The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) has published the findings for its Wales local authority staff capacity in Historic Environment (HE) building conservation and archaeology, revealing a 12% cut in overall staffing levels since 2009, while also welcoming close ties in the services to the main planning system.
The IHBC’s survey, carried out in early 2012, covered all the 29 Local Planning Authorities and Archaeological Trusts in Wales. It was supported by Cadw, with the assistance of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO Cymru).
IHBC President Trefor Thorpe said: ‘We are very grateful to Cadw for supporting this survey as it gives a much clearer picture of the strengths and challenges in the sector across Wales today. Overall, the research confirms that the drop in conservation and archaeology capacity is a UK-wide issue. A clear strength in Wales is that its historic environment services are already, and should remain, fully integrated into the development planning system, and not be considered a specialist add on.’
‘The report shows that conservation staffing levels are generally low, however, with 64% of authorities having just one permanent specialist conservation officer, but have not been subjected to the devastating cutbacks suffered in England. In Wales there is more than one permanent specialist staff member in 32% of the authorities, but none have more than three permanent staff, and one has no specialist in house conservation adviser. In contrast, in Scotland the IHBC has recommended an average of two FTE IHBC-equivalent staff per authority.’
‘Only two local Authorities in Wales have an internal archaeology service but this does not mean they are without appropriate archaeological advice. Archaeological input for development management is received in all cases through the curatorial or heritage management services in the four advising Archaeological Trusts, and there are nearly 27 development-related archaeology post-equivalents in Wales.’
‘The other cautious note is that delivering on a new Heritage Act for Wales may be a considerable drain, especially on the limited numbers of Conservation Officers and Archaeologists employed throughout Welsh Local Authorities. These skilled staff will have a role as key users and interpreters of the new Act, so considerable support will be needed to ensure that current capacity is able to cope with the demands necessarily attached to new legislation.’
Download the IHBC’s survey HERE
