Updates from The Heritage Alliance

Save The Date – Heritage Debate 2022

We announced in the last issue of Heritage Update that we will be holding our next annual Heritage Debate on the evening of Thursday 24 November 2022 (5pm – 7pm, online)!

We’re looking forward to welcoming many heritage colleagues to this year’s event for what is likely to be our most topical discussion to date. Save the date – we’ll be announcing further details very soon.

Policy Updates

• We are responding to DEFRA’s consultation on the Principles of Marine Net Gain. The deadline for responses has now been extended to 11:45pm on 13 September. 

• We are also preparing a response to the current National Lottery Heritage Fund consultation on how they should support the UK's heritage. The deadline for responses is 5 September, and we strongly encourage heritage organisations to send in their own responses. Please do forward you key points in to us, so that we have a complete picture of sector concerns.

• We have been receiving mixed reports about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis for heritage organisations that welcome visitors. We urgently ask Alliance Members to share their energy bill and cost of living concerns and evidence with our Head of Policy & Communications Polly Martin, to inform our policy and advocacy work.

Rebuilding Heritage - Strategic Resources

We continue to face a time of unprecedented challenge, uncertainty and change. Some problems are large-scale, others are local. Over the course of our Rebuilding Heritage programme, we have built up a library of strategic resources – all free to access - to help you surmount any current hurdles in your path.

Our carefully curated resources distil the knowledge of dozens of contributing experts and specialists on a range of topics. Each resource is designed to be to-the-point, accessible and most importantly, relevant to heritage organisations.

Resources we’ve been recapping most recently (articles, webinars and toolkits) have covered the topics of: needs-led fundraising, crisis communications and managing hybrid teams.

To receive further insights, we recommend signing up to the Rebuilding Heritage mailing list.

Heritage Digital Academy – Events & Courses

An upcoming live online event through Heritage Digital Academy will provide a crash course to teach individuals and organisations digital sustainability skills:

•  Heritage Digital Academy LIVE: Building Digital Sustainability - 18 October (9am – 6pm).

There will be sessions on creating resilient organisations to deliver change, finding the right tools, embedding digital business and financial planning, inspiration session for heritage and addressing cyber security in your organisation. Interested participants can register their interest here. 

Two courses will also be running in September, both focused on building digital skills and knowledge to support strategic and operation planning. Both courses are free for the sector.

• Making a Plan for Digital - online: 8 September to 19 October; 10am – 12pm

The modules for this course will focus on innovation, enterprise and organisational planning. It will help sector leaders better align and embed digital within their missions and values, better protect stakeholders and benefit from knowledge on how to use digital to grow audiences. Places are limited to 25, with full details on how to apply here. 

• Designing Digital Services - online: 15 September to 4 November (starting at 10am).

This course is designed to equip heritage organisations with tools to make effective use of digital within their services and strategy. The expert trainers will guide you through exercises, templates, and resources. Places are limited to 25, with full details on how to apply here.  

Share Your News with The Heritage Sector

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Government News

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

Headlines

• DCMS Museums Performance Indicators & Visitor Figures

• DLUHC – latest Business Rates information

• New Maritime Security Strategy Policy Paper

• Upcoming Bus & Rail Upgrades

DCMS & Culture

DCMS-Sponsored Museums & Galleries Indicators

Minor adjustments have been made to the statistics for DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries 2020/21. This includes changes to Museum of the Home’s annual visitor figures as well as visitor numbers and the UK loan venues figure for the British Museum. A Regional Engagement section has now also been added to the Performance Indicator Guidance.

Museums & Galleries – Quarterly Visitor Figures

The quarterly visitor statistics for DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries between April to June 2022 have been published. During this period, a total of 8.3 visits were made. This was nearly five times more compared to that period in 2021 but still nearly 35% lower than visitor figures in 2019. The full document is available here.

Planning

Business Rates Information Letter

DLUHC issued its fifth Business Rates Information Letter of the year. This letter covers a) the implementation of green reliefs, b) the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF) and c) Digitalising Business Rates (DBR). The collection of previous business rates information letters can be viewed here.

HMRC has now issued a consultation (with a closing date of 30 September), which sets out and seeks views on how the government proposes to deliver its commitments to modernise and digitalise the business rates system by:

• matching business rates data with central HMRC tax data; and
• displaying business rates information alongside other tax information in a standardised way.

English Housing Survey: 2020 - 2021

The English Housing Survey Technical Report (EHS) 2020 – 21 has been published. This survey takes the form of an interview survey about housing and related topics, and a physical inspection of the condition of a random sample of the housing stock, to gather evidence on housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England. Due to the pandemic, this EHS had to be adapted to follow COVID guidelines and restrictions which impacted aspects including fieldwork, in-person surveys and response rates. Full details and findings are explored in the report.

Environment

New Maritime Security Strategy Policy Paper

A new National Strategy for Maritime Security has been published by the Secretary of State for Transport, outlining how maritime technology, innovation and security will be developed over the next five years. There is mention of the ‘responsibility to protect our underwater cultural heritage,’ and an implementation group will be designed to overlook the progress of the strategy. Further details can be found here. 

New National Trail Status Announced

It has been announced that the Coast to Coast route from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hoods Bay in the North York Moors National Park is to become a new National Trail. £5.6 million funding will help Natural England and local communities to develop the path by making it more accessible. Natural England are also proposing 9.7 miles of new public footpath, 9 miles of new public bridleway and 5 miles of realigning the existing rights of way. The reworked National Trail is expected to open in 2025.

Extreme Weather - Public Emergency Alert System

A new emergency alerts system will be launched soon to ‘warn and inform’ the public on extreme weather events. This was announced by Kit Malthouse, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Lead Minister for Resilience. The alerts will be on severe flooding, fires, extreme weather and public heatlh emergencies. More information on the Emergency Alerts and how the public will be notified on their phones is available here.

National Drought Group – Drought Status

The Environment Agency chaired the National Drought Group on 12 August to confirm drought status for Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Herts and North London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and East Midlands. On 16 August, Yorkshire was also added to the list above.

The Environment Agency has published its water situation national report for July, providing a picture of the rainfall and soil moisture deficit and revealing the decrease in river flows, groundwater levels and reservoir levels over the past month.

Tourism & Hospitality

Oxford Station to be Upgraded

The Rail Minister has announced that £161m of funding will go towards improving Oxford Station for faster journey times, improved accessibility and a better overall travel experience. The improvements will start later this year, with the new platform and entrance expected to open by 2024. This upgrade is expected to support the creation of almost 10,000 jobs in the area.

Funding for England’s Bus Services

The Government will support bus services across England through a funding package of £130 million. Support will be provided for the period of October 2022 to March 2023, aimed at supporting and protecting with bus services and particularly those routes that are used daily for work, shopping and school. The Bus Recovery Grant has also been extended to March 2023.

Education

Record number of First Choice Universities Given

A record of nearly 180,000 18-year-old students have confirmed their first place choice of university in England. This is a 20% increase from 2019, the last time students took exams, meaning that 2022 has broken the record for an examination year. A total of 425,830 students will be attending university. It was also the first results day for new T-levels students.

Parliamentary & Other Government News

• Andrew Hochhauser QC has been appointed as Chair of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest for a term of four years, starting on 17 September.

• Nigel Wilkinson MBE has been appointed as a VisitEngland Advisory Board Member until August 2027.

• Ann Phillips has been appointed as a Charity Commission Legal Board Member for a term of three years.

Sector Digest

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

Cost of Living Crisis Impacting Heritage

The current cost of living crisis is having an acute impact on the cultural sector as many are facing high energy price rises, which will rise further from October.

The Lowry, a theatre and gallery complex in Greater Manchester, is expected to see its energy bills tripled, meaning that it will cost almost £1 million for the organisation to operate this winter. This amount will “far outstrip” the Lowry’s entire Arts Council grant for the year. Many museums are concerned about caring for their collections amidst the rising prices, with some having to make decisions on “whether to close for the winter, cut opening hours, or cut other areas of activity”.

The naval museum Portsmouth Historic Dockyard [Alliance member] are expecting their energy bills to go up by £484,991 next year - a 230% increase. This dramatic rise in costs will jeopardise actions the museum would otherwise have taken to invest in its environmental sustainability. Some businesses are expected to see their bulls increase by fivefold from October.

DCMS are seeking further evidence on how heritage and cultural organisations are being affected. If you have insights and/or data on how the crisis is impacting your sub-sector or organisation, please send it through to us via an email to our Head of Policy & Communications Polly: policy@theheritagealliance.org.uk.

VisitBritain Upgrades Inbound Tourism Forecast

VisitBritain have revised their statistics for anticipated inbound tourism to the UK ‘due to a stronger than expected start to the year’.

For 2022, visits are predicted to increase to 26.7 million (compared with the previous expectation of 21.1 million visits, which was made in February). Anticipated inbound visitor spend has also been increased - to £21.6 billion. The inbound forecast is set to be revised again later this year.

New Research Suggests Housing Strategy is Unsustainable

A new academic study has found that England would use up its entire carbon budget (of 1.5C) on housing alone if the Government goes ahead with its pledge as part of the current Housing Strategy to build 300,000 homes a year. The researchers have recommended alternative measures such as radically retrofitting existing homes, to ensure that everyone in the country can be housed while remaining “within our environmental limits”.

Protecting the Nation’s Department Stores

Historic England is conducting research into the history of department stores, which may lead to further buildings receiving protected status. Alliance members the Twentieth Century Society (C20) and SAVE Britain’s Heritage have been campaigning to save historically significant department stores, pushing for urgent listings to prevent their demolition. According to C20, over 50% of department stores in England have closed in seven years – for reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic, a rise in online shopping and the rising cost of living.

M&S Marble Arch Demolition

The author Bill Bryson has joined the list of names opposing the demolition of the M&S store in Marble Arch. He joins a list of other figures, including MPs and building developers, pushing for keeping the store, highlighting both the potential environmental impact of demolition as well as the loss of a significant heritage asset. Britain’s Heritage [Alliance member] have also started a fundraiser, hoping to reach £20,000 to pay for legal fees and witnesses for the two-week inquiry which will start on 25 October.

ACE Publishes Arts, Culture & the Brain

Arts Council England has commissioned a UCL Research Group to report on the link that involvement in arts and culture has on engagement and the brain. The Arts, Culture and the Brain Report found that visiting heritage sites contributed to ‘higher life satisfaction.’ Another finding was that ‘bringing cultural resources to deprived areas could have a greater impact on people’s wellbeing than in affluent areas’.

A reminder that we shared related insights in our Heritage, Health and Wellbeing report, which includes case studies from heritage organisations on their activities and impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

Art Fund Launches ‘The Great Escape’

Art Fund has launched The Great Escape - a new initiative inviting museums, galleries, and historic houses to host primary schools’ workshops and contribute to a UK-wide work of art by young people (aged 8-11) that shows their vision for the biodiversity of our landscape. The programme will culminate with activities across the UK on Earth Day weekend (22 - 23 April 2023). Find out more, including how to register your organisation’s interest, here.

Reminder - Help Shape the Future Work of the Heritage Fund

A reminder that The National Lottery Heritage Fund [Alliance Member] is seeking views from the heritage sector and the public to help shape its new 10-year strategy. Participants working in the heritage sector can complete this survey whilst members of the public can submit their views here. The deadline for both surveys is 5 September.

Reminder - UK Heritage Pulse Survey

A reminder that The National Lottery Heritage Fund [Alliance member] has launched the Second UK Heritage Pulse survey which can be answered here. This series will focus on organisational resilience, sustainability as well as recruitment and staffing to assist with ‘priorities and funding approaches.’ The survey will close on Friday 9 September.

Culture 24 – Digital, Heritage & the Climate Crisis

The final free seminar from Culture 24’s Leading the Sector series ‘Digital leadership – Heritage, digital and the climate crisis,’ will take place online on 20 September from 10:00 – 11:30am. This will include input from environmental sustainability experts, environmental activists, cultural consultants and others aimed at helping heritage organisations learn more about the challenges and strategies of dealing with the climate crisis. The series has been supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund [Alliance member] and interested participants can register here.

Celebrating Cultural Diversity Through Horticulture in Birmingham

As part of the Birmingham 2022 festival (2 – 18 September), Trigger Collective are designing a temporary garden that will transform the city centre, inspired by the fact that over 80% of plants in UK city gardens come from overseas. A free 17-day programme of events including workshops, talks and performances will be held at the garden, as part of ‘a celebration of cultural diversity in the UK through horticulture’.

Support for Cultural Organisations in Ukraine

There is ongoing support for cultural organisations in Ukraine, with material and documentation supplies helping to conserve collections. The International Council of Museums and other UK organisations have continued to offer help to protect the cultural heritage of Ukraine during the war. In addition, Benefact Trust have now awarded £1 million to support Ukraine and Barnsley Museum raised £1285 for Museum Association’s Ukraine appeal.

Alliance Member News

A snapshot of the current work of our members.

Consultations

Open Consultations (with closing dates):

• Cabinet Office - Standards for ethnicity data – 30 August

• Charity Commission – proposed changes to the Annual Return – 1 September

• DfT - High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Additional Provision 1 Environmental Statement and Supplementary Environmental Statement 1 Consultation – 1 September

• Lords Comms Committee – an inquiry into the future of the creative industries – 2 September

• DEFRA - Deer management strategy – 2 September

• National Lottery Heritage Fund – seeking views from the heritage sector and the public to help shape its new 10-year strategy – 5 September

• HM Treasury - Consultation on the proposed reform of the UK’s sovereign immunity from direct tax policy. – 12 September

• DEFRA – Consultation on the principles of marine net gain – extended - 13 September

• DfT – Supporting recycled carbon fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation – 19 September

• DCMS – Developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England – 21 September

• DEFRA - Highly Protected Marine Areas pilot sites – 28 September

• HMRC - Digitalising Business Rates: connecting business rates and tax data - 30 September

Events

Upcoming Heritage Events - Quick Look

September:

• 3 Sept: Welsh Heritage Day - Cardiff City Hall; Victorian Society

• 5 Sept: HOW TO: Programme & Phase Heritage Projects – online; LHBT

• 6 Sept: Thomas Robins and the Art of the Georgian Garden – online lecture; Georgian Group

• 6 Sept: Growing Your Community – A Visit to Carluke High Mill; HTN

• 13 Sept: HOW TO: Heritage Interpretation – online; LHBT

• 14 Sept: Dealing with Rising Energy Costs – online; HTN

• 16 Sept: WMHBT Conference 2022: Building Recording Through Time - Worcester Cathedral; The West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust

• 22 Sept: The Mausoleum Revisited - London; Mausolea & Monuments Trust

• 27 Sept: Open High Streets: Housing on the Historic High Street – online; HTN

October:

• 3-4 Oct: World Heritage UK 2022 Annual Conference - Cheshire/ Online

• 5 Oct: HOW TO: Make Sustainability Interventions to Historic Buildings – online; LHBT

• 8 Oct: Europa Nostra UK - Young Professionals at Bishop Auckland

• 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

• 18 Oct: Georgian Changes at Fulham Palace – lecture (London); Georgian Group

• 19 Oct: HOW TO: Consider ESG for Heritage Organisations & Projects – online; LHBT

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

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

• (Postponed: The 2022 Tourism Conference - Changes During Recovery – London)
• 24 Nov: The Heritage Alliance's Heritage Debate 2022 - Save the Date!

HOW TO: Upcoming series from London Historic Buildings Trust

The London Historic Buildings Trust [Alliance member] has launched their 2022/23 virtual training initiative: HOW TO. Over the next 12 months, LHBT, and guest speakers, will be delivering regular 45-minute sessions on topics key to developing sustainable, socially focused heritage projects.

Here are some of the upcoming sessions:

HOW TO: Programme & Phase Heritage Projects (5 September) - about programming and/or phasing a built heritage project. Led by London Historic Buildings Trust [Alliance member] and Thomas Ford & Partners.

HOW TO: Heritage Interpretation (13 September) – introducing the topic of heritage interpretation, with a focus on built heritage and the historic environment.

HOW TO: Make Sustainability Interventions to Historic Buildings (5 October) - exploring what environmental sustainability interventions might be made to historic buildings, and how.

HOW TO: Consider ESG for Heritage Organisations & Projects (19 October) - exploring what ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) means and how to develop a policy for heritage organisations and projects. Led by London Historic Buildings Trust [Alliance member] and Russell Cooke Solicitors.

HOW TO: Understand Planning Permissions & Listed Building Consent (8 November) - exploring the process of seeking permission for changes to a historic and/or listed building.

Courses

Upcoming Heritage Courses:

• 6 Aug - 3 Sept: Tracing Your Female Ancestors, Society of Genealogists
• 6 Sept - 8 Nov: Lost in London, Society of Genealogists
• 7 & 14 Sept: Setting Up a New Museum (two-part workshop), AIM
• 15 Sept: An Introduction to Lime in Building, SPAB
• 16 Sept: Hot Limes in Building, SPAB

• 28 Sept: RIBA Conservation CPD Conference – online; RIBA

• 4 Oct – 1 Nov: Developing Anti-Racist Practice in Museums, GEM

• 7 - 8 Oct: An Introduction to Plain Lime Plastering, SPAB
• 17 – 21 Oct: The Repair of Old Buildings Course, SPAB
• 17 Oct - 26 Nov: Understanding Your Old House Course, SPAB
• 5 Nov 2022 - 10 Dec 2022: Researching 17th Century Ancestors, Society of Genealogists
• 9 Nov - 14 Dec 2022: Heritage Interpretation Online, AHI

Jobs

Salaried

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.

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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 476 - Thurs 8 September (content deadline: 2 September)
• Issue 477 - Thurs 22 September (content deadline: 16 September)
• Issue 478 – Thurs 6 October (content deadline: 30 September
• Issue 479 - Thurs 20 October (content deadline: 14 October)

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.