REGIONAL NEWS North West Region In Sefton District, Merseyside, the local authority has secured a successful prosecution under Section 55 (subsection 1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 against a building company in Formby for work which resulted in the unauthorized demolition of a pair of late Cl8 Grade II listed estate cottages. The cottages, 61 and 63 Ravenmeols Lane Formby, had been the subject of Notices, but before the Notices could be served, the developer obtained pJ.anning permission and listed building consent for the extension and repair of the cottages and began work without taking adequate precautions to protect and shore up the structures, which subsequently collapsed during the course of the works. The company was fined a total of £631 including costs, which did not include the time spent by local authority officers in presenting a case which occupied an entire working day in the magistrates court. In spite of the small fines, which left the contractor with a valuable building plot, the attendant publicity has been of real benefit in reminding other developers of their statutory obligations! The run down of the Metropolitan Counties of Merseyside is likely to curtail sharply local resources for funding works under the Local Authorities (Historic Buildings) Act 1962. At the present time, in Merseyside, apart from Town Schemes in Lord Street,· Southport Hamilton Square, Birkenhead and Prescot in Knowsley, all conservation grants are administered by Merseyside County Council and in the current financial year th2se grants have been restricted to ' Areas of Social Deprivation', which excludes towns such as Southport. In Liverpool City, where the conservation staff is at present reduced to one person, following the resignation of John HamsoL, major conservation works are bei~~ funded through the Housing Corporation and grants from the HBMCin the Canning Street Conservation Area, with 100% grants for the re-instatement of cast iron balconies and railings. In Greater Manchester, out of ten districts only Tameside and Stockport make grants available under the 1962 Act. The entire funding for the major conservation programme being implemented in Manchester City, including Castlefields CA, Victoria Park, Whitworth St and Central Station is from the Greater Manchester County Council. This funding, of course, will not be available after April 1986! The tragedy is that as a result of political differences between districts there is no co-ordinated approach to the whole spectrum of resources neccessary if current levels of conservation works are to be maintained or increased after April 1986. This includes rescue archaeology and archives as well as funding for actual contractural works of repair and enhancement. Mike King Sefton DC Yorkshire & Humberside Region 'THE CHALLENGEOF CONSERVATION' The opportunity to debate conservation is~ues is always welcome to regional members. Whilst it is intended to organise a seminar in 1986 that should attract all Association members, the Region first intends to support a oneday symposium organised by the WAKEFIELD HERITAGE 1984 with assistance given by the City of Wakefield MDC. WAKEFIELDHERITAGE 1984 was founded in 1984 by members of Wakefield's historical and civic societies to foster the interests of the architectural and Page 11
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