers to take on. In addition, projects can apply to the HLF for a limited amount of funding that will support capital works whilst a project is being planned such as stabilisation works or 'meanwhile uses'.

New Ideas need Old Buildings
The Heritage Lottery Fund’s latest research demonstrates the contemporary value of our heritage. Following on from the 2010 study of heritage-led tourism, Investing in Success, New Ideas need Old Buildings shows how distinctive areas attract high value businesses. Innovation, new products and new services flourish best in cities possessed of a good stock of historic, distinctive buildings.
The report, undertaken with Oxford Economics, English Heritage and the property market experts Colliers International, finds that the areas of cities where there is a higher density of listed buildings also have a higher concentration of businesses linked to the creative and knowledge economy. A commercial business based in a listed building generates on average 4.4% more than the average of all commercial buildings across the UK. So, rather than being a drag on productivity, listed buildings attract businesses in the most productive sectors of the economy.
Dame Jenny Abramsky, HLF Chair, believes that ‘the opportunities for heritage to make a major contribution to our future economic well-being are now being realised and taken more seriously’. This significant research from HLF gives us all the evidence to make our case even more strongly.

Sector reactions to curriculum consultation
Consultation on proposed changes to the National Curriculum has now closed, with the Alliance submitting a detailed critique on behalf of its members.
However, several Alliance members - such as the Black Environment Network, the Historic Houses Association and Historic Royal Palaces have also responded outlining their specific concerns.
Bodies such as the Arts Council, the Historical Association and the Geographical Association have also criticised the Education Secretary's proposals on everything from overlooking climate change to insufficient engagement across subjects.
A Departmental response is expected later in the year, along with further consultation on the GCSE and A-level curriculum.

Nominations open for Heritage Alliance Heroes Awards
Nominations are now open for the third annual Heritage Alliance Heroes Awards.
Presented every December at the Alliance's Heritage Day, the Heroes Awards recognise oustanding volunteer effort in organisations across the historic environment. Last year's winner was Paul Griffiths of the Monastery of St Francis and Gorton Trust for his 'Return of the Saints' project. Special mention went to Norman Tulip, Chief Engineer of the historic SS Shieldhall on the Solent.
Please send your nominations to Sam Bradley headed 'Heritage Alliance Heroes'.

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NEWS /
Did you know that you are able to advertise in Update - which reaches around 13,000 people around the world – and it’s FREE for Alliance members!
If you wish to advertise please contact the Editor Sam Bradleyand for vacancies, voluntary and paid, in the sector please scroll to ‘Jobs’.

Boles - "Conservation should be led by commerce"
Planning Minister Nick Boles made a passionate case for commercially-minded conservation in his speech to Alliance member the Heritage of London Trust's annual conference at Westminster City Hall on Wednesday.
Speaking to an audience of conservation officers and historic environment professionals, he argued that aesthetically pleasing and affordable housing was possible, with developers recognising a profit incentive on good design.
He also strongly defended his previous statements on development in green belts, saying that campaigning groups had not been "entirely responsible" when it came to their representations of government policy.
For a full text of the speech, please click here.

Civic Voice fights back on extension proposals
The controversial amendments to permitted development rights for single-story extensions in Growth and Infrastructure Bill's permitted development rights on single-story extensions have been temporarily laid to rest.
Following a narrow victory in the Commons on the original Bill, the Government has included an amendment that requires homeowners to outline their proposed extensions to the local authority, who will then inform 'adjoining neighbours' and give them 21 days to object.
Alliance member Civic Voice, which led the campaign against the extension of permitted development, welcomed the compromise. Chair Paula Ridley added "The civic society movement is not against development, but we believe that this can be best delivered without removing the voice of individuals and reducing the quality of new development."

Volunteering legacy might 'fizzle out'
A committee of MPs has warned that the volunteering legacy of the Olympics is in danger of 'fizzling out' without strong leadership from government.
The Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Margaret Hodge MP, voiced these concerns in a statement accompanying their review of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Though the Cabinet Office had set up the Join In Trust to encourage former Games Makers into further volunteering, the Committee saw "no clear plan for capitalising on the contribution Games Makers can make to other volunteering initiatives."
Hodge also added that Lottery good causes - whose revenue was raided in the run-up to the Games - needed to see some return from the development of the Olympic Park.

Europa Nostra - 14 Most Endangered
An earthquake-damaged monastery and the gas-lit street-lamps of Berlin are among the 14 Most Endangered heritage assets in Europe, according to pan-European heritage organisation Europa Nostra.
This comprises the part of their '7 Most Endangered' programme - the final list of which will be published Europa Nostra’s 50th Anniversary Congress in Athens on 16 June.
After this, 'rescue missions' of heritage experts and financial advisors from the European Investment Bank will assess the seven finalists and present their 'action plans' to the European Heritage Policy Conference in Brussels on 5 December.

Landscape Institute - Visual Impact Guidance
The much-anticipated third edition of Guidance for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment has been released and is now available.
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) can be key to planning decisions by identifying and assessing the effects of new developments on views, visual amenity and on the landscape as a resource in its own right.
This guide - produced jointly by the Landscape Institute and the Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment - presents an authoritative statement of the principes of assessment. For more information and to order a copy, please click here.

Charities Online launched
22 April saw the launch of the new Charities Online initiative, allowing charities to sign up to make GiftAid repayment claims electronically. The new system has up to 1,000 subcribers already, according to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
But this comes in the same week that the Charity Retail Association criticised HMRC for not issuing guidance on the new rules on retail GiftAid that came into force at the beginning of April. At the time, the CRA estimated that the move would save charities millions of pounds in administration costs.
A spokesman from HMRC said "The guidance is being finalised with help from the sector and we hope to publish it very soon."

EH lists model village
A model village - reputedly Britain's oldest - has been Grade II-listed by English Heritage.
A recreation of Bourton-in-the-Water, the "Little Venice of the Cotswolds", work started on the model in 1938 and took craftsmen five years to complete. Entirely built of authentic materials like locally-quarried Cotswold limestone, the village is so detailed that visitors can see the pews through the stained-glass windows of parish church.
English Heritage cited the "charming creation's" excellent craftsmanship as part of the reason for listing.

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ALSO THIS FORTNIGHT /
Family Friendly Heritage: request for views
The Heritage Alliance has been carrying out a research project into Family Friendly Heritage funded by English Heritage. This research will help to identify the level of demand to continue the Discover Explore project piloted in 2012 as part of Discovering Places, on a wider scale across England.
The Alliance need to hear your view on Family Engagement. If you are a heritage or natural environment location that is open to the public it would be appreciated if you could give us 10 minutes of your time to fill out a short questionnaire. For further information on the project please click here.
A family is defined in this case as a group of adults and children (0yrs to 16yrs) visiting outside of school hours; and engagement as activities that adults and children could do together to learn about the heritage or natural environment they are visiting.
For further information about the project please contact Claire Horan.

Survey on graduate careers in heritage
In light of the ongoing challenges facing the historic environment, Angharad Bullward - of youngfreeandmuseumminded - is looking to map graduate careers within the sector.
To this end, it would be appreciated if readers could take the time to complete this quick survey.

National Heritage Training Group - Placement Opportunities
Two exciting opportunities have arisen for placements with McCurdy and Co., specialists in the repair and conservation of
historic timber framed buildings.
Initially based in the company's workshop in Berkshire, trainees would also work on historic sites in London and possibly other areas.
Both placements run from the week commencing 10 June 2013 with an application deadline of 24 May 2013. Placements run for six months. For more information and to apply, please click here.