C O N T E X T 8 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 19 IHBC Annual School 2003 IHBC Annual School 2003 IHBC Annual School 2003 underpinning the management of the historic environment • setting, and rigorously implementing work priorities: ‘what we will do, and what we will not do’ • improving guidance and processes • training and developing both those who work for English Heritage and those who work for other authorities and companies. While praising the ‘substantial achievements of the present system’, Thurley endorsed the Government’s principles outlined in the heritage review and the need for a unified designation framework across the range of heritage assets. ‘Such a framework should both maintain the present level of protection and offer a flexible suite of management regimes that promote pro-active management and enable appropriate change’, he said. Consultation The response of the IHBC is being prepared under the coordination of the consultations secretary, Dave Chetwyn (consultations@ihbc.org.uk), and will be sent to the DCMS in October. In addition to points concerning the detail of the document, the IHBC has drawn attention to the lack of protection for historic parks and gardens included on the register, an aspect which is almost completely overlooked by the document. The institute has also expressed concern that unlisted buildings in conservation areas are almost completely unprotected, and that buildings on the local list are completely unprotected. Particular attention has also been drawn to the need for greater recognition of the role that historic buildings play in regeneration, not least because the document seems imbued with the idea that heritage is an impediment to regeneration, not an asset. Nevertheless, many of the proposals put forward are broadly welcomed. Further responses to the questions asked inProtecting our historic environment: making the system work better must be sent to the DCMS by 31 0ctober 2003. Jonathan Taylor is editor of The Building Conservation Directory East Knoyle,Wiltshire: another cottage in a conservation area being stripped of its character and historic interest, legally, without consent. GPDO reform is needed urgently. partial demolition. It also recognises that buildings included on the ‘local lists’ maintained by many local authorities do not enjoy any protection at all, unless they are in a conservation area. As a result, it has been possible for owners to strip these buildings of all the elements which give them their character, from sash windows to thatched roofs. It has also been possible to demolish buildings on the local list without consent. The paper asks for comments on the protection of buildings included on the local list, but not on the protection of unlisted buildings in conservation areas. In any case both issues may have to wait for a further government review of the general permitted development order by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, as they are beyond the control of the department carrying out this review. Is this ‘joined up government’? The view from English Heritage While many of the delegates at the Annual School may have been left with the feeling that much of the criticism implicitly levelled at English Heritage presented a distorted view of the work of the commission, the chief executive of English Heritage’s address to the Annual School was a positive response to the issues raised. Simon Thurley focused on how the performance of English Heritage could be improved to meet ‘some legitimate criticisms and perceptions’ while remaining under-resourced: ‘Although it is recognised that we stand for a popular and legitimate cause, and although many applaud staff expertise and can-do attitudes, criticisms of casework handling are sufficiently frequent – and, in some cases, vehement – to put at risk our effectiveness in other areas of activity, such as strategic leadership and influencing. A single piece of badly handled casework can offset the positive image created by a hundred pieces of well-handled advice.’ His proposals for improving the performance of English Heritage were outlined under four headings or ‘steps’: • establishing and fully understanding the principles
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