The home of the conservation professional Institute of Historic Building Conservation yearbook 2011
1 The Institute of Historic Building Conservation www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a charity in England and Wales number 1061593 and in Scotland number SC041945 Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England number 3333780 Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 4QZ Officers IHBC officers are listed on page 5. Branch contacts are listed on page 6. Business Office Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA Tel 01747 873133 Fax 01747 871718 Email admin@ihbc.org.uk Director’s Office Postal address: The Glasite Meeting House, 33 Barony Street, Edinburgh EH3 6NX Tel 0131 558 3671 Email director@ihbc.org.uk The institute cannot accept responsibility for the acts or omissions of any Member, Associate, Affiliate or HESPR company and accordingly the institute shall not be liable for any loss or damage or other matter arising from the employment or engagement of any member. ihbc Yearbook We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this Yearbook is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. All rights reserved. The title of the IHBC Yearbook is and shall remain the absolute property of the institute. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recordings, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the institute. This 2011 edition has been prepared for the Communications & Outreach Committee by the IHBC National Office with the help of Cathedral Communications Limited. Cover illustrations The photographs which appear on the cover and at the start of each section are, from the top; • Main illustration: a traditional facade in Bristol’s College Green conservation area reflected in the glass curtain wall opposite (Photo: Jonathan Taylor) • Inset left: a Heritage Skills Initiative stone tracery masterclass held in the grounds of Barnard Castle, County Durham (Photo: HSI/NECT) • Inset centre: conservation architects in the Edinburgh studio of Purcell Miller Tritton (Photo: Purcell Miller Tritton LLP) • Inset right: an experienced leadworker produces curved work as part of the Advanced Leadwork Silver Level course (Photo: Lead Contractors Association) The IHBC Yearbook is published and produced by Cathedral Communications Limited High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA Tel 01747 871717 Fax 01747 871718 Email ihbc@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com Copyright 2011 Cathedral Communications Limited ISBN 978 1 900915 59 5 For additional copies of the IHBC Yearbook please contact the IHBC Business Office, Tel 01747 873133. What is the IHBC? 2 Foreword 3 STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP Structure of the IHBC 4 Elected and appointed officers 5 Branch contacts 6 Membership of the IHBC 8 REVIEW: THE WORK OF THE IHBC AND ITS MEMBERS Chair’s review Jo Evans 13 Contraction, construction and consolidation Seán O’Reilly 15 Skills review John Preston 19 The need for skills John Edwards 20 Training requirements for conservation officers Philip Belchere 23 Training requirements for conservation architects Jonathan Gotelee 25 Integrating training and skills development across professions Ingval Maxwell 29 Contractors and the conservation skill set Simon Butler 33 Heritage skills craft training Paul Simons 35 Heritage future-watch Jo Evans and Seán O’Reilly 38 Practical conservation training in South East Europe David Baxter 40 DIRECTORY Directory of members 44 HESPR companies 78 USEFUL INFORMATION Courses and events 81 National organisations 86 Local authority contacts 89 Products and services 94 Advertisers index 100 Contents
2 Y e a r b o o k 2 0 1 1 What is the ihbc? The Institute of Historic Building Conservation is the principal body in the United Kingdom representing professionals and specialists involved in the conservation and preservation of the historic environment. Our members include architects, architectural historians and researchers, conservation officers in central and local government, planners, surveyors, structural engineers and other specialist consultants, including conservators, craftsmen and other practitioners. The benefits of membership include: • news updates (NewsBlogs) • Context, IHBC’s journal • IHBCYearbook • The Building Conservation Directory and BCD Special Reports from Cathedral Communications • events: reduced rates and priority access (as applicable) • job notices • technical support and guidance • national, regional and web-based advice and advisory panels • tax relief on subscriptions • access to business support and listings including membership of IHBC’s Historic Environment Service Providers Recognition (HESPR) scheme • guidance on project development • career advice and support • training and CPD events, including IHBC Annual School • networking opportunities • participation and CPD opportunities in electronic panels • access to advocacy and lobbying • participation in supporting IHBC’s wider public services: - web-based resources - sector consultations service - volunteering opportunities - awards (IHBC Gus Astley Student Awards) - partnerships across built sector interests. The institute’s charitable purpose is to promote for the benefit of the public: • the conservation and enhancement of the historic environment in the United Kingdom • the highest standard of professional skills in this field • the education and training of professionals and specialists responsible for such work. The IHBC’s operations are planned in accordance with the three objects listed in its current Corporate Plan (see website for details): • helping people by promoting the conservation and management of historic places as a unique and evolving resource for people, both today and in the future • helping conservation by supporting specialists, specialisms and specialist interests in conservation, because effective conservation demands skilled care • helping conservation professionals by supporting, encouraging and challenging IHBC members and prospective members, because conservation professionals work most effectively with coordination, advice, inspiration and scrutiny provided by an informed professional body.
3 Foreword The IHBC is ‘the home of the conservation professional’ but, of course, while we deal so much with the bricks and mortar of other people’s homes, we don’t actually have a house of our own because we operate very effectively in an almost virtual world. This makes the Yearbook all the more important as it is perhaps our most tangible presence. Within its pages you can find out who we are, what we do and why we do it. Each Yearbook marks the passing of another step in our dozen or so years. This year we can note that membership is growing modestly, but more significantly it is becoming more diverse. Membership in private practice has now overtaken that in local authorities. While this may simply reflect the state of the public sector, we have certainly moved on from being an association only of conservation officers. We can look back with considerable pride at a range of achievements and some, such as the PPS5 campaign, have made effective use of networking to add substance to the weight of our arguments. We can also look to the by Ingval Maxwell’s account of accreditation schemes and the need for co-ordination of standards, by Paul Simons’ update from the National Heritage Training Group, and by David Baxter’s insight into conservation training initiatives in South East Europe. For our Director, Seán O’Reilly, the adoption of our Corporate Plan 2010–15 was ‘perhaps the most important moment in the IHBC’s history’. Certainly, it is the most comprehensive document we have produced linking existing activity to new horizons. As we realign our agenda from niche marketing to mainstream thinking, there is clearly much to do. In that context, Seán rightly challenges us all to consider what each of us can do. The IHBC is highly accessible. You can reach us locally through our branches. You can follow the institute on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn or through our excellent website and blog. Helpful as these are, it is the Yearbook that I turn to first as a networking resource and it always has a place on my tangible desktop. I am deeply grateful, therefore, to the (smaller than you would think) team which ensures that the Yearbook reaches your doormat and which maintains its consistent quality – a quality that reflects what we stand for as an institute. Eddie Booth IHBC President prospects – insofar as anyone can. Our Chair, Jo Evans, brings these issues into focus in her review. I have given up using clichés about living in interesting times. All years have their challenges and their rewards. The IHBC is very alert to the personal challenges being faced by many members as a result of the current economic and political landscape and is doing its best to meet them (see, for instance, ‘Why planning authorities must have conservation skills’ on the institute’s website). For me, one of the most rewarding events of the last year was meeting the students shortlisted for the Gus Astley Awards. It was encouraging to see that enthusiasm for acquiring conservation skills is as alive as ever. However, we cannot afford complacency and that is why our skills-base is the theme for this Yearbook. Although IHBC members are deemed to have necessary skills through the requirement to satisfy the core competencies, there is still the need for continuing professional development. Also, our own skills would be worthless if there were no craft-based skills to implement maintenance, repairs and enhancements or if parallel professions were not equipped to take account of conservation advice. In the following pages, John Preston, our Education Secretary, finds there are still gaps in training provision and suggests a local remedy at branch level. John Edwards of English Heritage offers some hope for building craft skills if the adoption of short courses can be made to reach thousands rather than hundreds. Meanwhile, Philip Belchere, Jonathan Gotelee and Simon Butler review the skills needs of local authorities, architectural practices and conservation contractors respectively. The current picture of heritage education and training is completed
4 Y e a r b o o k 2 0 1 1 Structure of the IHBC Yorkshire Keith Knight yorkshire@ihbc.org.uk Scotland Stuart Eydmann scotland@ihbc.org.uk South Julia Foster south@ihbc.org.uk South East David Kincaid southeast@ihbc.org.uk South West Ian Lund ian_lund@bathnes.gov.uk Wales Nathan Blanchard wales@ihbc.org.uk West Midlands Charles Shapcott westmids@ihbc.org.uk FINANCE& RESOURCESCOMMITTEE Committee Chair Richard Morrice resources@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer Michael Knights treasurer@ihbc.org.uk Chair of Council Jo Evans chair@ihbc.org.uk PRESIDENT Eddie Booth president@ihbc.org.uk CHAIR Jo Evans chair@ihbc.org.uk B R A N C H C O U N C I L M E M B E R S B R A N C H C O U N C I L M E M B E R S SECRETARY Richard Morrice secretary@ihbc.org.uk Administrator Lydia Porter admin@ihbc.org.uk EDUCATIONTRAINING & STANDARDS COMMITTEE Education Secretary and Committee Chair John Preston education@ihbc.org.uk COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH COMMITTEE Communications & Outreach Secretary and Committee Chair Charles Strang communications@ihbc.org.uk Editorial Board Chair Fiona Newton editorial@ihbc.org.uk Publicity Secretary Douglas Black publicity@ihbc.org.uk POLICY COMMITTEE Policy Secretary and Committee Chair Mike Brown policy@ihbc.org.uk Government Liaison Secretary Bob Kindred government@ihbc.org.uk MEMBERSHIP & ETHICS COMMITTEE Membership Secretary and Committee Chair Richenda Codling (acting) membership@ihbc.org.uk NOTES Red text indicates voting posts of Council. Other o cers can attend Council as required. For further details of the regional branch contacts see map on page 6. For contact details of all others please refer to the directory of members on page 44. East Midlands Roy Lewis eastmids@ihbc.org.uk London David McDonald london@ihbc.org.uk North Geo Underwood north@ihbc.org.uk Northern Ireland Colin Hatrick northernireland@ihbc.org.uk North West Kate Borland northwest@ihbc.org.uk East Anglia Phil Godwin eastanglia@ihbc.org.uk Projects O cer Fiona Newton projects@ihbc.org.uk Membership Services O cer Joanna Theobald membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk DIRECTOR Seán O‘Reilly director@ihbc.org.uk IHBC NATIONAL OFFICE VICE CHAIR Sheila Stones vchair@ihbc.org.uk COUNCIL
5 s t r u c t u r e a n d m e m b e r s h i p JOHN PRESTON, EDUCATION SECRETARY read architecture and art history at Cambridge University before becoming a planner and then a conservation officer. He is now Historic Environment Manager for Cambridge City Council. Having been East Anglia branch officer for the ACO for 10 years, he has been promoting awareness of, best practice in, and standards for conservation work at local and national levels for over 20 years. education@ihbc.org.uk SHEILA STONES, VICE CHAIR has been Historic Buildings and Areas Advisor with English Heritage since 2000. Prior to this she was Senior Conservation Officer with Salford Council for eight years. She was Chair of the IHBC North West branch and is currently Secretary of the London branch and a main organiser of its annual day conferences. She originally trained as a planner and worked in both private practice and local government in the Midlands before specialising in conservation. vchair@ihbc.org.uk CHARLES STRANG, COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH SECRETARY is a chartered architect and planner. He studied architecture and urban and regional planning at Strathclyde University. He worked for 14 years in local government before joining National Trust for Scotland as Head of Planning, later becoming Director of Buildings and Gardens. He is now a sole practitioner specialising in conservation architecture and planning, and a trustee of the Sir Patrick Geddes Memorial Trust. communications@ihbc.org.uk EDDIE BOOTH, PRESIDENT was IHBC Chair from 2001 to 2004. He is a director of The Conservation Studio and was previously a historic areas advisor at English Heritage. He is also a trustee of the Woodchester Mansion Trust, a board member of the National Heritage Training Academy (SW), and a member of the design review panel for the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company. president@ihbc.org.uk MIKE BROWN, POLICY SECRETARY is a past Communications and Outreach Secretary and chairman of the editorial board. He is a chartered building surveyor and is currently Team Leader for Conservation and Design at the London Borough of Enfield. policy@ihbc.org.uk JO EVANS, Chair is a part time conservation officer at Guildford Borough Council and a historic buildings consultant for a range of private clients. She was previously the Membership Secretary and the Chair of the Membership & Ethics Committee, following on from holding posts on branch and other national committees. chair@ihbc.org.uk MICHAEL KNIGHTS, TREASURER led the conservation team at Norfolk County Council for the 20 years prior to his retirement in 2010. A planner by training, he was formerly Museum Director of the Heritage Brewery Museum at Burton-uponTrent and, before that, conservation officer for East Staffordshire District Council. He has been IHBC Treasurer since 2002. treasurer@ihbc.org.uk RICHARD MORRICE, SECRETARY is an architectural historian, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and chairman of Canterbury DAC. Formerly an inspector of historic buildings, he is now English Heritage’s legislation and advice manager. secretary@ihbc.org.uk elected and appointed officers
6 Y e a r b o o k 2 0 1 1 BRANCH CONTACTS EAST ANGLIA (BEDFORDSHIRE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, ESSEX, HERTFORDSHIRE, NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK) Branch Council Member Phil Godwin eastanglia@ihbc.org.uk EAST MIDLANDS (DERBYSHIRE, LEICESTERSHIRE, LINCOLNSHIRE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE AND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE) Branch Council Member Roy Lewis eastmids@ihbc.org.uk LONDON (GREATER LONDON) Branch Council Member DAVID MCDONALD london@ihbc.org.uk NORTH (CLEVELAND, CUMBRIA, DURHAM, NORTHUMBERLAND AND TYNE AND WEAR) Branch Council Member Geoff Underwood north@ihbc.org.uk NORTH WEST (CHESHIRE, GREATER MANCHESTER, ISLE OF MAN, LANCASHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE) Branch Council Member KATE BORLAND northwest@ihbc.org.uk FLINTSHIRE CONWY ISLE OF ANGLESEY GWYNEDD POWYS THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN NEATH PORT TALBOT SWANSEA CARDIFF RHONDDA, CYNON, TAFF MERTHYR TYDFIL NEWPORT BLAENAU GWENT CAERPHILLY TORFAEN MONMOUTHSHIRE NORTH SOMERSET BATH AND NE SOMERSET SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE CITY OF BRISTOL CALDERDALE KIRKLEES SHEFFIELD ROTHERHAM BRADFORD LEEDS YORK BARNSLEY WAKEFIELD DONCASTER NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE CITY OF KINGSTON UPON HULL EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE SOUTH AYRSHIRE EAST AYRSHIRE ARGYLL AND BUTE NA H-EILEANAN AN IAR H I G H L A N D MORAY ABERDEEN CITY ANGUS PERTH AND KINROSS STIRLING F I FE DUNDEE CITY EAST LOTHIAN MIDLOTHIAN SOUTH LANARKSHIRE CLACKMANNANSHIRE NORTH AYRSHIRE SCOTTISH BORDERS ISLE OF WIGHT SHETLAND ISLANDS CITY OF DERBY SWINDON CITY OF PORTSMOUTH CITY OF SOUTHAMPTON BOURNEMOUTH POOLE RUTLAND CITY OF LEICESTER MILTON KEYNES LUTON CITY OF BRIGHTON & HOVE CITY OF STOKE-ONTRENT CEREDIGION TORBAY CITY OF PLYMOUTH WEST BERKSHIRE READING WOKINGHAM BRACKNELL FOREST WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD SLOUGH THURROCK SOUTHEND-ON-SEA MEDWAY CITY OF PETERBOROUGH COUNTY OF HEREFORDSHIRE DENBIGHSHIRE WREXHAM TELFORD AND WREKIN BRIDGEND BEDFORDSHIRE CITY OF NOTTINGHAM BLACKBURN WITH DARWEN BLACKPOOL ORKNEY ISLANDS REDCAR AND CLEVELAND MIDDLESBROUGH NORTH TYNESIDE SOUTH TYNESIDE SUNDERLAND HARTLEPOOL GATESHEAD NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE STOCKTON-ON-TEES DARLINGTON London area (see inset) 1 2 3 4 WEST LOTHIAN FALKIRK NORTH LANARKSHIRE 5 EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE KNOWSLEY 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ST HELENS WIGAN 7 6 BURY 9 8 10 11 12 13 STOCKPORT WARRINGTON HALTON WIRRAL SEFTON Dashed lines are for clarification purposes only. CARMARTHENSHIRE PEMBROKESHIRE ISLES OF SCILLY CORNWALL DEVON SOMERSET DORSET WILTSHIRE HAMPSHIRE WEST SUSSEX SURREY EAST SUSSEX KENT ESSEX SUFFOLK NORFOLK CAMBRIDGESHIRE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE OXFORDSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE SHROPSHIRE STAFFORDSHIRE CHESHIRE DERBYSHIRE WARWICKSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE LINCOLNSHIRE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE NORTH YORKSHIRE LANCASHIRE CUMBRIA DURHAM NORTHUMBERLAND LEICESTERSHIRE WORCESTERSHIRE ABERDEENSHI RE DUMFR I ES AND GAL LOWAY HERTFORDSHIRE 0 50 100 km Boundaries revised to April 2001 Crown copyright 2001 NORTHERN IRELAND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
7 s t r u c t u r e a n d m e m b e r s h i p WEST MIDLANDS (HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE, SHROPSHIRE, STAFFORDSHIRE, WARWICKSHIRE AND WEST MIDLANDS) Branch Council Member Charles Shapcott westmids@ihbc.org.uk YORKSHIRE (ALL YORKSHIRE COUNTIES) Branch Council Member Keith Knight yorkshire@ihbc.org.uk Overseas MEMBERS (ALL COUNTRIES) Acting Membership Secretary RicheNda codling membership@ihbc.org.uk SOUTH EAST (EAST SUSSEX, KENT, SURREY AND WEST SUSSEX) Branch Council Member David Kincaid southeast@ihbc.org.uk SOUTH WEST (CORNWALL, DEVON, DORSET, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, SCILLY ISLANDS, SOMERSET AND WILTSHIRE) Branch Council Member Ian Lund ian_lund@bathnes.gov.uk WALES (ALL ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS) Branch Council Member Nathan Blanchard wales@ihbc.org.uk NORTHERN IRELAND (ALL COUNTIES) Branch Council Member Colin Hatrick northernireland@ihbc.org.uk SCOTLAND (ALL ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS AND ISLANDS) Branch Council Member Stuart EYDmann scotland@ihbc.org.uk SOUTH (BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, CHANNEL ISLANDS, HAMPSHIRE, ISLE OF WIGHT AND OXFORDSHIRE) Branch Council Member Julia Foster south@ihbc.org.uk
8 Y e a r b o o k 2 0 1 1 Membership of the IHBC The institute aims to offer membership to all those who care for or about the built and historic environment, and our members are drawn from many disciplines. They include architects, town planners, building surveyors, estate managers, structural engineers, landscape architects, archaeologists, architectural historians, local authority conservation officers, officers from national conservation organisations, academics and private practitioners. Membership of the institute is aimed at being inclusive rather than exclusive, as far as the maintenance of proper professional standards will allow. There are therefore three categories of membership available: Full membership of the institute is open to all whose principal skill, expertise, training and employment is in providing specialist advice for the conservation of the historic environment. Full members are normally expected to demonstrate skills and experience in line with the institute’s four areas of competence (see page 10) although significant skills in one or more areas may be seen to outweigh weaknesses in one of the other areas. Anybody who satisfies these requirements and has at least five years relevant experience would normally be considered eligible for full membership. For those who have gained a qualification from a conservation course which has received initial or full recognition from the institute the necessary period of relevant experience is reduced from five years to two years. Affiliate membership is available for those who have not yet demonstrated to Council the criteria for full membership, but wish eventually to gain full membership. Associate membership is available for those who, although The 2010 Annual School’s London Theatreland tour explores the refurbished Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road
9 s t r u c t u r e a n d m e m b e r s h i p they may not qualify for full membership, are committed to and support the aims and objectives of the institute and have obtained the support of a full member of the institute for their application. There are two concessionary membership subscription rates as outlined below. There is also the possibility of negotiating another rate for libraries. Concessions Membership is available at concessionary rates for those who are on low wages. Those on the concessionary rate will normally be full-time students participating as affiliates but may unusually be full members or associate members. Other members who make a case to the finance and resources committee that they are suffering financial hardship due to low wage or part time work may be eligible for the reduced rate. All forms of concessionary membership last only for the subscription year that they are agreed. Retired This form of membership allows a reduced subscription rate for existing members who retire but wish to remain in contact with the institute although they are no longer gainfully employed in conservation. Those wishing to apply for this form of membership should write to the membership secretary confirming that they are no longer gainfully employed in conservation or otherwise. Libraries This is a form of associate membership where an organisation, rather than an individual, has institute membership. Those wishing to apply for this form of membership should contact the membership secretary who will advise them of the subscription rate applicable. All members have the right to receive notices, literature and Context. Only full members have the right to attend General Meetings although all categories of membership will normally be notified of such meetings and will be encouraged to attend. Only full members can vote at General Meetings. Full members and affiliate members may speak at General Meetings. Associate members may not IHBC members by employment Education 2% Misc 1% Local government 37% Unclassified 6% Central government 9% NGOs 3% Voluntary sector 4% Private sector 38% 146 Surveyors 34 Engineers 357 Architects 489 Town planners 481 IHBC only (full members) 469 None (IHBC affiliates etc who are not full members of any professional body) 61 Builders 59 Archaeologists All IHBC members by professional memberships speak or vote at General Meetings. The membership committee, subject to the approval of Council, will decide on eligibility for and class of membership. All membership information is kept on a computer database and names and addresses can be used for mailing of appropriate information to members subject to stated preferences on the membership application form and careful control by officers. MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS The membership subscription year is from 1 April to 31 March each year. Subscriptions are due on 1 April and can be paid by direct debit or by cheque. Cheques should be made payable to the ‘Institute of Historic Building Conservation’. The membership subscriptions from April 2011 are: Members, affiliates and associates £98 per annum For members on an income calculated as below ½ mean annual income of conservation staff as calculated by the institute from time to time, currently £13,500, a concessionary rate will be available at £62 per annum. This concession will be subject to annual review. Retired members £40 per annum Concessionary members £21 per annum. Further Information For a membership application pack, please contact Lydia Porter, at The Institute of Historic Building Conservation, Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA, Tel 01747 873133 Fax 01747 871718 Email admin@ihbc.org.uk. This year membership of the IHBC has grown by 75 to 2,129 (March 2011). Of these 45 per cent are not members of any other professional body, 23 per cent are members of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and 17 per cent are members of the architectural professional bodies. Almost half of all full members are employed in central or local government, and 38 per cent are in private practice.
10 Y e a r b o o k 2 0 1 1 AREAS OF COMPETENCE AND COMPETENCES FOR IHBC MEMBERS The ‘competences’ provide an outline of the skills, knowledge and experience required to fulfill the requirements of institute membership. Prospective members are advised to refer to the institute’s current guidance for applicants, Membership Standards, Criteria and Guidelines (2008) which is posted on our website’s membership pages – see www. ihbc.org.uk/membership_ downloads.htm. The following provides a brief summary of the principal headings: AREA OF COMPETENCE Professional 1 Philosophy Appreciation of the social, cultural, political, aesthetic, economic and environmental values that underpin current conservation policy and practice 2 Practice Awareness of the wider context of conservation, including knowledge of and ability to interact effectively with all bodies and individuals who have a significant role to play in the field AREA OF COMPETENCE Practical: Evaluation 3 History Knowledge of the development of the historic environment including the remains of previous periods and cultures, historic buildings and settlements, works of engineering, parks, gardens and other elements of the historic landscape 4 Research/Recording/Analysis Ability to carry out or commission research, analysis and recording of the historic environment, and to maintain records accordingly AREA OF COMPETENCE Practical: Management 5 Legislation/Policy Knowledge of the legislative and policy framework for the conservation of the historic environment, its formulation locally and nationally, and awareness of other relevant legislation and policies 6 Finance/Economics Understanding of the process for the procuring of buildings and facilitating development, including finance, valuation, cost planning and contracts, with specific reference to historic buildings and areas AREA OF COMPETENCE Practical: Intervention 7 Design/Presentation Ability to analyse and evaluate quality of design, existing and proposed, of buildings and areas, and to present the results of such analysis in a way understandable to both professional and lay audiences 8 Technology Knowledge of building construction of all periods, the characteristics of structures, the nature and properties of building materials and appropriate methods of repair and alteration of historic fabric. IHBC CODE OF CONDUCT The object of the IHBC Code of Conduct is to promote those standards of conduct and selfdiscipline required of a member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in the interests of the public and the protection of the built heritage. The main object of the institute is the promotion, for the benefit of the public, of the conservation of, and education and training in, the conservation and preservation of buildings, structures, areas, gardens and landscapes which are of architectural and historical interest and/or value in the United Kingdom. This built heritage of the United Kingdom, which is part of society’s common heritage and which should be available to everyone, is, however, a limited and irreplaceable resource. It is therefore the duty of all members to act for and to promote its protection. Subscription to this Code of Conduct for individuals involved in the conservation and preservation of the built heritage assumes acceptance of these responsibilities. Those who subscribe to it and carry out its provisions will thereby be identified as persons professing specific standards of competence, responsibility and ethical behaviour in the pursuit of historic building conservation work. This code therefore indicates the general standard of conduct to which members of the institute are expected to adhere, failing which its governing body may judge them guilty of conduct unbecoming to a Member of the institute and may reprimand, suspend or expel them. Full details of the Code of Conduct may be found on the IHBC website at www.ihbc.org. uk/membership_downloads.htm. AREAS OF COMPETENCE Professional Practical Evaluation Management Intervention 1. Philosophy 3. History 5. Legislation and policy 7. Design and presentation 2. Practice 4. Research, recording and analysis 6. Finance and economics 8. Technology The eight IHBC competences
Conservation training with Nimbus Conservation at Tyntesfield Orangery: a National Trust programme using ongoing restoration work to provide a range of training workshops for NVQ stonemasons, interested professionals and others Photo: Jonathan Taylor review
12 SHAWS ARCHITECTURAL TERRACOTTA & FAIENCE CRAFTSMANSHIP AT ITS VERY FINEST SINCE 1897 OUR TERRACOTTA HAS ADORNED SOME OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS BUILDINGS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, EUROPE, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA. CONTACT JON WILSON ON: +44 (0)1254 775111 MOBILE: 07792 267 483 OR EMAIL: JWILSON@SHAWS0FDARWEN.COM Shaws of Darwen, Waterside, Darwen, Lancashire. BB3 3NX. Tel: +44 (0)1254 775111 Fax: +44 (0)1254 873462 Website: www.shawsofdarwen.com Email: jwilson@shawsofdarwen.com Natural History Museum, London. Internal & external replacement. Royal Albert Hall, London. New south porch. Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Coliseum, London. New tower section and façade replacement.
r e v i e w 13 Chair’s Review Jo Evans, IHBC Chair Much has changed since the publication of last year’s IHBC Yearbook. We have a new government, a new set of policies in the shape of PPS5, and a rather different economic climate. With it we have been encouraged to use a new set of words: coalition, heritage assets and localism for example. I know that the publication of the PPS brought with it much anxiety, confusion and even anger but as a result of lobbying, cajoling and persuasion by the IHBC and others the finished document is possibly as good as we can reasonably expect. I know it was hard to say goodbye to PPG15, our lovely, familiar comfort blanket of policy guidance. There we could always find our trusty, faithful paragraphs, always ready to bolster the appeal statement or inject rigour into the application submission statement, but possibly some of our members are too young to remember the huge hullabaloo when that policy guidance was published. It was not always plain sailing for PPG15. Whatever we feel personally about PPS5, it is here now and it is ours to use as effectively as possible. The change in language is still a little uncomfortable on the tongue I know, and the need to ensure that both the 1990 Act and the policy are referenced is not ideal, but we have to use the resources we have available and use the PPS to its best advantage. Personally, I find that the brevity of the PPS focusses the mind much more efficiently. The widespread use of one of our new words, ‘significance’, can be used to advantage. Our archaeological members will already be familiar with it but it was something of a trial for the rest of us. However, it is quite useful. My development control colleagues find it very clear now. It does concentrate the mind: what exactly is important? And in what way do we show that importance to development control or other colleagues or clients? For private sector members, the need for a heritage statement (or conservation assessment or whatever we are calling it) does provide the opportunity to show clients the importance of the historic environment in the wider planning process. However, just as I thought I had got through to my non-conservation colleagues and clients the concept of significance, another word was launched into the conservation lexicon – ‘localism’. The difference here is that it is not just our word. This is an idea, a concept which can mean a multitude of things to a wide range of people. I have written before about the fact that I believe conservation officers and most other conservation professionals have always been focussed on the local. We have called it different things of course: vernacular, sustainable, honest, distinctive, traditional and so on, but it all seems to boil down to the same thing. Sometimes it is easier to say what we want to avoid or what we don’t mean: universal corporate liveries, clone towns, creeping suburbanisation of the countryside or A bold new step: IHBC Chair Jo Evans addresses the 2010 AGM, where the institute adopted its Corporate Plan 2010–15. This view of Cambridge conveys something of what is meant by the word ‘localism’: a unique, even idiosyncratic, blend of periods, styles and moods.
14 Y e a r b o o k 2 0 1 1 Local knowledge, international perspectives: delegates at the joint international conference Investing in the Past organised by the IHBC in partnership with the Association of Preservation Trusts and the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, November 2010 (Photo: Neale Smith Photography) standard solutions. My advice would be to use this new enthusiasm for the local to your own advantage. I have found the L-word an extremely positive force. I, along with colleagues at my planning authority, have embarked on a programme of conservation area resurveys. We have developed a new approach not used before in my borough which involves the local community at the outset, weeks before any text is prepared. Within each area we pull together a small working party of parish councillors or members of local amenity societies and together set out issues, possible boundaries, and particular areas on which to focus. The conservation team drafts a text and the local group edits, adds and amends in discussion with us. This document is not written by the local community, but it feels as though the community commissions us to write the document on its behalf. I realise this is not particularly innovative or unusual and I am sure that many others have done something similar but in my borough the results have been extremely positive so far. The local community members involved appeared to really enjoy the process and they do feel fully involved. Arguably, within the planning department where I work, the conservation officers are the only members of staff who are truly ‘local’ in the sense that we are embedded in our conservation area communities. Certainly the feedback from managers throughout the organisation is very positive and the L-word is used frequently. But the interesting thing is that we developed this new approach within the team about two years ago. We did not have any idea about localism when we set out to re-launch the conservation area review. Rather, we looked at which approach would best address the issues and meet the aspirations of the residents, businesses and others in the area and we were emphatic about the whole tone of the process being the management of change not preservation. So I return to my point, localism is not something to shy away from or to denigrate as the latest political fashion. It is part of what we are and what we cherish. Ignore the Royston Vasey ‘local things for local people’ aspect of it all (sorry, this is a TV comedy reference – look it up if necessary). Focus on the concepts: vernacular, distinctive, traditional, community and change. Fashions come and go; political parties too, even coalitions I suppose. But we carry on with our work and our passions and the goals remain steadfast. In light of all this I am tempted to commission T-shirts for the IHBC Council members. They will feature an IHBC version of the public information mantra so fashionable at present: KEEP LOCAL AND CARRY ON. Jo Evans, chair@ihbc.org.uk
r e v i e w 15 Contraction, Construction and Consolidation Seán O’Reilly, IHBC Director Perhaps the most important moment in the IHBC’s history, after its founding, was the adoption at the last AGM of ‘CP10’, the IHBC’s Corporate Plan 2010–15. It’s the kind of corporate process that doesn’t easily catch the eye of our busy members and volunteers. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that CP10 marks a new step in our history, and the biggest yet. In CP10 there are three threads that define how we want to move forward: 1. continue what we are already doing: members old and new appreciate our existing services, ideas and ethos, so we want to continue and improve them 2. expand our public profile by establishing a more substantial press strategy and news operation, and 3. develop our charitable profile: although we work hard at maintaining that status, we get few if any benefits from it apart from the ‘feel-good factor’. The threads weave through CP10’s underpin all our evaluations, including our CPD programme and testing for existing members; the rigorous and structured testing of new members; continually developing guidance for prospective members; recognition of training courses as well as our events assessment, from our Schools to our web calendar • new affiliate and associate members are being welcomed into the institute in growing numbers; they represent the powerhouse of our recent membership growth at some ten per cent per annum • The Gus Astley Awards have proved highly successful and is reaching a wide constituency of future professionals • we have developed sustainable and inclusive consultation procedures • the IHBC trading arm which provides research, training and other services, is prospering. These achievements underpin the IHBC’s aim of transforming perceptions of conservation. They help to demonstrate that, far from being the preserve of the privileged, conservation and its core values can serve as a quality indicator in mainstream society, supporting the economy and employment. main themes, following on from our first corporate plan, which stated that the institute exists to: • help people: the frontline public good in our operations • help conservation: the frontline contributions to the built and historic environment sectors, and • help conservation professionals: supporting our members, who play central roles in delivering conservation. Our plans for the next five years assume that there will not be any seismic expansion in our own operations. They also accept that we may see sharp reductions in capacity arising from wider pressures in the economy; that is the realistic background against which we must work. However, the institute has succeeded in developing and moving forward in recent years in the face of similar challenges. Looking back We can take some pride in what we’ve achieved in the lead-up to CP10, and in many ways we have a lot to be thankful for: • our joint heritage bill initiatives brought together key built environment professional bodies representing around a quarter of a million professional memberships • our analysis of our membership, carried out as part of partnership discussions with the IfA, has helped to consolidate and communicate our corporate structures and objectives • we offer an attractive package of high-quality, low-cost services and benefits for members, ranging from the authority of Context to the currency of the NewsBlogs • membership standards, as discussed later, clarified and expanded as the Areas of Competence, now The Gus Astley Awards, held at The Art Workers’ Guild, Queen Square, London in June 2010
16 Y e a r b o o k 2 0 1 1 Our more recent attempts to bridge the apparent disjunction between heritage and change may be linked to our: • key role in shaping England’s historic environment PPS into a document that can be applied proportionately to place management (the ‘historic environment’ in PPS parlance) • enhanced partnership with the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG), tightening the continuity between the construction and heritage industries, from trade and profession to practice and policy • contribution to the new NVQ for conservation technicians in the built environment sector, led by ConstructionSkills • development of the ‘Beta’ web resource for local conservation services (http://ihbconline. co.uk/skills/default.html), which highlights evidence of support for properly resourced conservation services in local government from mainstream clients, businesses, regulators and managers. These outcomes, past and continuing, are crystallised around CP10, which marks a special moment in our history and an even more special moment in our future. Looking ahead CP10 provides the basis for how we will move forward over the next five and more years. This is a crucial time for the organisation as we try to realign our agenda from niche marketing to mainstream thinking. We do not want to lose our own specialist, high-end niche position as ‘the expert’s expert’ in historic environment conservation. However, we do want to help embed the good practice that our specialists represent inside wider professional practice and across the construction sector. In the context of mainstreaming conservation initiatives, we can welcome, partner in and encourage, among other things: • the establishment by all the professional bodies of their own substantial internal conservation threads, both through accreditation and any other core training initiatives, not least the RIBA’s new register, and, allied to this • the continued development of the joint built environment conservation website, www. understandingconservation.org • the initiatives by NHTG and others to encourage carded workforces • developing S/NVQ and related training initiatives covering conservation training • more integrated information on structured training and educational opportunities of the kind our web calendar represents, for all professionals and volunteers, regardless of background. If these initiatives progress as we hope they will, that will encourage more confidence in, and better outcomes from, the inevitable government trend to relocate responsibility for the care of places onto the industry that created them, the construction and development industry. We are no longer in a 20th century environment, where conservation focussed on the prominent highlights of our past. Instead we have a much wider appreciation, active across the social spectrum, of the values on which conservation is based. In this context the current yearbook explores the subject of skills, the area that the IHBC and others see as the starting point for the definition of conservation standards. Widening conservation skills will help us pin down our connections to more substantial processes of change, such as those represented in Adrian Penfold’s report on non-planning consents in England, and stop us continuing our separation from them.1 England’s heritage protection reform focussed on linking heritage with planning. That is no longer enough: we don’t want to just sit at the heart of planning, we want to represent the heart of change. The educational ideas reviewed in this edition can remind us how, as conservation professionals, we are a small part of a much bigger process, and that the process works best when it has us working within it. Conclusion Education in conservation is central to the corporate aims of CP10, but it is only a part of it, and it certainly will not be achieved by our two staff members alone. At the 2010 AGM when CP10 was adopted, one delegate voiced their branch’s concerns for the future of our work given the widespread cuts, concerns that reflected those of the entire sector, and asked what we might do. CP10 was agreed as the basis for addressing these huge challenges but it cannot deliver anything on its own. It can only help the institute’s supporters to understand our plans, and guide them in how they might play a part in our work. However we progress, and whatever our ambitions, volunteers remain at the heart of our plans, as always. CP10 highlights the initiatives that members and others want us to achieve. So, as resources diminish and ambitions increase, it may not just be a question of what the IHBC can do for you, but what you can do for the IHBC. Do please download the plan from our homepage and see if there’s anything there you’d like to contribute to. It could be the start of a whole new educational experience. Seán O’Reilly, director@ihbc.org.uk Join us! Volunteers remain at the heart of the institute’s plans (illustration shows a meeting of Council at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Newcastle upon Tyne, September 2010) 1 The Penfold Review of Non-planning Consents, July 2010, www.bis.gov.uk/ assets/biscore/better-regulation/docs/p/101027-penfold-review-final-report.pdf
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r e v i e w 19 Nigel Gervis demonstrating the application of hemplime plaster at the IHBC West Midlands Branch Day School at Acton Scott (Photo: Debbie Boffin) SKILLS REVIEW John Preston, IHBC Education Secretary What is the best context for promoting built heritage conservation skills and training in uncertain times? Conservation is seen as a niche activity; for years, English Heritage (EH), Historic Scotland, the IHBC and others have worked to establish it as a discipline recognised among the traditional professions. EH launched its requirement for conservation accreditation at the 2001 IHBC School (‘Setting Standards’). These accreditation requirements, for grant aid only, had a very limited reach even before the current financial crisis. Meanwhile, the professions felt challenged by the government’s approach to vocational qualifications, which is based on competitiveness, growth and meeting the needs of employers. The problem is that their skills needs and the resulting ‘national occupational standards’ are defined through Sector Skills Councils in which large employers take the lead. It is a particularly acute problem for conservation, which is spread across the public and private sectors but forms only a very small part of the activity of larger employers in either sector. Furthermore, conservation cuts across the remits of at least nine Sector Skills Councils. Its end product, in terms of work on buildings, falls within the construction sector (ConstructionSkills) but its underpinning philosophy is cultural (Creative & Cultural Skills) and its regulatory role is governmental. EH works closely with both ConstructionSkills and an independent body, the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) which also plays a significant role. In 2009 the NHTG announced a Sector Skills Agreement with ambitious aims, including efforts to introduce accreditation in the private sector through working ‘towards a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) carded workforce by 2010, including the CSCS Heritage Skills and Professional Qualified Persons cards for those working on all built heritage projects and sites’,1 but how many reading this have heard of, let alone hold, a CSCS card? EH and Historic Scotland’s work with ConstructionSkills has provided valuable research. We now know much more about the state of the industry and skills needs (at least before the economic downturn), but there has been no progress in relation to a fundamental problem. There remains no clear body of employers, and defined employer needs, to give critical mass for conservation within the Sector Skills context. Local government employers have not been brought into the mix; EH and Historic Scotland have seen themselves as regulators, overlooking their scope for taking a lead as employers, setting standards for their own workforces and so indirectly for others doing similar work. Without these developments and without agreed standards of service delivery, there has been little prospect of making an impact in the local government skills context. Without effective regulation there is even less scope for driving up standards in the private sector. Without these foundations, what can be done to sustain skills levels or the courses needed to provide them? Given this bleak picture even before the credit crunch, what hopes exist for the future? How can conservation make a better case for relevance in a new landscape? As Sir Neil Cossons said back in 2002: ‘We are finished if, as happens with many professional organisations, we turn inward upon ourselves, find it comfortable to talk to each other and forget about talking to the outside world.2 Now it’s even more vital that we combine conservation skills with generic skills (including people skills and project management) promoted by The Egan Review (2004) and which are, through the World Bank’s standards, intrinsic to the IHBC’s own competences. Might the government’s promotion of apprenticeships help overcome the longstanding conservation catch-22 of not being able to get a job without experience, or experience without a job? Perhaps above all, we need to shift mindsets from the challenges of the past to those of the future. Could the greatest opportunity be the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil? In dealing with both, the emphasis must necessarily switch towards the small and the local, including adapting existing buildings. Understanding and having the necessary skills to refurbish traditional buildings will be vital. How about starting with IHBC branches and the NHTG’s regional Building Skills Action Groups working together? John Preston, education@ihbc.org.uk 1 ‘Memorandum of Understanding on Maintaining Standards and Best Practice in the Built Heritage Sector in England’, www. ihbc.org.uk/recent_papers/docs/MOU%20 for%20Built%20Heritage%20Sector%20in%20 England%202009.pdf 2 N Cossons, ‘Time for Shared Outlooks and Common Ground’, Agenda for the 21st Century, Oxford Planning and the Historic Environment Conference 2002, www.ihbc.org. uk/recent_papers/docs/PATHE2002/cussons/ page2.html
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