Updates from The Heritage Alliance

We Are Searching for New Trustees!

We are searching for new Trustees to join the Heritage Alliance Board.

As a sector support body committed to making change and supporting our members to be fit for the future, we feel passionately that our Trustee Board should be truly representative of the people it serves.

The closing date for applications is 23 November 2022, and the full details are on our website.

Cost of Living – Recent Updates

We’ve been keeping an eye on ongoing developments from Government around energy and the cost of living. As news emerges, we will continue to update this summary on our website with potential impacts the new proposals and measures could have on heritage.

Under the Government section below, we have unpacked the recent announcements around investment zones, part of the Government’s Growth Plan 2022.

Blog Post from our Kickstarter, Lava Ali

Over the past six months, we were delighted to be joined by Lava Ali as Advocacy & Communications Assistant through the government Kickstart scheme. Lava has written a blog post, reflecting on her experience at the Alliance and working with the team. Lava will be staying with the Alliance during the autumn to focus on evidence gathering related to cost of living.

Heritage in 20 Years – Have Your Say

Our Heritage Debate this year (on 24 November) will offer the chance for us all to discuss: ‘Heritage in 20 years: What will matter most?’. (More information and tickets here).

Share Your Perspective

Ahead of the event, we are calling for individuals and organisations across the sector to send us a short blog post (up to 500 words) – sharing what you think will matter most for heritage in 20 years’ time.

Please consider sending through your views and sharing this call out with your networks. The deadline for submissions is 21 October. Heritage means and includes many things, so we want to ensure that this important conversation includes discussion from across the sector, exploring diverse and wide-ranging viewpoints.

We’ll share all blogs on our website and across our social channels as part of the discussion in the lead-up to this year’s event, and the blogs will remain live for the sector to reflect on into the future. For an idea of what we have done over past years, revisit our blogs from previous debates on Young People in the sector and Levelling Up.

Advertise your organisation’s work to the sector

Heritage Debate 2022 is set to be a really interactive event, and the opportunities to get involved are starting now. We have a number of ways for you to engage with the event which will support the sector and raise the profile of your organisation. 

Please contact Claire in our team to discuss which is the best fit for your organisation, development@theheritagealliance.org.uk.

• Media Partner Role – Free. Promote the event through your usual channels and in return enjoy two complimentary tickets and your logo on the event website. 
• Advertiser Role – £65 THA members, £100 non-members. Profile your organisation with your advert and weblink on the event website and attend the event with two complimentary tickets. 
• Sponsorship Role – £450. Headline profile for your organisation which includes your video featured during the event, bespoke profile on our event marketing and five complimentary tickets. 

Policy Updates

• We are in the process of writing to new Government ministers and will be seeking discussion to understand the implications for heritage in recent proposals around the cost of living. We will be making the case for further support for heritage following the sixth month cap on energy prices for businesses and charities (through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme).

• Last week, we held a special expanded meeting of our Spatial Planning and Rural Heritage Advocacy Groups to discuss cost of living announcements and investment zones, and potential impacts on heritage. We continue to welcome evidence from our members to help strengthen our case for the support the sector needs.

• A reminder that we recently produced a summary of the Rural England Prosperity Fund prospectus – which the Government published on 3 September. The Rural Fund provides rural top-up funding to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) in England. Funding is available from April 2023 to March 2025.

Heritage Digital Academy LIVE: Building Digital Sustainability

Heritage Digital Academy LIVE: Building Digital Sustainability is a free, online conference - open to all. It is aimed at helping heritage professionals to gain the digital knowledge and skills needed to build more resilient organisations.

During sessions throughout the day you’ll hear from digital experts, be inspired by your peers and connect with others on the digital journey. Speakers at the event will include members of The Heritage Alliance team: our Development and Membership Manager Delphine and our Advocacy and Communications Officer Daniella, as well as Alliance Members Naomi Korn Associates and Friends of Friendless Churches.

Join us on 18 October, 9am-6pm – sign up here.

Recap on September’s #HeritageChat – Learning Legacies for Young People & Educators

Last week, the Historic Environment Forum (HEF) launched the first ever week-long #HeritageChat, allowing participants to pitch in their ideas and reply to the questions at any time throughout the week.

The topic of discussion this month was ‘Learning Legacies for Young People & Educators’. The chat offered a series of themed questions each day, all exploring sector experiences when it comes to providing or accessing heritage education opportunities for Under-18s. The chat was co-hosted by Oxford Archaeology, the project leads for the Archaeology Legacy Project, and was particularly interested in participants sharing their views on technological innovation in heritage education.

A summary of the chat, including a collection of Tweets from across the week, is available to view on the HEF website.

Welcome to our New Alliance Members!

We are delighted to announce that Epping Forest Heritage Trust has joined as a member of The Heritage Alliance.

Epping Forest Heritage Trust is a charity and a membership organisation with a big mission to inspire people about Epping Forest, and to conserve and protect its irreplaceable biodiversity, culture and heritage now and for generations to come. They operate across the whole of Epping Forest, covering 6,000 acres stretching from Manor Park in East London to Epping in Essex. The Trust runs regular guided walk programmes and recently held its annual Epping Forest Big Walk – welcoming walkers to walk the length of Epping Forest in one day (circa 41.1 miles).

Offers for our Members

A number of our Affiliate Members are offering services to support the work of Heritage Alliance Members. These offers - set out here - include free legal calls, fundraising advice, discounted copyright training and consultation on carbon offsetting.

Share Your News with The Heritage Sector

Do you have news/jobs/courses/events to share with the 6500+ heritage professionals subscribed to Heritage Update?

Please use our advertiser's form to send through content (maximum 70 words) for £165 (per item, per issue), or at no cost if your organisation is a member of The Heritage Alliance.

Read more in our step-by-step guide on sharing your content in Heritage Update.

Government News

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

Headlines

• Heritage Minister Confirmed

• Growth Plan & Support for Heritage

• VAT Refund Scheme for Museums and Galleries Reopens

• What are Investment Zones?

DCMS & Culture

New Heritage Minister

The portfolios for DCMS Secretaries of State have now been confirmed. The Heritage Minister at DCMS is Lord Syed Kamall, who has been appointed Minister for Civil Society, Heritage, Tourism and Growth. Minister Stuart Andrew MP is Minister for Sport, Arts and Ceremonials, and will cover heritage matters in the House of Commons. 

The Heritage Alliance team will be writing to the new ministers, setting out our key priorities for the sector, and we look forward to working with them to achieve beneficial outcomes for heritage and culture.

VAT Refund Scheme – new guidance

DCMS has released new guidance on applying for the VAT Refund Scheme for museums and galleries. The scheme has now reopened for applications, and applications are invited from eligible organisations until 3 January 2023. The guidance lists eligibility criteria and sets out how organisations should go about applying.

DCMS Sector Economic Estimates: Employment (2021 - 2022)

The DCMS Sector Economic Estimates on employment have been released for the period of April 2021 to March 2022. During this period, there were approximately 4,328,000 total filled jobs in the DCMS Sectors (excluding Tourism) - representing 12.9% of all UK filled jobs. DCMS sectors (excluding Tourism) reportedly had the fastest growing number of filled jobs compared to the UK overall since 2011 and pre-pandemic.

Planning

Investment Zones

In line with the Government’s Plan for Growth, the Chancellor has announced that he will liberalise the current planning system to help speed up investment, and unpick the “complex patchwork of planning restrictions and EU-derived laws that constrain our growth”. In addition, he seeks to increase the disposal of surplus government land to build new homes.

The Chancellor also proposed the implementation of new investment zones that aim to encourage business growth in almost 40 areas. Expressions of interest opened on 2 October, and all applicants must submit their EOI and supporting documents via an online portal by noon 14 October 2022. A factsheet on Investment Zones is available here, and we’ve laid out further detail in our Cost of Living Announcements summary.

We are aware that 38 local authorities are bidding for investment zones within which “the need for planning applications will be minimised and where planning applications remain necessary, they will be radically streamlined.” Additionally, the Government have announced a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill aimed at reforming major infrastructure policy to “accelerate priority major infrastructure projects across England”.

There are currently many unknowns in the announcements surrounding the proposed investment zones. It is welcome that the need to protect heritage is cited in the guidance but, as much heritage is managed outside of formal heritage protection regimes, we are concerned at references to remove EU requirements where they relate to the environment; focus developer contributions on infrastructure (section 106 is critical to our sector), reduce consultation with statutory bodies; and relax key national and local policy requirements.  We will be seeking clarity from Government.

Local Authority Green Belt Statistics for England (2021 – 2022)

Local authority green belt statistics have been published for England (2021 – 2022). These statistics present information on designated green belt land in England by local authority. Among the main points are that Green Belt land was estimated at 1,638,150 hectares (around 12.6% of the land area of England) as of 31 March 2022 and the extent of designated land increased by 24,150 hectares (1.5%) between 31 March 2021 and 31 March 2022.

Opportunities For Islands Around Net Zero

Last week, the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, Nadhim Zahawi, chaired the first Islands Forum in Orkney, which focused on opportunities for islands around net zero. The Forum was attended by council leaders and chief executives representing all eligible island communities from across the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). The Forum agreed next steps to improve cooperation on net zero, with next meeting set for six months’ time.

Changing Places Toilet Programme Round 2 - Correction

Please note that in the last issue of Heritage Update (Issue 477), we made an error in the item entitled ‘Changing Places Toilet Programme Round 2’.

The deadline for expressions of interest for the second and final round of the Changing Places Toilet programme (providing larger accessible toilets for severely disabled people in public places) has now passed. 155 eligible local authorities (in areas where there remains no existing provision and where greatest need is identified) will be able to access funding to install Changing Places Toilets in their area, to be installed by April 2024.

Environment

Seed Sourcing Grant

The Seed Sourcing Grant (SSG) is now open for applications. Through this competitive grant, the Government aims to provide support for activities that enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed sources in England. Actions to increase and diversifying England’s seed supply could help lower the risk of importing harmful pest and diseases and support the creation of more resilient woodlands.

Next Tuesday 11 October, Forestry Commission and Defra will be hosting a webinar on the new Seed Sourcing Grant. The final deadline for applications is 13 November 2022.

Brexit & Immigration

Upcoming Review of the MAC Shortage Occupation List

The Minister for Safe and Legal Migration is commissioning the MAC (Migration Advisory Committee) to review the shortage occupation list (SOL). The plan is for the consultation is to open imminently and run until Christmas. The submissions will inform the recommendations MAC make to the Home Office.

It will be important that heritage occupations currently listed remain on the SOL, along with any further occupations that should be identified, and we will be making the case for this. The Heritage Alliance responded to the last call for evidence in 2020 – our previous responses and briefings are here on our website.

For a round-up of recent guidance:

The Heritage Alliance Brexit Hub lists recent Brexit guidance of relevance to the heritage sector. You can also read our briefings on Heritage, Brexit and Immigration on our website.

The Historic Environment Forum Brexit FAQs Trello Board also sets out useful material to help the sector navigate the post-Brexit period.

Parliamentary & Other Government News

Party Conferences

Autumn Conference season is now well underway, with the Conservative Party Autumn Conference coming to a close yesterday (Wednesday 5 October) and Labour Party Autumn Conference finishing last week. Members of the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet were invited to make speeches – full transcripts of the Conservative speeches can be found here, and Labour speeches here. 

The Conservative Conference focused heavily on their new Growth Plan. Both Levelling-Up and Net Zero remained on the agenda; DLUHC Secretary Simon Clarke spoke of how he intends to use Investment Zones to “go further on levelling up” whilst Jacob Rees Mogg hailed fusion energy as the cornerstone of “intelligent net zero”.

At the Labour Conference, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced “a sustainable solution to the energy crisis”, Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan which promotes investment in solar, wind, tidal, hydrogen, and nuclear power.  DCMS Shadow Secretary, Lucy Powell, acknowledged “charities are at the heart of a society that works for everyone, yet they are at real risk from the cost of living crisis and the pandemic.”

We continue to update our website with any key announcements regarding cost of living and economic growth policy, and will continue to make the case to Government that heritage organisations should be included in those businesses that continue to receive cost of living support after March 2023. 

Sector Digest

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

UK Heritage Pulse 2 – Survey Results

The National Lottery Heritage Fund [Alliance member] has now released the results from their second UK Heritage Pulse survey – which ran from 9 August – September 2022. This second survey was designed in response to responses from the first, and focused on organisational resilience, recruitment and staffing and environmental sustainability.

From the over 200 responses received, responses revealed that organisations are growing increasingly concerned about the potential for increasing costs and the rate of inflation to impact their resilience, as well as recruitment and staffing issues, but remain committed to the environment.

ALVA – New Cost of Living Crisis Implications

ALVA [Alliance member] has today published new research into the Cost of Living crisis implications for tourism. This consumer confidence research, undertaken by Decision House, shows that consumers are increasingly concerned about their own finances, the state of the economy and an increasing number of people are thinking again about taking day trips.

Black History Month 2022

This year marks 35 years of Black History Month and the theme for 2022 is Time for Change: Action Not Words. A collection of resources can be found on the Black History Month website. Many heritage and cultural organisations will be holding special events and activities to mark the month.

Here are some from our members:

• The National Lottery Heritage Fund [Alliance member] is spotlighting projects they have supported which explore and celebrate the heritage of diverse ethnic communities, and are re-sharing their blogs and resources relating to inclusive heritage.
• Historic Royal Palaces [Alliance member] is bringing together stories of Black history from across the palaces.
• The National Trust [Alliance member] will be sharing stories of the people behind the places it cares for, including playwrights, sculptors, writers and abolitionists, tailors, musicians and the Lady of Dyrham Park.
• Bates Wells [Alliance member] will be sharing reflections from colleagues on this year’s theme.

We will continue to share activities, events and resources from the sector throughout the month in our sector communications – and especially on our Twitter feed. Please share your news and events with us to be highlighted in a future issue of Heritage Update.

Joint Action to Create a More Diverse Environment Sector

A group of 42 organisations across the sector, including Alliance members CPRE, YHA, National Trust, have announced a that they will be delivering joint action to create a more ethnically diverse environment sector over the next five years.

Royal Patronage & Palaces to Change

Following the demise of The Queen, the over 50 cultural bodies that received her patronage will see a rearrangement of which royal will become or remain patrons of their institution. Some organisations have noted the influence of royal support and how it has benefitted their organisations – for example, Art Fund has highlighted how the late Queen’s position as patron, which she held from 1953, helped when it was seeking funds to acquire ‘Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I’ for Royal Museums Greenwich in 2016.

Additionally, recent reports have suggested that The King is planning to turn some royal palaces into museums, including Balmoral, which could be opened up to the public with an exhibition about The Queen’s life as early as next summer.

Moisture & its Effects on Traditional Buildings

Historic England has worked with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Property Care Association to develop and publish a set of competencies and principles to underpin investigation and treatment of damp in traditional buildings. Based on understanding old buildings and how moisture moves within them, the document explains the issues that surveyors and contractors should take into account and provides a best-practice framework for each stage of the diagnostic investigation and repair process.

New Heritage Protections in Blackpool

Blackpool Council have moved to protect all locally listed buildings by approving an 'Article 4 Direction' across the entire Borough. The application of an Article 4 Direction removes ‘permitted development rights’ and is a way in which the local authority can control building works and changes of use which would ordinarily be 'permitted development'.

2022 Movement for Good Awards

Six heritage charities have now received donations of £1,000 each as part of Ecclesiastical Insurance [Alliance Corporate Partner] and the Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards. The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and Queen's Regiment Museum Maintenance Fund, The Friends of Coldharbour Mill Museum, and Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Trust are among the heritage charities set to benefit from the money, following overwhelming public support.

A further 120 £1,000 grants will be given away in December and £500,000 will also be given in larger grants later this year. For more information about the awards visit www.movementforgood.com.

Climate Resilient Futures Through Culture

Climate Heritage Network has launched an Action Plan for 2022-24. The Action Plan builds on earlier work by trailblazing culture colleagues to help people and communities adapt to changes in climate and is based on a Theory of Change which posits that culture – from arts to heritage – enables transformative climate action by empowering people to imagine and realise low-carbon, just, climate resilient futures.

What do Teachers Want from Museums

A new report by Art Fund, supported by the Clore Duffield Foundation, provides insights into what supports teachers to use museums and galleries as resources in their work, for the benefit of themselves and their pupils. The findings explore barriers to schools visiting museums (primarily cost and time) and explores best practice.

Centre for Cultural Value – Collaborate Fund Round 2

The Centre for Cultural Value has recently launched the second round of its Collaborate fund. Collaborate is a fund to support the development of collaborative research projects between the UK cultural sector and academic researchers. Applications will be open from 17 October until 25 November 2022.

Museum of Homelessness – Shortlisted for Project of the Year

The Museum of Homelessness is working to build the UK's first collection for homelessness. With support from the National Lottery, the Museum curated the 'Secret Museum' - an 11-day immersive exhibition - and they have been shortlisted for National Lottery Project of The Year Award, along with four other heritage projects supported by the Heritage Fund. The Museum will be moving into a permanent venue at Manor House Lodge, Finsbury Park after seven years of work from temporary settings.

Alliance Member News

A snapshot of the current work of our members.

Consultations

Open Consultations (with closing dates):

• DCMS - Consultation on the English portion of dormant assets funding – 9 October

• BEIS - Review of Net Zero: call for evidence – 27 October

• Office of Tax Simplification - Review of hybrid and distance working – 25 November

• Competition & Markets Authority - Consumer protection in green heating and insulation sector: a call for information – 1 November

• The Environment Agency - Regional flood and coastal committees: membership and boundary change – 8 November 2022

• Maritime & Coastguard Agency – Consultation to review MSN 1870 (M+F) Amendment 4 the merchant shipping and fishing vessels (personal protective equipment) regulations 1999 – 25 November

Events

Upcoming Heritage Events - Quick Look

October:

• 8 Oct: FBHVC AGM & Conference - British Motor Museum, Warwickshire
• 8 Oct: Europa Nostra UK - Young Professionals at Bishop Auckland
• 10 & 11 Oct: National Churches Tourism Conference – Shrewsbury
• 11 Oct: The Newport Medieval Ship – 20^th Anniversary Conference - Newport; Friends of the Newport Ship
• 11 Oct: Conference 22: Theatres Fit for the Future - London; Theatres Trust
• 12 Oct: STBA/SPAB Annual Conference: Sustaining Buildings 2022 - Edinburgh
• 12 -14 Oct: AHI Conference 2022 - Y cysylltiad / The connection, AHI
• 13 Oct: The Equity of Recruitment - a "Fair" Process? - A Curating for Change Sector Forum - online
• 18 Oct: Georgian Changes at Fulham Palace – lecture (London); Georgian Group
• 19 Oct: HOW TO: Consider ESG for Heritage Organisations & Projects – online; LHBT
• 20 Oct:  AIM Hallmarks Together - core business review and networking, - Oxford
• 31 Oct: Open High Streets: Working with Public Bodies to Deliver Successful High Street Projects - London; Heritage Trust Network

November:

• 3 Nov: Architecture & Health, 1660-1830 – Symposium (London); Georgian Group

• 8 Nov: HOW TO: Understand Planning Permissions & Listed Building Consent – online; LHBT

• 8 Nov: John Wood and the Creation of Georgian Bath – lecture (London); Georgian Group

• 14 - 16 Nov: The RIBA Conservation Register Forum 2022 – online; RIBA

• 15 Nov: The 2022 Tourism Conference - Recovery and Growth – London 

• 15 Nov: The Historic Buildings Parks & Gardens Event 2022 - London

• 22 Nov: Palaces of Revolution: Life, death and art at the Stuart court – lecture (London); Georgian Group

• 24 Nov: The Heritage Alliance's Heritage Debate 2022 - Save the Date!
• 29 Nov: Open High Streets: The Importance of Community Engagement and Leadership - Birmingham; Heritage Trust Network

Courses

Upcoming Heritage Courses:

• 7 - 8 Oct: An Introduction to Plain Lime Plastering, SPAB
• 10 & 11 Oct: Humble Heritage Workshop: Small-Scale Lime Kiln Building & Traditional Mortars, SPAB
• 17 – 21 Oct: The Repair of Old Buildings Course, SPAB
• 17 Oct - 26 Nov: Understanding Your Old House Course, SPAB
• 19 Oct - 14 Dec: Researching Your Ancestors in the Long 18th Century, Society of Genealogists
• 5 Nov  - 10 Dec : Researching 17th Century Ancestors, Society of Genealogists
• 9 Nov - 14 Dec: Heritage Interpretation Online, AHI
• 5 Dec: Historic Finishes Masterclass, Hampton Court Palace

Jobs

Salaried

Unsalaried

Notes & Subscriptions

The voice of the independent heritage movement, Heritage Update is a free e-bulletin produced on a fortnightly basis by The Heritage Alliance.

You can also visit our website to access an archive of previous issues.

Advertise in Heritage Update

Heritage Update reaches an estimated 14,000 inboxes, is tweeted to our 22.9k Twitter followers, and is shared on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Sharing news, events, courses and vacancies in Heritage Update is free for Heritage Alliance Members, or costs £165 per ad per issue for non-members.

Simply submit our online advertiser's form with the details and payment (if needed) ahead of the content deadline for an upcoming issue. The full instructions are on our website.

We also welcome image-based advertising for academic courses, projects and services of interest to the sector. This costs £75 for members (to feature an 'enhanced' member news item) and £185 for non-members.

Schedule of forthcoming issues:

• Issue 479 - Thurs 20 October (content deadline: 14 October)
• Issue 480 - Thurs 3 November (content deadline: 28 October)
• Issue 481 - Thurs 17 November (content deadline: 11 October)
• Issue 482 - Thurs 1 December (content deadline: 25 November)

If you wish to use or quote from items in Heritage Update, you should always check the accuracy and current position with the source. The Heritage Alliance cannot guarantee the accuracy of (or accept any responsibility for) the contents of Heritage Update.

Seeking Funding/Guidance for Your Heritage Project?

The Heritage Alliance is not a funding body, but we co-manage the Heritage Funding Directory with the Architectural Heritage Fund. This free resource for the sector includes a directory we have jointly collated, listing funding sources for heritage projects across the UK (and internationally), and includes some helpful guidance on fundraising.

We are currently updating existing records in the directory. If you are a funder and would like to list your fund in the Heritage Funding Directory, please follow this link to submit the details through our online form. We also welcome updates to existing entries through this form.

Support The Heritage Alliance

A donation to The Heritage Alliance will help us to champion, inspire, catalyse and support the independent heritage sector. Thank you.

Contact Us

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

Advocacy & Communications Officer (Heritage Update Contact)
Daniella Briscoe-Peaple 0207 233 0800
comms@theheritagealliance.org.uk

Head of Policy & Communications
Polly Martin 0207 233 0700
policy@theheritagealliance.org.uk

Head of Development & Membership
Delphine Jasmin-Belisle 0207 233 0600
development@theheritagealliance.org.uk

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

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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; Heritage Open Days; Wessex Archaeology; The SPAB; National Historic Ships UK. Details of the header image are listed at the top of each issue.