The IHBC has welcomed the decision taken at the first meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies to include in its forward planning a focus on the impact of the loss of conservation staff.
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly said: ‘ We’re delighted that the longstanding importance we have always attached to informed, specialist and independent public oversight in the conservation of our heritage is recognised clearly by the decision of the APPG to include in its immediate priorities the impact of the loss of conservation staff.’
‘The data that the IHBC has collected since 2006, funded by what is now Historic England, means the institute has traced the sad depletion of that critical local service infrastructure. Perhaps the focus of the APPG, ably supported by Civic Voice, will help people better understand the great value offered by that often imperilled infrastructure.’
‘And while no organisation is more energetic than the IHBC in exploring new ways to deliver the necessary levels of protection and oversight, we should not forget either that any complacency over the service reduction may well lead not only to the loss of our heritage, but to avoidable criminal proceedings!’
Civic Voice writes of the APPG:
The recommendations from the meetings concluded that the groups aim over the next 6 months should be to focus on the historic environment. The meetings during the coming year should specifically reference the impact of the loss of conservation staff, the importance of community involvement in local heritage listing and the impact of development on Cathedral cities.
For more background on the Civic Voice programme
