The Heritage Alliance are one of the industry wide bodies that the Club are a part of, who deliver recommendations to the government about how best to support listed buildings. Naturally the Club are tirelessly working within the group to ensure owners get the help they need to take care of their buildings. The Heritage Alliance recently published their funding priorities for the coming year and we are gratified to see that they have included VAT relief as one of their key goals. Readers will recall that the club has been championing various versions of this policy through
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APPG on Apprenticeships
The lack of heritage skills available in the UK is a real concern to the Club. We are actively investigating ways to bring more young people into the sector through heritage apprenticeships. To that end we have begun to engage with the APPG on Apprenticeships, including being invited to their annual report launch last night. It was good to see a packed house in Parliament’s Strangers Dining Room, and it was a great opportunity to network and learn from those working in the area. We spoke with Andre Burwood, head of the Battersea Academy of Skills Excellence, to
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Official Letter to MHCLG
No matter how tumultuous the Westminster political scene, work still continues in Whitehall, particularly the drafting of major policy documents. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Accelerated Planning green paper is certainly continuing to take shape. The Club is extremely concerned to see that the draft paper has ignored heritage issues, and listed buildings in particular. Missing this opportunity to take action would be a major failing by the government, and so we have written to the ministry expressing the importance of including listed buildings. We hope to see other voices from the heritage sector join us.
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Skills Shortages
Most owners know how much of a struggle it can be to find skilled and experienced tradesmen to carry out work on their property. Our own supplier’s directory can help you find the right people, but often there simply aren’t the right tradesmen in your area. The Club see this as a major concern, especially as older tradesmen retire without passing their skills on. We have decided that this needs some real action, and so we’ve adopted this as part of our political campaign. We have started looking closely at the apprenticeship system and discussing ways to make it
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Mid and West Wales Conservation Officers Forum
The Club are happy to report that we attended the Mid and West Wales Conservation Officers Forum at the Tywi Centre in Carmarthenshire yesterday, 25th of June. The group convers the centre of Wales, from Pembroke to Powys and is one of three regional groups for council conservation officials. The Club had a really productive discussion with the group about the challenges listed buildings present to councils and to owners. We are particularly happy to see a very open and accessible approach being taken in Wales, with officers who are keen to work with owners and provide the
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Council Campaign
Local government is just as important to listed building owners as Westminster and Whitehall. The way that regulations are interpreted and implemented by your council can have just as much of an impact on you as major policy changes. As part of our political campaign, the Club are starting to work on a local level with owners who are facing persistent struggles with their council. Over the coming months we will be reaching out to owners and starting to organise. The goal is to bring owners together and put more pressure on local authorities to deliver a better
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Answer from The Scottish Government
One of the ways that the Club can place pressure on government is to write to ministers. Last month we wrote to Kevin Stewart MSP, minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning. Writing to ministers almost always creates a response and leads to the ministry officially stating it’s position. In our letter we asked for their present policy on heritage and planning. The answer (opposite) is from one of the civil servants within the ministry, and while it can be seen as frustrating it does open a dialogue with Holyrood. The Club will be answering in firm tones about
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Campaign Guide
We are happy to announce that our guide to our political campaign is now available. This sets out why we need a political campaign, and how we are putting pressure on all levels of government to support listed building owners. You can click here to download the digital version. For those who prefer a printed copy, you can contact the Club to request a paper guide. You can either e-mail us on campaign@lpoc.co.uk or call us on 01795 844939.
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Holyrood Events
Our campaign in Holyrood continues to see tangible results, thanks to the support of Graham Simpson MSP, the shadow housing minister who we met with earlier this month. His support enables us to make use of Holyrood as a venue, and to officially invite other MSPs to events. Later this year we will be holding several high profile events for our Scottish members in Holyrood, where you will have the opportunity to meet with MSPs and tell them directly about the challenges you face. This will help to show the impact that inaction is having on individual owners and ensure
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Meeting in Holyrood
The Club are happy to report our meeting with Graham Simpson MSP, shadow housing minister in the Scottish Parliament on the 16th of May. Of course it’s always positive when parliamentarians want to meet with us, but this was a particularly productive meeting for the Club. Graham already has some experience with listed buildings, as part of his work on the Tenement Working Group, so he already had a good understanding of the kinds of issues owners face in Scotland. We expect this will be the first of many trips to Edinburgh in the coming months and we look forward
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