Context 158 - March 2019

Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Michael Taylor, ihbceditorialboard@gmail.com Editorial Board Tom Copp Nigel Crowe Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Rebecca Madgin Andrew McLelland Fiona Newton Gordon Sorensen Jonathan Taylor Michael Taylor (chair) Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2019 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA 01747 871717 context@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to corporate bodies at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £60.00 Elsewhere £90.00 Context on-line archive Past issues of Context can be viewed on the IHBC website. The archive provides a searchable database and reference for key articles. See www.ihbc.org.uk/page55/ context_archive. The views expressed in Context are not necessarily held by the IHBC or the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication.While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Context themes and copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November. The next three themes and copy deadlines are: Building Services, May, issue 159 (08 March) Second World War, July, issue 160 (10 May) IHBC Annual School, September, issue 161 (12 July) Please contact Michael Taylor at ihbceditorialboard@gmail.com to discuss any editorial submissions or for information about the Context editorial board. 2 C O N T E X T 1 5 8 : M A R C H 2 0 1 9 Briefing Update on energy and retrofit policy and issues John Preston writes: This briefing is an update on, and should be read in conjunction with, mine on ‘Heritage risks and information sources: climate change and traditional buildings’, soon to be published in the IHBCYearbook . Publication of the IPCC Special Report in November 2018 has added even greater urgency to the Clean Growth Strategy targets.Work continues on implementation of the Private Rented Sector Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards. The government has published its response to the consultation on amending these standards at https://assets.publishing.service . gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/753710/Final_PRS_Minimum_ Standards_Consultation_ Government_Response.pdf Practical issues were tackled at the National Trust and Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA) November 2018 MEES Workshop on Practical Responses to Energy Efficiency Policy (presentations at http://stbauk. org/what-we-do/events-1). The National Trust is represented in a Trajectory Expert Working Group looking at ways forward for the private-rented sector.Work so far has highlighted familiar issues of lack of resources, both complexity for and lack of priority for local authorities, and enforcement challenges. A consultation is due in the early summer. Also due in the early summer is the key guidance for all publicly supported retrofits, PAS 2035:2018 Specification for the energy retrofit of existing buildings. At the time of writing, the BSI website suggests a publication date of 14 May 2019. PAS 2035 will guide the current ECO 3 scheme, which started on 3 December 2018 and is due to run until 31 March 2022. Anticipating PAS 2035, the Retrofit Academy has introduced courses to deliver the Level 5 Professional Diploma in Retrofit Coordination and Risk Management (see www. retrofitacademy.org/wp-content/ uploads/2018/12/Retrofit- Coordinator-Level-5-Qual- Prospectus.pdf). It remains to be seen to what extent either the published document or the course will cover issues relating to traditional buildings. By the time you read this, the government may have published its response to feedback to the Call for Evidence on Energy Performance Certificates in buildings.While significant change may seem unlikely to EPCs (a fundamental building block of, and metric for, current government initiatives), keep your fingers crossed for improvements. John Preston, heritage chair of STBA and convenor of IHBC green panel The symbol of a movement St Andrews Church, Barrow Hill near Chesterfield, is closed and does not have the funds to meet the cost of urgent repairs. Built in 1895, St Andrews is a modest arts and crafts building. It was the first-ever architectural commission of Sir Raymond Unwin and his first collaboration with his future business partner, Barry Parker, who designed the fixtures and fittings. Unwin was working for the Staveley Iron and Coal Company, designing industrial housing and colliery buildings, and was under the influence of the philosopher and reformer Edward Carpenter, who also lived near Chesterfield. The church has stained glass by Shrigley and Hunt and William Morris, a Holt pipe organ, original Parker and Unwin furnishings, and a reredos designed and made by Unwin as a gift to the church. The Town and Country Planning