Heritage Update 204 FRIDAY 11 MARCH 2011 The Heritage Alliance is the largest alliance of heritage interests in the UK, representing 88 member organisations, with the aim of promoting the central role of the non-Government movement in the heritage sector. Heritage Update is our voice; to, and for, the sector. It is estimated that Update reaches approximately 12,000 mailboxes in the UK and internationally; with readers as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Antarctica, Istanbul and California. For more information visit www.theheritagealliance.org.uk CONTENTS HEADLINES Government commits to tweak Localism Bill to reflect “intention” of Amendment 149 DCMS publishes long-awaited Tourism Policy Charges for Heritage consents? Heritage Counts 2011: Alliance members demonstrate their outstanding social value Shaping the Future of our Heritage: Alliance members’ workshop on HLF consultation HAVE YOUR SAY: CONSULTATION ROUND UP NEWS Regional Growth Fund: Clegg announces second round will open in April British Academy cuts grant funding to the CBA DCMS publishes comparative admin costs for Lottery Distributors Eric Pickles exhorts Local Authorities to treat VCS bodies “reasonably” Leicestershire County Council offers to be new Big Society vanguard CLG’s new “barrier busting” initiative open for business ALSO THIS FORTNIGHT… Party on the Pier kicks off British Tourism Week: 12 – 20 March The Southport Group seeks comments on initial project findings ALVA publishes latest visitor figures for 2010 Volunteers' Week website now live CABE: Green Day 2011 – training events throughout March Grants for conservation of manuscripts: deadline 1 April Restructured Museums Association announces Board members Research on effects of economic climate on the UK cultural sector EVENTS SITUATIONS VACANT NOTES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS HEADLINES B B Baaaccckkk Government commits to tweak Localism Bill to reflect “intention” of Amendment 149 In its seventeenth sitting on the Localism Bill, on 1 March the Public Bill Committee reached Amendment 149 – to leave 1 out paragraphs 22 - 24 of Schedule 12 of the Bill (which would remove the general duty, when Neighbourhood Development Orders are being drawn up, to preserve listed buildings and their settings as well as the duty to preserve and enhance the character or appearance of Conservation Areas). Jack Dromey MP (Labour, Birmingham Erdington) introduced the Amendment to the Committee, stating: “Amendment 149 raises a vital issue. It seeks to ensure that parts of our local and national heritage are not lost or damaged by the removal of key protections in law. That issue has been drawn to the Committee’s attention by evidence from across the heritage sector, which is concerned that the Bill seriously reduces protection for our most important historic buildings and their settings, and for the character of conservation areas, in a way that is entirely unnecessary, not least because of the framework already in place to defend our national heritage … We argue strongly that there is no need to remove those specific protections, which date from 1990 and have been regarded as a mainstay of our heritage.” On the Bill’s relationship with the National Planning Policy Framework, Mr Dromey added: “The Minister might say, ‘Don’t you worry, Jack; that will all be put right by the national policy planning framework,’ but I am bound to say that that will not be sufficient. Given the vital importance of our national heritage, the following points would help: if it were statutory; if we knew what level of detail would be included; if we knew clearly how it would relate to local and neighbourhood development plans; or, if we knew that planning policy statement 5, which is the vitally important planning guidance that protects our historical environment, would be incorporated fully. As it stands, we do not know any such things, but in any case that would not fill the gap left by the loss of statutory protection.” In response Minister for Decentralisation, Greg Clark MP acknowledged that "as drafted, the Bill gives rise to understandable concerns on the part of the heritage community" and confirmed that “it is certainly not the Government’s intention to weaken the protection for heritage assets.” Mr Clark continued “the normal practice is for us to take it away and check with the lawyers whether any tweaks need to be made to it” and, most significantly, committed that "we will come back at a later stage with something that reflects the amendment’s intention". The full debate can be viewed here (Columns 697 - 701). The Heritage Alliance’s Statement of Support for Amendment 149 (14 February) can be viewed here. BBBaaaccckkk DCMS publishes long-awaited Tourism Policy On Friday (4 March) Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose unveiled the Government’s Tourism Policy, which aims to help the tourism industry achieve its potential as part of Britain’s growth strategy. Recognising the vital contribution of the tourism industry to Britain’s economy, the policy commits the Government to creating the framework for the tourism sector to thrive. Core aims of the strategy are to implement “the most ambitious marketing campaign ever” to attract four million extra visitors to Britain over the next four years (using the £100m marketing fund co-funded by the Government and private sector); increasing the proportion of UK residents who holiday in the UK to match those who holiday abroad each year; and improve the sector’s productivity to become one of the top five most efficient and competitive visitor economies in the world. Proposals include: repairing “market failure by modifying the existing, long-established Tourist Boards to become smaller, highly focused, industry-led partnerships between tourism firms and Government. They will be funded through long-term partnership marketing campaigns”; broadening Britain’s tourism offer by creating alternative destinations that match London; working with the Highways Agency “to ensure that Brown Signs can be as informative as possible to road users, whilst helping tourist destinations”; creating a “task force of senior industry figures” to cut burdensome red tape; and increasing skills training and apprenticeships across the sector. Yet again heritage is revealed to be a key driver in attracting visitors to Britain: “The UK only really shines on one of the top five [criteria for visitors to choose their destination]; culture and heritage” (p 51 – the other top criteria are “the weather, value for money, natural beauty and welcome”) - yet the document describes heritage and culture as “a relatively narrow and potentially fragile foundation for such an important part of our economy” and implies that Government will be focusing its efforts in other areas of the tourism sector: “we can’t rely solely on our culture and heritage to maintain Britain’s ranking as an attractive tourist destination. Broadly, the recommendations in this policy paper are intended to strengthen our visitor economy’s performance in the other key areas where we’re relatively weak, to ensure we maintain and improve our position as one of the world’s best country’s to visit, no matter what” (p 51). Click here for the full document and here for the DCMS press release. See below for details of British Tourism Week, 12 – 20 March. BBBaaaccckkk Charges for Heritage consents? The Heritage Alliance and some of its members have taken issue with the Department for Communities and Local 2 Government (CLG) which, it appears, is actively considering introducing fees for listed building consent and conservation area consent. Although CLG stated clearly in the consultation Proposals for changes to planning application fees in England that the Government was not minded to make a change (see para 22 p13) “because owners cannot opt-out of having their building Listed or located within a Conservation Area designation, and because such designations confer burdens with regard to preservation and maintenance that are clearly in the public interest”, pressure from Local Authorities as reported in Update 203 has clearly caused them to revise their intention. Replying to a letter from The Heritage Alliance, CLG Minister Bob Neill claims that 27200 listed building applications in 2009-10 cost the taxpayer approximately £11m - although it is not clear from his letter what proportion of these consents were handled in parallel with planning permissions. He concludes: “we are currently considering how to take this matter forward and I can assure you that the concerns you have raised have already been put forward by others, and so are being considered as part of the process.” BBBaaaccckkk Heritage Counts 2011: Alliance members demonstrate their outstanding social value Long before anyone had heard of ‘Big Society’, our members were already demonstrating and contributing to the strength of civil society in a multitude of ways - from the rehabilitation of historic buildings as community resources, to volunteer-led projects uncovering and celebrating the fascinating stories behind our towns, landscapes, battlefields and parks for the benefit of local communities and visitors alike. The Heritage Alliance is excited to have the opportunity to communicate this work to a wider audience via our contribution to the 2011 edition of Heritage Counts. A major feature of the research will be our online questionnaire Strengthening civil society: the role of heritage, which was launched this week with the support of BOP Consulting. We hope that this survey will reveal our members’ public value in terms of social action, community empowerment and opening up public services. The results will also highlight the challenges currently faced by our members, and identify the support needed to enhance further the public value of the voluntary heritage sector. A selection of our members’ diverse projects and activities will be featured as case studies - any suggestions will be welcomed, either as part of your response to the questionnaire or by contacting us directly to let us know about all the exciting and valuable activities you are involved in! Our Chairman Loyd Grossman commented: “The Heritage Alliance strives to highlight the outstanding social value of our members’ work and articulate how the voluntary heritage sector continues to strengthen civil society. By taking fifteen minutes of your time to complete this short questionnaire you can help us to do that”. Members have received an email from The Heritage Alliance’s HC11 research co-ordinator, Alice Brackenbury, with details of how to access the questionnaire online. For any queries or further information please email Alice Brackenbury. B B Baaaccckkk Shaping the Future of our Heritage: Alliance members’ workshop on HLF consultation A special workshop for members of The Heritage Alliance will take place on 28 March (2pm-5pm) to help generate the Alliance’s response to the Heritage Lottery Fund’s (HLF) consultation Shaping the Future of our Heritage. The Alliance response is in addition to the more detailed responses many member organisations will be submitting themselves. With its annual awards budget rising to some £300m a year, the Heritage Lottery Fund is and will be a pre-eminent source of funding for heritage across the UK, so its Strategic Plan 2013-19 is of utmost importance. The HLF is inviting opinion from a wide range of stakeholders through an extensive public consultation process, on what they should continue doing; what they may need to do differently; and what new initiatives or measures could have the greatest impact. The consultation closes on 26 April and general information, including the individual on-line questionnaire, can be found here. This is the key moment to influence future criteria, programmes, operation and priorities. Members should check they have received their email invitation to the workshop - for queries contact Kate Pugh. HAVE YOUR SAY: CONSULTATION ROUND UP B B Baaaccckkk S S H A Seeeeee TTThhheeeH Heeerrriiitttaaagggeee A Alllllliiiaaannnccceee’’’ssscccooonnnsssuuullltttaaatttiiiooonnn rrreeessspppooonnnssseeessshhheeerrreee March Regeneration Inquiry. A Communities and Local Government Select Committee consultation. Deadline 18 March. 3 National Conservation Education and Skills Strategy. An Institute of Conservation (ICON) draft strategy, our for consultation. Deadline: 31 March. April National Curriculum Review: Call for Evidence. A Department for Education consultation. The Government has announced a review of the primary and secondary National Curriculum in England. It wants to hear your opinions and evidence in order to start a debate about what is taught in our schools. This Call for Evidence is a way to input into the discussion at this early stage in the process. Deadline: 14 April. Office for National Statistics: national wellbeing consultation. The Prime Minister has asked for the nation's wellbeing to be measured for the Government from next April. He said the findings "will open up debate about what really matters not just in government but amongst people who influence our lives" and he included people "who shape the culture we enjoy" in this group. The ONS has launched a public consultation which asks respondents to rate "personal and cultural activities" alongside other factors in determining a broad national measure of wellbeing. Deadline: 15 April. Shaping The Future: Consultation on the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Strategic Framework 2013-2019 HLF is inviting feedback on its strategic framework for 2013-2019. It wants to hear views on what it should continue doing, what it may need to do differently and what new initiatives could have the greatest impact. Deadline 26 April. May Community Right to Buy. This consultation seeks views on provisions in the Localism Bill to assist community organisations that wish to purchase assets of community value. The consultation seeks views on how the scheme should be delivered and what type of support and guidance should be provided. Deadline: 3 May. Good Practice Guide for Local Listing. An English Heritage consultation seeking views on the draft guidance for local listing. The guide is intended to encourage a transparent and consistent approach to the process of creating and managing a local list. Deadline: 13 May. EU consultation on the future of VAT. An opportunity has arisen to express concern about the way that VAT is levied on the cost of maintenance and repairs to historic buildings (but not on replacement or new builds) in response to the European Commission Green Paper: ‘Towards a simpler, more robust and efficient VAT system’. The aim of the consultation is to launch a debate on the structure of the current VAT system, ways to make it more coherent within a single market and to reduce the cost of compliance. Deadline: 31 May. NEWS B B Baaaccckkk Regional Growth Fund: Clegg announces second round will open in April The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that the Regional Growth Fund’s second round will open on 12 April. Mr Clegg also said that the amount of cash on offer in the first round of the £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund (RGF) may be increased, due to the large number of high quality bids the Government has received (the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has so far made around £250 million available in the first round of the RGF, for which it has received 464 bids totaling £2.7 billion). Mr Clegg made these comments at the first official meeting of approved public-private Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) – along with Prime Minister David Cameron, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles – on Monday (7 March). More here. BBBaaaccckkk British Academy cuts grant funding to the CBA Last week the Council for British Archaeology (CBA – a member of The Alliance) received confirmation that its grant funding from the British Academy is to be phased out over the coming five years. This funding stream, which formed some 25 per cent of the CBA’s income in the current financial year, has been pivotal to the work of the organisation across the UK for over fifty years. The British Academy said in its statement that the grant will be removed by 2015-16, with a significant year-on-year decline starting in 2011-12: see the British Academy's statement here. 4 CBA President, Dr Kate Pretty CBE, said: "We deeply regret the British Academy decision to cut funding to the CBA, particularly as this decision was not forced by reductions in its own grant from Government, but was a strategic choice by the Academy in spite of their praise for the continuing high standard of our work." See the CBA’s full statement here. The CBA is currently preparing a challenging new action plan to ensure that its most important priorities are taken forward despite this withdrawal of funding. You can show your support for the CBA’s work in a variety of ways: more information here. BBBaaaccckkk DCMS publishes comparative admin costs for Lottery Distributors In restoring the original lottery shares the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) stood to gain; but in the same move the Government insisted that administration costs should be capped at five per cent - a decision that created concern that this might limit the level of support to applicants, in particularly for the smaller grants. Furthermore, the research that the HLF undertakes benefits the entire sector, and as such it was argued by several respondees to the consultation (including The Heritage Alliance) that this should not be included in the ‘administrative costs’ crackdown. The Government has now compared the grants awarded and the costs of making the grants for the Big Lottery Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England and Sport England in 2009 / 10 with those of other government funders and charitable foundations. It calculated the percentages in four different ways, with markedly different operating cost ratios. It found the HLF to be in a middling position by each method, second lowest using two methods, second highest in one and highest in another. For the full details click here. But what exactly does this tell us? As bloggers on Civil Society.co.uk point out: “none of these funders exist to make grants, they exist to achieve positive social outcomes” and “lower admin costs may not necessarily mean more efficient”. Click here for more comment. BBBaaaccckkk Eric Pickles exhorts Local Authorities to treat VCS bodies “reasonably” Speaking at the annual conference of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) on 1 March, Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced that he expects local authorities to behave “reasonably” in the way they manage their relationship with voluntary and community groups. This important statement from the Government fires a warning shot across the bow of local government not to make disproportionate cuts to the vital services that the voluntary and community sector provides. The Secretary of State also made it clear that he expects those Local Authorities that have made disproportionate cuts to the sector to reflect on their decisions. In his speech the Secretary of State set out three tests of reasonableness: first, that councils should not pass on disproportionate cuts to local and voluntary groups; secondly, that they should talk to voluntary and community groups at a very early stage about how services need to change; and thirdly, that they should have at least three months’ notice about the need to end or alter a grant or other support. Read the full speech here. BBBaaaccckkk Leicestershire County Council offers to be new Big Society vanguard The headlines that Liverpool City Council made by withdrawing from the Government’s vanguard programme - saying the scale of public spending cuts in the area made it impossible to build the Big Society - has been overtaken by the news that Conservative-controlled Leicestershire County Council has offered to replace Liverpool as one of the Big Society vanguard areas. Leicestershire’s leader, Councillor David Parsons, wrote that the region had already done much work to embed the localism agenda in recent years and last year held a number of ‘Big Conversations about Big Society’ around the county to gauge local people’s views on the Council’s ideas for devolving more power to communities. Cllr Parsons revealed that he had included a “growth item” of £500,000 a year in the Council’s new budget from 2011/12 to support Big Society initiatives: “It is anticipated that a significant proportion of this funding will go directly to communities to enable them to access technical and specialist support for key projects – for example, taking over running services, establishing social enterprises and producing neighbourhood plans”. Click here to read David Parsons’ letter to David Cameron. BBBaaaccckkk CLG’s new “barrier busting” initiative open for business The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) has established a dedicated “barrier busting” team, which will work with anyone who highlights bureaucratic barriers to try to remove them where possible - working with other government departments and agencies where necessary. Those barriers might take the form of rules and regulations, 5 time-consuming bureaucracy, or the way central government departments work. CLG has established an online portal, accessible here, to make it easier for people, community groups and local authorities to submit their ideas. The aim of the Barrier Busting site is to “help you get things done for your local community”. Each request will be given a unique reference number that will allow progress tracking, as well as a dedicated team member. BBBaaaccckkk ALSO THIS FORTNIGHT… B B Baaaccckkk Party on the Pier kicks off British Tourism Week: 12 – 20 March Party on the Pier will kick off the fifth annual British Tourism Week on Saturday 12 March, with simultaneous parties hosted on seaside piers, harbours and jetties around the coast and on inland rivers, canals and lakes. Working in partnership with the National Piers Society (a member of The Alliance) and other organisations, the organisers of British Tourism Week have invited the owners and managers of seaside piers, harbours and jetties to host a party, encouraging residents and tourists to visit and highlighting the importance of maintaining and restoring our piers. Find your nearest Pier Party here. Also, Google Street View (in collaboration with VisitBritain) will be capturing new imagery of many of Britain’s piers in celebration of British Tourism Week and Party on the Pier. Over the next few months Google will collect imagery of the piers, which will then appear in Street View via Google Maps later this year. Find more about what’s on during British Tourism Week, which will run from 12 – 20 March, here. BBBaaaccckkk The Southport Group seeks comments on initial project findings The Southport Group has launched an online video consultation to gather opinion on the initial findings of a series of workshops held over 24-25 January 2011, which explored ways of improving the sector’s ability to deliver the requirements of PPS5. Responses to the consultation will inform the development of a report, to be published by the Southport Group, intended to outline recommendations for a framework of guidance and products that would help realise the aspirations of PPS5. A draft report will be launched prior to the Institute for Archaeologists’ (IfA) Conference in April, with the aim of enabling further consultation at the Conference. The final report will be published later in the year. The consultation runs to 18 March and all content can be found here. Viewers can choose to watch all or just some of the workshop series, depending on their area of interest. Comments should be emailed to southport@archaeologists.net by 18 March. BBBaaaccckkk ALVA publishes latest visitor figures for 2010 The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) has published its annual visitor figures data, revealing an increase of 0.38 per cent in its members’ visitor figures during 2010. The visitor figures for ALVA’s member museums, galleries, heritage sites, cathedrals, gardens, zoos and leisure parks showed that the sector held steady in a year of exceptional circumstances. The publication also reveals the extent to which TV, film and radio exposure has helped some ALVA members have record years. For example, after appearing in Tim Burton's film version of Alice in Wonderland the National Trust’s Antony House saw visitor numbers quadruple from 25,000 to nearly 100,000 last summer. The British Museum topped the visitor numbers for the fourth year running, boosted by the BBC Radio 4 series on A History of the World in 100 Objects presented by its director Neil MacGregor. Click here for the statistics, here for a visualisation by site and here for the mention in Heritage and Tourism Minister John Penrose’s latest blog entry. BBBaaaccckkk Volunteers' Week website now live Volunteers’ Week is the annual event that celebrates the outstanding contribution to society made by millions of volunteers across the UK. The Week plays a huge part in raising the profile of the millions of volunteering, whilst inspiring new volunteers to get involved. From showcasing the different volunteering roles on offer with taster sessions and team challenges with new partners, to volunteer recruitment events, awards ceremonies and launching new volunteering campaigns - hundreds of events take place throughout the country between 1 – 7 June. The Volunteers' Week 2011 website is now live at www.volunteersweek.org.uk Log on to upload details of your events, 6 post a thank you message to your volunteers or download a Volunteers’ Week logo to use on your own website and newsletters. In the weeks leading up to, and throughout the Week, Volunteers’ Week will be featured on cartons of milk from Robert Wiseman dairies. If you’d like to see your volunteers featured on a carton email photos to communications@volunteering.org.uk BBBaaaccckkk CABE: Green Day 2011 – training events throughout March Launching on 6 June and running for the whole month, Green Day from CABE’s Engaging Places team aims to inspire school pupils to learn more about sustainability and climate change, and how it relates to the buildings and spaces around them. Teachers and practitioners can register their interest by filling in this form. In order to help teachers and practitioners make the most of Green Day, CABE is running free training sessions throughout March across the country. Places are limited and must be booked in advance. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. See ‘Events’ below for full details or click here to find out more on the Engaging Places website. BBBaaaccckkk Grants for conservation of manuscripts: deadline 1 April The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust (NMCT) offers grants for the conservation and preservation of manuscripts and archives. Since 1990 its grants have helped to make previously inaccessible collections available for study and research. Applications for grant funding are welcomed from any record office or library, or from owners of manuscripts that are exempt from capital taxation or owned by a charitable trust. Grants can cover conservation, binding and other preservation measures, including digitisation. Grants are normally for no more than 50 per cent of the project cost. The next deadline for the submission of applications is 1 April and the results will be announced in June. Applications must be submitted on the NMCT application form, which can be downloaded here. Enquiries can be directed to Nell Hoare by email at nmct@thetrustpartnership.co.uk BBBaaaccckkk Restructured Museums Association announces Board members Museums Association (MA) members have chosen seven representatives out of a possible 19 to stand on the newly constituted board, following last month's election. Vanessa Trevelyan, director of Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, will stay on as President of the MA following her election in October 2010. New Board members are David Anderson, Director-General, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales; David Fleming, Director, National Museums Liverpool; Sally MacDonald, Director, University College London Museums and Collections; Sam Mullins, Director, London Transport Museum; Isabel Churcher, Project Manager: Renaissance, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council; Gaby Porter, Independent Consultant; and John Orna-Ornstein, Head of London and National Programmes, British Museum. The elected members will now nominate a further four representatives to the board on the basis of their expertise and experience. BBBaaaccckkk Research on effects of economic climate on the UK cultural sector Arts Quarter has published the findings of its third survey on the effects of the current economic climate on the UK cultural sector. The survey of 440 cultural organisations highlights growing concern over the state of the sector, compared with the two previous surveys conducted in 2009. Findings suggest a degree of recovery, but arts organisations are less optimistic now than at the same point in 2009 about the potential for income generation in the year ahead. Theatres are doing much better in corporate sponsorship, with significantly slower improvement in other art forms. Looking to 2011, only 12 per cent of respondents felt that they are likely to improve on revenues generated and 39 per cent of respondents felt that they are likely to raise less next year. Arts Quarter’s report also includes initial findings of Hidden Wealth, a pilot research project looking to work with cultural organisations to understand better their capacities to engage with high-net-worth individuals. This project is now embarking on its second phase. Those interested in participating can contact info@artsquarter.co.uk BBBaaaccckkk EVENTS B B Baaaccckkk CABE: Green Day 2011 – training events throughout March Launching on 6 June and running for the whole month, Green Day aims to inspire school pupils to learn more about sustainability and climate change, and how it relates to the buildings and spaces around them. Taking part is simple – teachers and practitioners can register their interest by filling in this form. 7 In order to help teachers and practitioners make the most of Green Day, CABE is running free training sessions throughout March across the country. Places are limited and must be booked in advance. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Dates are: Bristol (23 March, 1pm – 4pm); London (24 March, 1pm – 4pm) Newcastle (24 March, 1pm – 4pm); Birmingham (25 March, 9am – 12pm); Kent (28 March, 9am – 12pm); Nottingham (29 March, 1pm – 4pm); Sussex (30 March, 9am – 12pm); and Kirklees (30 March, 1pm – 4pm). For full venue information and to find out more, click here. ‘A Victorian Masterpiece’: Restoration of All Saints Church, 2 April, London A talk entitled ‘A Victorian Masterpiece: Restorations of William Butterfield’s All Saints’ will be given by Colin Kerr, RIBA, supervisor of the restoration project. The illustrated afternoon event will take place at 2.30pm on Saturday 2 April at All Saints, 7 Margaret Street, London W1W 8JG. Tickets are £10, including a glass of wine. To book a ticket, send a cheque payable to All Saints PCC Restoration Appeal to All Saints, 7 Margaret Street, London W1W 8JG enclosing a SAE. Historic Towns Forum: Tourism, The Heritage Economy & LEPs: 14 April, London In conjunction with Bircham Dyson Bell and Responsible Tourism, HTF will be organising a tourism event around the heritage economy, and how this is likely to be affected by the National Tourism Strategy, Local Enterprise Partnerships and tourism opportunities. Among the keynote speakers will be James Berresford from VisitEngland. Details will be available shortly. Register your interest here. UK APT: Buildings at Risk and the Big Society - 15 April, Lincoln A free one-day seminar on tackling historic buildings at risk in the East Midlands, this event will take place on 15 April at St. Mary's Guildhall, Lincoln. Ideal for conservation officers, civic societies, building preservation trusts and other charities, funders, architects, surveyors and anyone with an interest in restoring historic buildings, this seminar - organised by the UK Association of Preservation Trusts (UK APT) - will explore opportunities to involve third sector organisations in viable and successful restoration projects. The seminar runs from 10.00 to 15.45 including lunch and is free-of-charge, but advance booking is essential as numbers are limited. To register and receive full programme details, please email davidanderikathomas@btinternet.com or ring 01543 410229 IfA 2011 Conference: 13 – 15 April The theme of the Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) 2011 Conference in Reading is ‘Understanding significance as the key to assessing, managing and explaining the historic environment’. The conference will offer a stream of topical lectures updating delegates on current issues, policy and best practice, and new techniques and developments in the profession. In parallel there will be practical training workshops developing skills and understanding in a range of subjects and new techniques. Both the lectures and workshops will provide CPD opportunities for all practitioners in the sector. Spaces are filling up fast. An early booking rate applies until 21 March – to book and to find out more click here. The Ironbridge Institute: Practical Workshops, April - September The Ironbridge Institute offers a summer programme of practical hands-on workshops as CPD or entry into a postgraduate Diploma or Masters degree in Historic Environment Conservation. The use of lime, conservation of stone, metal, reinforced concrete and timber are some of the topics covered. Please contact h.devlin@bham.ac.uk / 01952 435969 for further details or click here. SITUATIONS VACANT B B Baaaccckkk HONORARY / VOLUNTARY POSITIONS The Battlefields Trust: Treasurer CLOSING SOON The Battlefields Trust is a registered charity protecting and promoting British battlefield heritage. The Trust is urgently seeking a Treasurer - this is an Honorary post, and would carry with it being appointed a Trustee of the Trust. The Trust is looking for someone with suitable financial experience and a general interest in heritage, but no detailed knowledge of British military history is required. Full information about the Trust and its work can be found here. For further information 8 please contact Peter Burley, National Coordinator: peterburley@btinternet.com. The Heritage Alliance: Project Co-ordinator (voluntary), Places of Worship project The Heritage Alliance is seeking a volunteer to work one or two days a week on the Places of Worship @ The Heritage Alliance project, which serves all those who work and care for historic places of worship of all faiths in the UK. The Project Coordinator will write and publish the quarterly e-newsletter POW WOW; organise the members’ annual meeting; work with the Heritage Lottery Fund to set up joint seminars on good practice; continue the fundraising initiatives that have already been started; organise quarterly Steering Group meetings; and support and advise our members. The project needs a person who has excellent communication skills, a strong interest in the sector, is enthusiastic, is good at working in a team but also self sufficient, and is happy to organise their own time and workload. The Project Coordinator needs to be available one or two days a week, able to start in April and living within travelling distance of The Heritage Alliance’s office in Westminster. The opportunity will be for a period of six months. To apply please send a CV and supporting statement (not more than half an A4 page) to Deborah Jarman, Places of Worship Development Officer at placesofworship@theheritagealliance.org.uk by Monday 21 March. Interviews will be held in London in late March or early April. SALARIED POSITIONS The Churches Conservation Trust: Director for Income Generation The CCT is looking for an outstanding individual to set and drive its income generation strategy. A proven business leader with demonstrable experience in revenue generation through commercial and voluntary sources, the postholder will meet demanding revenue targets and drive a programme of cultural and practical change within the Trust. The successful candidate will be a dynamic individual with energy and ambition, who has an awareness of the opportunities and constraints of working with historic community buildings and an understanding of the role of volunteers and communities in income generation. For further information or to apply contact Rose Hall at Wild Search on cct@wildsearch.org Closing date is 28 March. Salary is £41,692 – £52,870 + benefits. English Heritage: Archaeologist (Maritime), Portsmouth English Heritage is looking for an Archaeologist, for six months, to take forward casework relating to the physical management of the 46 Designated Wreck Sites in England’s waters; and any new sites protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. In addition, the Archaeologist will assist with the delivery of UK-wide duties in relation to that Act transferred to English Heritage from the Department of Culture, Media & Sport. The post will be based at Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth. The closing date is 28 March. Salary is £25,618 - £29, 651. Click here for the full job description or to apply. English Heritage: Advice and Grants Team Leader, York English Heritage is looking for someone with great people skills and a passion for heritage to manage the delivery of its grants, statutory advice and enabling work in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and former Humberside. This role will take the lead in facilitating sustainable changes to historic places and securing the preservation and enhancement of heritage assets by managing English Heritage’s investments through the work of the team. The postholder will also have their own caseload dependent on skills and experience. The closing date is 30 March. Salary is £35,500-£39,000 including team leader allowance. Interviews will be held on 12 and 13 April. To find out more and apply, click here. NOTES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS B B Baaaccckkk Got some news? If you would like to propose an item for inclusion in Update, please email details to the Editor Emma Robinson no later than midday on the Tuesday prior to publication (Update is published on alternate Fridays). 1. The Heritage Alliance is a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales Registered Company No 4577804 and a Registered Charity. Charity No 1094793. Registered Office Clutha House, 10 Storey’s Gate, London, SW1P 3AY. 2. Subscription policy: see http://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/heritage-link-update-e-bulletin 9 3. If you would like to be included in the circulation list for Heritage Update or if you would prefer to receive Update as an attachment which means that the internal links will work whatever your settings, please email the Editor, Emma Robinson. 4. If you wish to use or quote from items in Heritage Update, you should always check the accuracy and current position with the source. The Heritage Alliance cannot guarantee the accuracy of, or accept any responsibility for, the contents of Update. 5. Unsubscribing: The Heritage Alliance uses limited details identifying subscribers for the circulation of Update only and never passes on this data to other parties. To unsubscribe, email mail@theheritagealliance.org.uk giving details in full of all email addresses to be removed. Names of subscribers alone will not be sufficient to unsubscribe. 10