ACO BUSINESS NEWS on repairs alterations as opposed to (the old ACO chestnut) is not mentioned, but the report does support the ACO in believing that English Heritage should take a lead on giving historic building maintenance advice to owners. Pans 4 and 5 of the report are devoted to Properties in Care and the Historic Palaces and Armouries. They concentrate on presentation ro the public and performance in promoting heritage property. This, the report says, makes a significant contribution to overall economic development in leisure and tourism. Throughout, this report is really about value for money bur the figures and observations show that the conservation of our heri rage has been run on the cheap for too long. National Audit Office. 'Protecting and Managing Englands Heritage Property'.HMSO, £8.75. CONSULTATIONS Just one is worth mentioning: (DoE) Revised Draft PPG Guidance Nore 8 (Telecommunications). The draft fails to bring a potential proliferation of unsightly relecom apparatus under control. While Article 4 Directions migh r be used the PPG makes it clear rhar government intends to limit such powers. Another loophole nor addressed is the possible erection of apparatus on listed church buildings; these are natural target sires particularly where the PCC is looking for income. The Guidance Nore also implies that LPAs should rely on technical information supplied by applicants without any provision for local authorities to seek independent advice. NOTES FROM COUNCIL At its September meeting, Council met Paula Griffiths, a Principal in the Department of National Heritage. She has recently redrafted the long awaited Conservation PPG (currently understood ro be on confidential consultation within English Heritage). The informal discussion was confined ro Ms Griffiths' current work on CONTEXT 36 secondment ro English Heritage to review. the effectiveness of its role in Listed Building Consent applications. The meeting was unanimous in welcoming this essential back-up to local authority work for both its technical and political benefits, bur a number of reservations were expressed about the speed or delivery of the service in particular instances. Considerable dismay was expressed about the apparent docroring of the National Audit Office report Protecting and Managing England's Historic Property prior to publication, as reported in the Secretary's report elsewhere in this issue. ACO was a consultee to NAO during preparation of the report, and ir was decided to impress upon sympathetic MPs the politically inspired shortcomings of the report. Mike Pearce, former ACO chairman and currently with English Heritage, gave a brief resume of the results of the recent survey of local authorities' attitudes to the Buildings-at-Risk Report and other conservation work. In the light of these and the NAO report, English Heritage was reviewing rhe management, criteria and targeting of its grants. Full consultation was expected before any change of policy was finalised. In ant1c1pation, members might wish to consider their views on the future direction of grant aid, and convey these to their Branch reps. The recent Audit Commission reports on Peformance Indicators for Local Authorities (particularly for development control) presaged further criteria for listed building and Conservation Area work. ACO is to ask to be a formal consultee as those studies progress. It was regretted that the RTPI/Chesrertons survey on the effectiveness of Conservation Areas, believed to be circulating in draft form, had nor sought the views of ACO; and that an RICS/English Heritage working group on conservation training had similarly passed us over. Representations had been made to these bodies. The Chairman now represents ACO on the Joint National Committee of Amenity Societies (secretary Matthew Saunders of the Ancient Monuments Society), a body with access to senior levels of government, and from whose notice lirrle of significance in the conservation world escapes. ACO will also benefit from its newly engaged Hansard reading service. Anxiety was expressed over the privatisation of conservation work in Berkshire and about job losses in Winchester. These were felt to be more trade union than ACO matters at present, but it was decided to explore that potential ramifications of Compulsory Competitive Tendering to conservation work, for future discussion. Any members with particular knowledge or experience in this field are asked to come forward. A recent government statement on The Functions of Local Authorities in England, issued as guidance to the Local Government Commission omitted all mention of conservation grants or staffing; it was agreed to draw this omission to the attention of both the Commission and the DoE. ACO members will need to have a weather eye to extracting maximum local and national publicity from conservation achievements in the run-up to local government reorganisation, particularly where they have had economic benefits or have been cost effective. Contact with Branch officers could be helpful in channelling these stories to best effect. Preliminary work on attaining charitable status has now been completed and a draft application has been forwarded to the Charity Commission for comment. Subject to its responding in rime, derails will be submitted for discussion at the 1993 AGM. Mary King (Liverpool) and Richard Morrice (English Heritage) have now formed a small working group with the Chairman to investigate the implications of Institute status. Advice will be sought from other bodies (eg Field Archaeologists) who have recen rly travelled this road. As derailed elsewhere in this issue, final arrangements have been made for the 1993 Annual School in Weymouth, and a draft programme has been completed for the 1994 Annual School in York examining Conservation Areas. An encouraging number of Branches are now holding their own events-John Preston (Cambridge) has been delegated to co-ordinate these so that their timing does not conflict. Council finally lost patience with 15 members who, despite repeated reminders, had still failed to remit their subscriptions for the last two years, and agreed to expel them. Despite their departure, membership continues to grow: 34 new members have joined since the last issue of Context went ro print. ACO is a voluntary organisation very much dependent on the goodwill and commitment of its officers. Chasing bad debts or unpaid subscriptions 1s unnecessarily costly in postage and rime. Council very much hopes that the Treasurer and Membership Secretary will be spared this task in future. Alan Taylor, Stafford URGENT WORKS BEFOREA PPG? Following publication of the ACO Repairs Notices Report [still availableftom the Editor}, thought is now being given to a similar study of Urgent Works Notices (under Section 54). Meanwhile, it is hoped that the long-awaited PPG will offer rather more guidance on both procedures than the desultory nine paragraphs in Circular 8/87. Currently, English Heritage has to be relied on to influence the content of the draft PPG abetted by the helpful National Audit Office report. Anyone with particular ideas or information to contribute please contact The Editor. EAST ANGLIA BRANCH The day conference 'A New Look at Listed Buildings' at Bury Sr Edmunds was a great success thanks to Jenny Carlile's organisation and the support of Sr Edmundsbury District Council. The Athenaeum was a good and very appropriate venue, which we hope to be able to use again. Dr Alastair Ward of English Heritage explained rhe current List Review and the funding situation (only half the requested funds are available). Authorities have to make bids, supported by resources, for reviews. Urban areas give better value for money than rural, and it is hard to justify consolidation exercises when 19th century urban areas have yet to be done. 37
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