48 C O N T E X T 1 7 4 : D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 New member profile Peter Wood My path to conservation has been somewhat unusual in that I started out in planning enforcement as a planning assistant, and there I have remained for nearly 20 years, progressing up the ranks to my current post as principal planning officer. Often seen as the Cinderella of the planning system, enforcement is nonetheless a key tool in the arsenal of the local authority in ensuring some confidence in the system and taking action, where warranted, against harmful breaches. Not least this pertains to our very important historic assets, where emergency action can be required. At one time, like many, our conservation team was relatively well resourced, but this sadly declined to just one officer over the years, ending with a lengthy period of being without any substantive support in that respect. Having become the line manager of that depleted team some years back, I became more and more involved in dealing with day-to-day conservationrelated enquiries, as well as some interesting projects, including the repair and upgrading of historic bridges in the county. It was a steep learning curve, but I found access to a huge amount of useful information online via SPAB, the IHBC, English Heritage, Cadw and so on, and a massive treasure trove of online training sessions brought about by the pandemic, being accessible to a degree not seen before when such events were scattered across the country. Having always had a great personal interest in our historic environment, and being exposed to this more and more in my work, I made some enquiries to the IHBC about gaining membership, perhaps as an associate in due course. During my initial affiliate membership I dramatically increased my CPD in the area of conservation, building on what I knew and making some great contacts, including at MATE sessions, as part of the reformed Wales branch of the IHBC and with Cadw. After hesitantly making my application earlier this year, I was delighted to receive my full membership of the IHBC just a few weeks ago. We are now in a much better position than we were, despite difficulties in recruitment, in that we now have a conservation officer in post.We both applied for IHBC membership at the same time and were able to offer support to each other in this process. I think my route to IHBC membership may reflect how we must seek to adapt to declining resources, with all officers adding new skills beyond their original remit, to help support our services. I would strongly recommend application to the IHBC to many who might not consider their roles directly relevant.We all have a part to play and it is an incredibly interesting area to specialise in. PeterWood is a new full member of the IHBC.
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