Spanner in the works: Links

Thanks to all who participated in the “Spanner in the works” panel discussion. The details that we promised to pass on are below.

  • Tom mentioned the Technical Advice line operated by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Details are <here>. The SPAB’s advice line is a free and confidential service open to anyone with a technical enquiry relating to old buildings. Helpline advisors are qualified building surveyors and architects who answer over 1,000 calls a year from building owners, professionals, contractors and others. The advisors can also draw on the support of the Society’s Technical Panel, a group recognised for their technical knowledge and experience in the field of building conservation.
  • Details of Institute of Historic Building Conservation Accredited Practitioners can be found <here>. The IHBC Accredited Practioners’ searchable database is a public listing of accredited (or ‘certified’) members of the IHBC – the UK’s professional body for built and historic environment professionals. We are often asked if the Civc Society is able to recommend local trades. We maintain a list of those who have been recognised with a Civic Society Award and will provide this to members on request.
  • There is more about the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies <here>. The Historic Environment Casework Database is operated by the Council for British Archaeology on behalf of the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies (JCNAS). It can be found <here>.
  • The announcement of the inquiry into “Protecting Built Heritage” can be found <here>. The inquiry has not yet reported and is no longer accepting evidence. We will share more information through the Civic society Newsletter when it does report.
  • Information on the Review of the Alnwick and Denwick Neighbourhood Plan can be found on the Town Council Web Site <here>. We are expecting the next public consultation in July. If you would like to know more about how we have approached the section on Heritage and Design please let us know. If there is sufficient interest we can organise a briefing session alongside the public consultation.
  • Catherine has provided details of Local Listed Building Consent Orders. Please let me know if you would like to know more about this, or the current thinking on how these could help owners of historic buildings in Alnwick. 
  • Catherine has also provided a number of links to other heritage and conservation bodies, and guidance provided by Historic England. There’s a link to the Historic England index <here> and their most recent advice note on Listed Building Consent is <here>. We are conscious that the guidance for owners on our own Civic Society web site is overdue for a refresh. Rather than covering all of the Catherine’s links here we propose using them to update our content <here>. If any member is interested in bringing a fresh eye and helping to maintain this material we hope you will get in touch.
  • We also talked about a skills shortage in heritage / conservation of old buildings. It is a recognised issue which Historic England commissioned <this report> into.