Friday 4 June 2021

Updates from The Heritage Alliance

Our Members' Roundtable on Board Diversity

We were delighted to see so many members taking part in our expert-led session with Penny Wilson, CEO of Getting on Board [Alliance member], titled: ‘How can the heritage sector push for better board diversity?’. It was a fantastic learning session and we hope it left members feeling more informed and supported. 

Getting on Board offers a wealth of resources and training to help organisations on their journey:

• Two great guides: 'How to recruit trustees for your charity' and 'How to become a charity trustee' (also available as hard copies from the Directory of Social Change)
• Webinars on 'How to diversify your board' and 'How to recruit trustees effectively' as well as inclusion training for individual boards on their board practices
• A flagship programme called Transform for any organisation which wants support to shift the composition of its board.

If you are interested in your organisation joining The Heritage Alliance as a Member, or you would like to support our work by becoming an Individual Supporter, please visit our website for details.

Remembering Peter Ainsworth

We have set up a memorial padlet board for people across the sector to share their thoughts and experiences about our former Chair, the late Peter Ainsworth, to be shared with his family. Please do contribute if you would like.

Policy Updates

This fortnight:

• Last week, we sent a letter to the University of Sheffield on the planned cuts to its archaeology department. We are disappointed to see the proposed closure of the department and continue to support efforts to assert the importance of higher education departments in archaeology and heritage. 

• We have been invited to sit on a roundtable meeting of heritage sector representatives with Ministers from DCMS and MHCLG to discuss emerging proposals as part of the planning reforms that will be taken forward in the Planning Bill.

• Our CEO Lizzie attended the latest meeting of the Heritage Working Group, where she fed back on issues related to CRF 2, rising insurance costs and reopening, that have been reported by our members.

• Lizzie also attended a meeting with Lord Goldsmith on emissions and the Environment Bill, in which she raised the need to ensure heritage fuels are not inadvertently caught up in legislation in the future.

• Our Rural Heritage Advocacy Group (RHAG) is currently finalising a briefing to interested members of the House of Lords as the Environment Bill moves from the Commons to the Lords with Second Reading scheduled for 7 June. You can read our previous detailed briefing on the Bill here.

• We have also submitted a short response on a consultation from DEFRA on the Draft Policy Statement on Environmental Principles.

• Lizzie gave evidence to the new APPG on Conservation, Place and People (facilitated by IHBC [Alliance member]) on the economic value of heritage. She discussed fiscal incentives to support levelling up and environmental goals and the need to consider the social and environmental value of heritage in the round with the economic.

Welcome to The Heritage Alliance!

This fortnight, we are delighted to welcome Dig Ventures, The Piece Hall and Chance Heritage Trust as the newest members of The Heritage Alliance.

Dig Ventures

DigVentures [DV] is a platform that enables civic participation in archaeology and heritage projects. DV has pioneered the use of crowdfunding, crowdsourcing and digital methods to increase access and opportunities for real people to purposefully participate in archaeology. 

COVID-19 has accelerated DigVentures’ public-focussed digital practice, whilst also helping the team to design new ways to safely deliver archaeology at all scales from hyper-local to mass participation. New projects that demonstrate their commitment to innovation include a Nesta Collective Intelligence grant for Deep Time, investigating how Collective intelligence and AI can be deployed in spatial and participatory planning, and recognition as a Europa Nostra Laureate for ‘Archaeology at Home’, which united archaeologists and citizens on a global scale during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. They also recently launched a new docuseries 'Why We Dig' on their YouTube channel.

Piece Hall

The Piece Hall, originally built to support the trading of ‘pieces’ of cloth, has been a meeting point of Halifax’s commercial, civic and cultural life for almost 250 years. The Piece Hall has recently undergone a £19 million conservation and transformation programme and is being reimagined as a new cultural and commercial centre.

As a charity, The Piece Hall Trust exists to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the environment by preserving The Piece Hall, and by advancing the public’s engagement in and understanding of history, the arts and cultural activities.

Chance Heritage Trust

Chance Heritage Trust was set up by a group of volunteers with the purpose of regenerating the Chance Glassworks in Smethwick West Midlands as well as other heritage assets in Sandwell. They aim to bring the glassworks back into use, creating an urban village and a vibrant centre that benefits the local community. The Chance Glassworks is a 9 acre site with 8 Grade 2 Listed Buildings and 2 bridges. The whole site is a Scheduled Monument on Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ Register.

The organisation converted from a registered charity to a charitable community benefit society, as they wanted local people to have ownership as well as a voice in the project. This offers an opportunity to demonstrate how a community led organisation can play a leading role in large scale urban regeneration.

HEF COP26 Task Group: Call for climate change, environmental and sustainability best practice from across the sector

In November 2021, the UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. Inspired by the summit’s aim to 'unite the world to tackle climate change', the Historic Environment Forum created a task group to focus on heritage and climate change, using COP26 as a catalyst.

The task group won’t make an appearance at the COP26 event but will:

• Create reference/coordination tools for HEF members providing overview of sector climate change-related activity, policy and comms.
• Create a sector and public-facing shared statement on climate change to be launched ahead of COP26 highlighting key messages on climate change challenges, solutions and opportunities covering carbon reduction, adaptation and resilience, and green ‘heritage skills’.
• Run some shared comms on climate change and heritage ahead of COP26 (main audiences: sector and some public-facing).
• Collate best practice case studies to support the above-mentioned statement and shared comms (main audiences: sector and some public-facing).

The task group would love to hear from you and your organisations. For more information on how to get involved and submit your case studies, please read the guidance and template here (which also includes full submission details). The deadline for submissions is 5pm, Monday 28 June.

Many thanks for your support and involvement!

HEF COP26 Task Group (HEFtask2@theheritagealliance.org.uk)

Suggest a Topic for the Next #HeritageChat!

The Historic Environment Forum is on the hunt for the topic of the next #HeritageChat, which will take place on Tuesday 15 June, 1-2pm as usual.

#HeritageChat is a monthly Twitter chat which takes place every third Tuesday of the month, at lunch time, to discuss collectively important topics for the sector. Don’t be shy and please get in touch if you want to suggest a topic - you can lead the chat or we can lead it for you! Past examples of #HeritageChats can be found here.

If you need a diary scheduler to remember when #HeritageChat takes place, you can download it here for Outlook and for Google calendar.

Further Offers for Our Members

Members of The Heritage Alliance are also able to take advantage of a series of free sessions, offered by other organisations in our membership, to support their development and resilience. 

For further details about the free legal calls, free fundraising advice, free 1:1s on project management and free consultation on immersive technologies that are on offer - please contact our Head of Development & Membership Delphine. 

Members of The Heritage Alliance can also advertise for free in Heritage Update. Find out more here.

Heritage Digital: Celebrating Volunteers' Week

Read on for an update on our National Lottery Heritage Fund supported digital skills programme and its new workshops and resources:

Volunteers' Week: Reaching Audiences Digitally

We are celebrating #VolunteersWeek with Heritage Digital. You can now sign up for our new webinar on 15 June "Recruiting, retaining, and managing digital volunteers". The session will provide top tips on how to recruit, retain, and manage digital volunteers.

We have also published an article with resources for volunteer managers.

Do watch this space, as we'll be sharing two brand new resources suitable for heritage organisations working with volunteers later this week on the Heritage Digital portal.

Digital Guide: Heritage Organisations and Exceptions to Copyright

We have produced a free guide that sets out all the things your organisation needs to know about exceptions to copyright.

What's the Point of You?

In the final webinar series from the Rebuilding Heritage programme, the team will be taking on tough questions and bringing you expertise from across the partnership to help you to find your way in the post-Covid world.

What’s the point of you? Clarifying your mission
Thursday 8 July, Online, 1pm – 2.30pm

Advice and guidance for heritage organisations and businesses to help them reassess, refocus, and make the most of the opportunities for change. Details here.

What’s the point of you? Communicating who you are and what you do
Wednesday 14 July, Online, 11am – 12.30pm

A practical session exploring how you can quickly and effectively explain what your organisation does and – most importantly – what your impact is. Details here.

Government News

Our summary of the latest announcements and guidance for the heritage sector.

Headlines

• Latest Guidance Around New COVID-19 Variant

• Actions for Biodiversity Net Gain & Net Zero

• New Funding Guidance

• Updates to the CJRS

COVID-19

What You Can and Cannot Do - updates

The guidance on what you can and cannot do has been revised to include further details about the new variant of COVID-19, and recommendations for the 8 areas in which it is spreading fastest. People are being advised to "wherever possible" meet outside rather than inside, maintain social distance with people they do not live with and minimise travel in and out of affected areas. 

It is important to note the change in language around the final point on travel - from 'essential travel only' to 'minimise travel', - which means that formerly made bookings can be maintained. Guidance has also been clarified around staying overnight in holiday accommodation and people's homes. The rule of six (or larger groups from two households) is applied.

Results from Pilot Events

It has been reported that there were just 15 positive COVID tests among the 58,000 people who took part in events as part of the Government's Events Research Programme. Further large-scale events are now confirmed to be going ahead.

New CJRS Form

Businesses claiming for 16 to 99 employees on or after 27 May 2021 through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) are required to use this new template to upload a file containing the required information for each employee, as set out here.

The guidance around the scheme for paying back grants has also been updated, with information on how to correct overclaims.

Guidance

The latest guidance also includes:

• (COVID-19) Coronavirus restrictions: what you can and cannot do (updated 28 May)
• Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) (updated 18 May)
• How to comply with REACH chemical regulations (updated 1 May)
• CJRS guidance (updated with details on 'How to correct overclaims in your next claim')
• CJRS – Calculating Wage Claims (updated 3 June - on flexible furlough)
• Guidance on the SEISS Fifth Grant (Published 2 June)
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): Wedding and civil partnership ceremonies, receptions and celebrations (published 13 May)
• HMRC - Help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus (updated 20 May - with updated video on SEISS fourth grant)
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): right to work checks (reminder - the end date for the temporary adjusted checking processes is now 21 June)
• Legislation granting businesses the right to put up marquees this year without planning permission (in place throughout Summer)

We will continue to collate any updated guidance, including all the latest guidance around Step 3 and reopening, in our Covid-19 Hub.

Social Impacts

Indicators from the latest ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (covering 19 to 23 May) show that in line with the recent easing of restrictions, 17% of people are now reporting that they left home in this period to eat or drink indoors at a restaurant, but only 1% to visit a cinema or theatre. Personal well-being levels again remained stable, while feelings of overall happiness slightly increased. Compliance with measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 remains high.

The ONS business insights data shows that while 79.9% businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry are currently trading, the accommodation and food service activities represent the lowest percentage at 60.7%. The survey results also show that 70% of businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry reported that their turnover is 'lower than normal expectations' for this time of year. Of all businesses surveyed, 24% reported an increase in demand for skills in the last 12 months, with the most sought-after skills being soft skills and basic digital skills.

If you are in need of support, free digital training and resources are available through Heritage Digital, and you can access free training and advice to support your recovery (as a freelancer or an organisation) through our Rebuilding Heritage programme.

Funding

Cultural Investment Fund

New guidance has been published on the three capital funds that together make up the Cultural Investment Fund: 

• The Cultural Development Fund (CDF) - Expressions of interest are now being accepted for the second round. The fund is intended to promote economic and social recovery from the impact of COVID-19 through capital investment in transformative place-based creative and cultural initiatives. The full online application will open on 31 August, with a deadline of 15 October.
• The Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) - Expressions of interest are being accepted until 5 July. This funding is for non-national Accredited museums based in England, and/or local authorities based in England who are responsible for maintenance of non-national Accredited museum buildings.
• The Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) - Expressions of interest open on 7 June until 7 July. Local authorities are able to make an application on behalf of a library service in England. the fund is aimed at enabling library services across England to invest in improvement projects.

Information about the funds, application process, and links to upcoming webinars, can be found here.

Creative People and Places

Applications for the Creative People and Places funding for 2022-25, with Investment of £750,000-£1 million available to projects to run for this three-year period, are open until 11 June.

Regulators Pioneer Fund

BEIS has published a competition brief for the Regulators' Pioneer Fund - a £3m fund designed to sponsor projects led by regulators or local authorities that aim to create a UK regulatory environment that encourages business innovation and investment. Bids for funding up to £200,000 are being accepted, proposals should address one of more of the UK government’s priorities - detailed here.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 15 July.

Travel & Tourism

In line with English Tourism Week last week, VisitBritain/VisitEngland [Alliance member] set out priorities to support the rebuilding and recovery of the tourism industry. The latest forecasts from VisitBritain predict that domestic tourism will be worth around £12.4bn in 2021, down by nearly half compared with domestic tourism spending in 2019. Hostels, as fundamentally social places, have been particularly hit by lockdown restrictions.

The industry is looking ahead to a Tourism Recovery Plan from DCMS, which will set out the role the UK Government will play in accelerating tourism's recovery.

Updated Guidance on Travel

The Home Office guidance for visa applicants and temporary UK residents has been updated to say that people who left the UK with valid leave before 17 March 2020 and intended to return to the UK and intended to make an application for Indefinite or Further Permission to Stay, but were unable to do so before their leave expired because of travel restrictions, now have until the 21 June 2021 to do this.

The guidance has also been updated to state that people in the UK who are unable to leave due to travel restrictions and intend to stay, can make an application for permission to stay in the UK if they hold permission in a route that would normally allow them to do so, or if their current permission or visa expires before 1 July.

The first review of the Travel Traffic Light system has now been carried out, which has seen Portugal removed from the Green list and several countries added to the Red list. The updated guidance is available here.

Brexit & Immigration

Last week, we attended two webinars led by Fragomen, offered by the Creative Industries Federation on immigration issues after Brexit. While part of the guidance is specific to the creative sector, some highlights are useful also for the heritage sector:

• UK citizens living in Europe and EU citizens living in the UK must secure their position. In the latter case, this means applying for the EU Settlement Scheme (deadline 30 June) or the Frontier Worker scheme, or other visas which may apply.
• When you visit an EU country for business trips (up to 90 days within 180 days), check whether you will need a visa or a work permit (rules vary in each country). This means planning well in advance for business trips (in some countries a permit may take months to be released).
• EU visitors coming to the UK will not require a visa, but will be permitted to only carry out a limited number of activities.
• Assess your workforce needs in the next few months: if you need to employ staff from a third country your employees will probably have to apply for a visa and your company may have to apply to become a sponsor. There are several visa routes, and you may want to familiarise yourself with them as they carry different costs (both for the employer’s and the employee’s perspective).

More information can be found in the set of FAQs pulled together by the Historic Environment Forum, which is also collecting evidence on Brexit-related issues you may have encountered, and views on the Government's policy statement on the recognition of professional qualifications in line with the new Professional Qualifications Bill. Please get in touch to share your experiences and feedback.

​The Heritage Alliance Brexit Hub collates the latest Brexit guidance that is relevant to the heritage sector, including on working in Europe, funding and visa requirements - and our sector briefings on Heritage, Brexit and Immigration can be found on our website. We ask all Alliance Members to continue to inform us with their latest questions and concerns.

Planning

Planning Bill

We will continue to be engaged with government and key sector stakeholders to make the case for better protections for heritage in the upcoming Planning Bill on behalf of our members. If you missed our summary of the Bill, which was announced in the Queen's Speech, you can read it here.

Testing the National Model Design Code

The Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Christopher Pincher MP, has announced the 14 local planning authorities that have been selected for the new testing programme for the National Model Design Code (NMDC). The testing programme is designed to trial aspects of the design coding in different regions and contexts.

Civic Voice [Alliance member], whilst welcoming the NMDC and its aims for good community engagement within the local design code/guide process, has said it hopes that the learning from this exercise will be critical to the success of the Government’s ambitions for raising design quality. There is concern that expectations may be being raised too high as to what can be achieved by design codes, but a hope that site-specific codes could be effective at delivering design quality as shown by the Place Alliance Housing Design Quality Audit.

Future High Streets Fund Awarded

MHCLG has announced that funding through the Future High Streets Fund has now been confirmed for a total of 72 English high streets, with 57 new announcements made last week. 

Environment & Agriculture

Environment Bill Progress

The Environment Bill will have its second reading in the Lords next Monday, 7 June. The Heritage Alliance is producing a briefing for members of the House of Lords to reiterate our request that heritage be included in the definition of the environment in the Bill, as it is in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Agriculture Bill. 

DEFRA has released a press statement addressing 'untrue claims' made in the media over the Environment Bill, asserting that the Bill "will ensure the environment is at the heart of all government policy making...".

Tree Health & Protections

The Forestry Commission has welcomed the Government's recently announced new commitments to environmental protection, including the England Trees Action Plan, which is in line with an ambition to "at least treble" tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament. The England Woodland Creation Offer, a new grant scheme for farmers and landowners to support the creation of woodland, will support this move.

Since then, DEFRA and the Forestry Commission have announced new plans for a 3-year 'Tree Health Scheme' pilot, aimed at protecting trees, woods and forests from pests and diseases in England.

Green Industrial Revolution

Following the publication of the Prime Minister's 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution 6 months ago, BEIS has announced a new £166.5 million funding package to develop green technologies and further UK-wide climate change ambitions. This will include investments in projects to repurpose textile waste, develop new clay production techniques and develop low carbon concrete manufacturing. It will also include research and innovation with industries like metals, glass, cement and paper to create "new, smart" materials and processes that enable cheaper, lower energy and low carbon products. Read the full details here.

Together for Our Planet Campaign

BEIS has launched a new campaign - Together for our Planet 'Business Climate Leaders' - which is a drive to encourage small and micro businesses to commit to cutting their emissions in half by 2030 and to net zero by 2050, or sooner. Small businesses are encouraged to use the UK Business Climate Hub to access tools and resources to understand their emissions and develop plans to tackle them.

Parliamentary & Other News

News from DCMS

DCMS has published its monthly GVA (gross value added) estimates of DCMS sectors for the period January 2019 to March 2021. Compared with January 2019, the figures show that the creative sector output is at 94%, compared with the cultural sector output at 85% and the tourism industry output at 63%.

The Culture Minister, Caroline Dinenage MP, has deferred the export of an "exceptionally rare" 500-year-old Italian roundel, following advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

DCMS has launched a National Data Strategy Forum, with an aim to help deliver the UK's National Data Strategy and ensure that the country will "harness the huge power of data" through levelling up opportunities, grow data opportunities across the economy and "champion" the international flow of data.

And DCMS Ministers answered parliamentary questions, a summary reel of the main topics discussed, including digital initiatives, the online safety bill, and tourism recovery, can be watched here.

UK City of Culture 2025 - Expression of Interest

The Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has launched the search for the UK City of Culture 2025. Applications are encouraged from towns and cities across the UK, and for the first time groups of towns can make a joint application, to widen the scope of which areas of the country could benefit from the award.

The full press release can be found here and guidance for bidders on submitting an expression of interest can be found here.

Sector Digest

Read on for a breakdown of the latest news from across the sector.

Report Into Impact of COVID-19 Crisis on Heritage

The National Lottery Heritage Fund [Alliance member] has published a new report, which evaluates how heritage organisations across the UK used the emergency funding provided by the Fund last year and the challenges they still face.

The Fund's rapid response survey, conducted last March, found that 98% of heritage organisations were impacted within the first three weeks of the pandemic. The Heritage Emergency Fund was set up in response and has seen £49,829,600 awarded to 961 organisations across the UK. This latest report reveals the positive impact this funding has had on the sector.

Key results include that over two-thirds of respondents said they spent at least some of their grant on social distancing measures, while later on in the pandemic more organisations used their grant to innovate their business model, primarily by increasing their digital capability.

Advice & Guidance from Historic England

Historic England is working to update and collate its wide-ranging advice and guidance for the sector. It recently updated its page for 'Latest Advice and Guidance' which includes new guidance on Peatlands and the Historic Environment and Purbeck Marble, as well as guidance on Graffiti on Historic Buildings and Local Heritage Listing.

Movement for Good Awards 2021

For the third year running, the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group [Alliance Corporate Partner] Movement for Good awards will see £1million given away to charities to support good causes across the nation. 

The call is now open for anyone to nominate a heritage charity to receive a potential £1,000 award to support their work. This year, 500 charities will each receive £1,000 during the first phase of the campaign, with a second phase set to happen later this summer.

Heritage - Mental Health and Wellbeing

New insights from Ecclesiastical Insurance have also been published, following findings that the pandemic has exacerbated staff and volunteer mental health and wellbeing concerns by 65%.

The research revealed that the top 5 concerns from the 500 heritage professionals surveyed were:

• Visitor behaviour – 38%
• The risk of catching Covid – 37%
• Visitors not wearing masks – 31%
• Visitors not adhering to social distancing – 31%
• Volunteers not adhering to social distancing – 31%

Read the full story here, which includes a quote from The Heritage Alliance CEO Lizzie Glithero-West on our free Rebuilding Heritage programme, from which the wellbeing activities have been our most watched resources.

And you can read new, related, research from Ecclesiastical on mental health concerns in the heritage sector (with 73% of heritage workers reportedly afraid to return to work when their organisation reopens) and the pressures felt by charity leaders, here on their website.

HCA Endangered Crafts List 2021

The Red List of Endangered Crafts, produced by the Heritage Crafts Association, was the first report of its kind to rank UK craft skills by the likelihood that they will survive the next generation. 

The 2021 edition of the HCA Red List (funded by The Pilgrim Trust [Alliance member]) is now available to view here.

Crafts are arranged under categories of risk, with 56 crafts in the list classed as "critically endangered". These include compass making, glass eye making, horsehair weaving and wooden fishing nets.

ACE 2019/20 Equality & Diversity Report

Arts Council England (ACE) has now published its 2019-20 data report on 'Equality, Diversity and the Creative Case'. The report includes data on the workforce of ACE National Portfolio Organisations, as well as audience data from NPOs and the diversity of applicants to National Lottery Project Grants and Developing Your Creative Practice.

Figures include that overall the Black, Asian and ethnically diverse workforce has risen by 2% from the last year, and the proportion of disabled people is up by 1%. However, there are still a high number of 'not knowns' for sexual orientation (38%), disability (29%) and ethnicity (24%) data.

Recent research from #WeShallNotBeRemoved also shows that only 7% of disabled people working in the arts are in salaried, full time roles.

Profiling the Profession 2020

Results from the Profiling the Profession 2020 survey, which analyses employment and training in professional archaeology in the United Kingdom, and are now being released daily on the Landward Research website.

The data were gathered from archaeological employers and individuals working in archaeology in March 2020. The results include data on the size of UK archaeology (with a recorded 6300 FTE archaeologists working in the UK), organisations' disability rates (with a key finding that 11% of UK archaeologists are disabled) and organisations' skills needs and development.

Respond, Recover, Reset: the voluntary sector and COVID-19

The latest report from NCVO, Nottingham Trent University and Sheffield Hallam University, which brings together findings from the monthly COVID-19 voluntary sector impact barometer survey on volunteering through the pandemic, shows a mixed impact of the pandemic on volunteering numbers.

Key findings include that 24% of organisations have seen an increase in volunteers, whilst the majority (36%) have seen a decline. The short-term financial position is improving, with slightly more organisations reporting an improved position than those reporting a deteriorating position, and the short-term demand for services, particularly in areas including culture and arts, is rising as lockdown restrictions ease.

Digital Research & Development Commissions

Arts and cultural organisations based in England, including museums, libraries, community organisations and local councils with a cultural project, can now apply for a digital R&D commission of up to £9,000 from The Space.

Applicants for the 2021 round are encouraged to reflect on their experiences and learning from 2020-21 and consider what digital elements they may want to develop for the medium and long-term.

Townscapes: The Value of Social Infrastructure

A new report from the University of Cambridge: 'Townscapes: The Value of Social Infrastructure', argues that key to reviving 'left behind' places is developing 'social infrastructure', with cultural spaces such as museums and libraries playing a crucial role in providing social opportunities and 'pride in place'. The report recommends how government should best support the expansion and revitalisation of these facilities.

National Circular Economy Research Programme

The UKRI has announced that a major new research programme has been launched to catalyse the UK’s shift to a circular economy. The National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) programme is supported by a £30 million UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) investment and encompasses 34 universities and 200 industry partners. The programme is delivered in partnership with DEFRA.

New Environmental Research

The UKRI has also shared details of 11 new projects aimed at decarbonising the heating and cooling of buildings. These will seek to tackle heating, one of the largest contributors to the UK's carbon emissions, including through explorations of energy storage technology, renewable electricity and sustainable technologies.

The projects are supported by a £14.6 million investment from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which are both part of UKRI.

The Big Give - Christmas Challenge

Applications are now open for this year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge until Friday 2 July. The Christmas Challenge is a week-long match funding campaign which launches on #GivingTuesday, 30 November 2021. Up to £25,000 of match funding is available per charity. There are millions of pounds of match funding available for a wide range of charities.

Charities can find out more about the Christmas Challenge at an upcoming webinar on and Monday 7th June from 12pm - 1pm with the Big Give team.

Alliance Member News

A snapshot of the current work of our members.

Consultations

Open Consultations:

• Historic England’s Draft Industrial Heritage Strategy - 7 June
• BEIS -  Private Rented Sector minimum energy efficiency standards - 9 June
• DCMS - Improving broadband for Very Hard to Reach premises - 11 June
• MHCLG and DCMS - Changes to permitted development rights for electronic communications infrastructure: technical consultation - 14 June 
• DfT - proposals to update the legislation underpinning Operation Brock - 20 June
• DfT - HS2 Land and Property Review Proposals Public Consultation - 30 June
• Home Office - Protect Duty (how the Protect Duty can make the public safer at publicly accessible locations) - 2 July
• DEFRA - Consistency in household and business recycling in England - 4 July
• Historic England - Review of Enhanced Advisory Services (EAS) - 9 July
• DfT - Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011: 2021 review - 12 July
• HMRC - Call for evidence: the tax administration framework: supporting a 21st century tax system - 13 July
• HM Treasury - Residential Property Developer Tax: consultation - 22 July
• CMA - Draft Guidance on the Operation of the CMA’s UK Internal Market Function - 23 July
• HMRC - Call for Evidence: Simplifying the VAT Land Exemption - 3 August 
• DEFRA - Direct Payments to Farmers: Lump sum exit scheme and delinked payments in England - 11 August

Operation Brock

The Department for Transport has launched a consultation on proposals to update the legislation underpinning Operation Brock (the traffic management contingency plans used in the event of significant disruption at the Short Straits crossings in Kent). 

Deadline: 20 June.

HS2 Land and Property Review Proposals Public Consultation

The DfT is also seeking views on some of the 36 proposals generated from the 2020 HS2 Land and Property Review and an additional proposal subsequent to the Review.

Deadline: 30 June.

Draft Guidance on the Operation of the CMA’s UK Internal Market Function

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is consulting on draft guidance on the future role of the Office for the Internal Market (OIM), following the UK's exit from the EU.

Deadline: 23 July.

Direct Payments to Farmers: Lump sum exit scheme and delinked payments in England

DEFRA is seeking views on a proposed lump sum exit scheme and delinked payments for farmers in England. The proposal is to offer farmers seeking to exit the industry a one-off lump sum payment to surrender their BPS entitlements and then either rent out, sell their land or transfer it by gift if they are an owner occupier, or surrender their tenancy if they are on tenanted land.

Deadline: 11 August.

Events

Upcoming Heritage Events - Quick Look

• 5 June: The Big Volunteers Week Pub Quiz, Heritage Trust Network
• 8 June: 'Addressing Inequality in Heritage', Heritage Trust Network

• 10, 17 & 24 June: Supporting Historic High Streets: Changing Visions for Town Centres, Historic Towns and Villages Forum (HTVF)

• 11 & 12 June: Llwyn Celyn – using digital techniques to create a virtual encounter, The Landmark Trust
• 12 June: London Open Gardens – Virtual Event, London Garden's Trust
• 15 June: 'Beyond Inclusivity' Workshop, GEM
• 15 June: Brighton's Development as a Seaside Resort between c.1750 and 1830 - Causes and Consequences, Georgian Group

• 15 June: Humble Heritage Workshop - Repair of Flint Walls, SPAB, Lewes, East Sussex

• 16 June: SAVE Britain's  'The Lost World of the Welsh Chapel', online

• 16 June: A Jewish Jesus: Art and Faith in the Shadow of World War II, St John’s Waterloo

• 16 - 18 June: Conference - Supporting. Sharing. Strengthening, AIM

• 18 June: Brighton Day School - 'Historic Places: People Places', IHBC, online

• 24 June: INTO - webinar: 'Understanding Climate Risks'

• 23 - 25 June: Humble Heritage Workshop - Cement Removal & Hot Lime Pointing, SPAB, Moffat Old Churchyard, Dumfries & Galloway

• 28 - 29 June: Humble Heritage Advanced Workshop - Lime Production, SPAB, Old House Project, Kent

• 6 - 7 July: Heritage Volunteering 2021: Recognise, Reconnect, Reimagine, Heritage Volunteering Group

• 7 July: Kibworth Harcourt Mill - online lecture, SPAB

• 8 - 14 July: Summer Working Party 2021, SPAB, Old House Project and Boxley Abbey, Kent

• 14 July: Repair of Historic Brick Walls Masterclass, SPAB Old House Project, Kent

• 14 July: Repair of Historic Interiors Masterclass, SPAB Old House Project, Kent

• 14 July: Part 2 - Transforming Our Practice, Transforming Our World, GEM

• 7 September: Tour of St Anne's Church, Limehouse, SPAB, London

• 11 September: Leeds Minster: ‘noblest among the noble’ of the early-Victorian churches

• 22 September: Photographing Old Buildings online workshop, SPAB

• 22 September: Conservation on the Edge: The Northern Lighthouse Board - online lecture, SPAB Scotland

• 6 October: Conservation on the Edge: Scapa Flow Museum, Orkney - online lecture, SPAB Scotland

• 20 October: Conservation on the Edge: Mountain Bothy Association - online lecture, SPAB Scotland

• 3 November: Conservation on the Edge: Building Repairs at Height - online lecture, SPAB Scotland

• 13 November: Living with Your Old House online course, SPAB 

Jobs

Salaried

Salaried

Independent Chair for the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Partnership

There is a vacancy of Independent Chair for the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Partnership. The post holder will have the experience and outstanding collaborative, communication and influencing skills to chair a committee of stakeholders with diverse views. This is a voluntary position with expenses payable. For more details and to apply, please visit their website.

Closing date: 21 June 2021

Notes & Subscriptions

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Schedule of forthcoming issues:

• Issue 445 - Thurs 17 June (content deadline: Fri 11 June)
• Issue 446 - Thurs 1 July (content deadline: Fri 25 June)
• Issue 447 - Thurs 15 July (content deadline: Fri 9 July)
• Issue 448 - Thurs 29 July (content deadline: Fri 23 July)

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Contact Us

Chief Executive
Lizzie Glithero-West
lizzie.glithero-west@theheritagealliance.org.uk

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Hannah Shimko 0207 233 0700
policy@theheritagealliance.org.uk

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comms@theheritagealliance.org.uk

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development@theheritagealliance.org.uk

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Faridah Rahman
projects@theheritagealliance.org.uk

A full list of our staff contact information can be found on our website here.

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Heritage Update is produced by The Heritage Alliance, with thanks to our generous sponsors the Historic Houses Foundation.

Image credits (in order of appearance): The Landmark Trust; Waterloo Uncovered; English Heritage; The Ragged School Museum; Heritage Open Days, The SPAB, Sussex Heritage Trust, National Historic Ships UK.