C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 1 Plas Mawr, Conwy, one of the highlights of the Annual School tours (Photo: Jonathan Taylor) Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No 121 September 2011 IHBC Annual School in Llandudno Conservation and stewardship in uncertain times Editorial Getting heated about investing in value The politics are hotting up. Planning, the government tells us, must shift the balance of its social, environmental and economic goals towards the economic one – as embodied in whoever is seeking planning permission. We have seen this stage of the political cycle before. First the built environment professions object, and are written off as having vested interests. Then pressure groups, such as the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England object, and are duly dismissed as NIMBYs or Barbour-jacketed leftists. But in the past, the planning system has survived. People with political clout tend to live in places that they are keen to protect. Let’s give the government its due. Yes, the planning system has been dysfunctional.Yes, we do need to focus on boosting the economy. But economic issues can not be neatly extricated from social and environmental ones. Do riots and other forms of social breakdown have an impact on the economy? Do attractive historic places have economic value? Do people who invest in buildings look for confidence that public authorities will do what they can to ensure that the quality of the area in which they are investing will be maintained? They do. If economic growth is what we want, we need to promote development that has positive social and environmental value. Planning was invented because in the early 20th century it was realised that the market by itself did not make the necessary fine judgements between economic, social and environmental issues. It is easy enough to say that the interests of economic growth are represented by whoever happens to be applying for planning permission at that moment. But development decisions have impacts on other times and other places. Reconciling those impacts depends on a reflective planning process, not a purely permissive one. In the long run those who advocate such thoughtfulness, including most building conservationists, may yet see such a process emerging, in response to the economic turbulence and climate change that threaten to engulf us. But present indications are that the planning system may be in for a few years of confusion before such sanity prevails. The IHBC Annual School in Llandudno provided valuable guidance on how conservation may yet be able to flourish in such uncertain times. www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a charity in England andWales number 1061593 and in Scotland number SC041945. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. Officers President Trefor Thorpe email president@ihbc.org.uk Chair Jo Evans email chair@ihbc.org.uk Vice Chair Sheila Stones email vchair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary Eddie Booth email secretary@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer Richard Morrice email treasurer@ihbc.org.uk Membership Secretary vacant email membership@ihbc.org.uk Education Secretary John Preston email education@ihbc.org.uk Publicity Secretary Doug Black email publicity@ihbc.org.uk Law & Practice Coordinator vacant email law@ihbc.org.uk Director Seán O’Reilly email director@ihbc.org.uk Projects Officer Fiona Newton email projects@ihbc.org.uk Consultant Consultations Coordinator James Caird email consultations@ihbc.org.uk Membership Services Officer Carmen Moran email membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk Administration Officer Lydia Porter email admin@ihbc.org.uk Committee Chairs Policy Mike Brown email policy@ihbc.org.uk Membership & Ethics Paul Butler email membership@ihbc.org.uk Finance & Resources Richard Morrice email resources@ihbc.org.uk Education John Preston email education@ihbc.org.uk Communications & Outreach Charles Strang email communications@ihbc.org.uk Branch Officers North Geoff UnderwoodTel 0191 433 3435 NorthWest Kate Borland Tel 0778 0704726 Yorkshire Keith Knight Tel 01904 658482 West Midlands Charles Shapcott Tel 0121 7044312 East Midlands Roy Lewis Tel 01636 619335 South Julia Foster Tel 01296 585888 SouthWest JamesWebbTel 01202 732849 East Anglia Phil Godwin Tel 01263 516131 South East Sean Rix Tel 01483 523379 London David McDonald Tel 020 7361 3352 Scotland Stuart Eydmann Tel 01506 775279 Wales Nathan Blanchard Tel 01492 583443 Northern Ireland Colin Hatrick Tel 028 9064 1126 Republic of Ireland Cormac O’Sullivan Tel 00353 5677 62907 Business Office Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA England Tel 01747 873133 Fax 01747 871718 email admin@ihbc.org.uk Briefing 2 Out of Context 4 The writer’s voice 4 Periodically 5 IHBC Annual School 2011 Navigating the shallows: conservation and stewardship in uncertain times Edward Holland 9 Day School reports Video address from Huw Lewis, minister for housing, regeneration and heritage Neil Maylan 12 Straws in the wind at the HLF Paul Butler 13 Can communities deliver conservation-led regeneration? JohnYates 13 The heritage skills agenda Harriet Devlin 14 Heritage asset transfer: a growing opportunity David Kincaid 14 Localism, the Big Society and the historic environment Simon Robertshaw and Amy Longford 15 Thoughts from theWildWest Robert Chambers 16 A new paradigm for the built environment sector Dave Chetwyn 17 Securing quality of design in challenging times DavidViner 17 Study tours Visits to Bodnant and Gwydir Castle Kate Biggs 20 Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan: a long way west to find North David McDonald 21 Lady Forester’s Convalescent Home and St George’s National School, Llandudno Barbara Hornbrook 22 Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda Lucie Carayon 23 Visits to Conwy Castle, town walls, planned town and Plas Mawr Malcolm Cooper and John Preston 24 The plight of Leeds and Liverpool’s religious heritage Stephen Brothwell 28 Representing women’s history Kate Jordan 32 Architecturally speaking 34 Notes from the chair 36 Director’s cut 38 Vox pop 39 Conference report: BTU Cottbus, Germany Dennis Rodwell 41 Book reviews 42 Products and services 45 Advertisers index 48
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