Context 164 - May 2020

8 C O N T E X T 1 6 4 : M A Y 2 0 2 0 an entirely non-descript trading estate at Colnebrook, Slough, close to Heathrow Airport. The warehouses were listed Grade II in 2018. Sims is insightful in tracing Outram’s architectural influences, the short-lived rise and fall of post-modernism. The author concludes: ‘Through a new form of historicism, post- modernism became more narrative in character, with ornament no longer signifying the continuation of tradition, but a criticism of pure functional form, introducing a poetry to everyday life. High post-modernism led to a more humane architecture with more variety reconnected to the past, and it has helped shape how we create and conceive of architecture today. Its multivalence has helped contribute to a more pluralistic urbanism that is increasingly accepting of what “good design” is, welcomes an increased involvement with local communities, and has a more contextual awareness to conservation. If we trace all of this back to autumn 1976 when Outram started this project, I wonder if he could have appreciated what was to come.’ Historic Environment As was the case last year, the latest issue of Historic Environment: policy and practice (Vol 10, Nos 3 and 4, 2020) is a double special issue, running to just under 200 pages devoted to engaging with policy. If you want to place heritage policy and legislative issues in the present volatile political landscape, review how the sector has evolved in the way that it has, and what it will mean for practitioners in the immediate future, you probably can not afford not to read it. Kate Clark will be known to many readers. Her paper kicks off this issue by looking to raise awareness of how recent heritage protection reform was initiated by the publication of Power of Place in 2000 when the (then) English Heritage was asked to lead on a review of historic environment policies relating to the historic environment in England. The sector-wide and inclusive engagement was supported by a MORI survey of people’s attitudes to the historic environment and the value they placed on it. Many of the anticipated issues that have subsequently become mainstream elements of policy and practice, including heritage- led regeneration, better tackling of heritage at risk, reviewing parks and gardens, and publishing regular state of the historic environment reports. Other policy recommendations remain challenging in policy terms: encouraging better maintenance; resolving a crafts-skills crisis; putting heritage at the heart of education; understanding what people value and why; regulating better; and fostering heritage champions. Much still needs to be done, but with what resources? The arc of policy change in heritage conservation from the Civic Amenities Act 1967 to the National Planning Policy Framework spans significant shifts in the underpinning principles supporting conservation policies. Jill Chitty and Claire Smith consider the 2008 English Heritage Conservation Principles the genesis and legacy in this context. Their examination of local heritage strategy documents shows that while Conservation Principles has no formal status in the planning system in England, it is a sustained presence regarding consideration of the concepts of significance and value in local heritage planning policy. An examination of local heritage strategies shows that Conservation Principles , and the underpinnings of recent European and international thought reflected in it, is embedded in current practice in local authority policy-making. A valuable contribution comes from Nigel Hewitson, a member of the IHBC’s legal panel. Entitled ‘The Disconnect between Heritage Law and Policy: how did we get here and where are we going?’ he forensically analyses the terminology used in the legislation and that in the NPPF. He helpfully describes how this came about and the correct approach to development management decisions, and he provides a useful update on the approach taken by the courts. With regard to development management, Peter Goatley and Nina Pindham deal with heritage assets in the heritage world as it is (‘the real world’) and how practitioners can provide pragmatic advice to their clients, adopting a predictive approach, and how this plays out when applied in the courts, planning inquiries and at local plan examinations. There is a great deal of valuable advice here. A further perspective on how heritage management plays out in practice is ‘The View from a Planning Department’ by Chris Patrick, an IHBC affiliate and principal conservation officer at Birmingham City Council. Patrick clearly summarises a dramatic decade of changes to local government heritage services, the declining in public-sector funding and the quest for associated efficiencies. He emphasises the importance of policy, who should be making the decisions, and what the overall aims and ambitions should be for council-run conservation specialist services. Other papers set out to examine the state of PPG16 and development-led archaeology and the fact that conformity does not equate to ‘preservation by record’