| ISSN 1357-4442 | Editor: Simon Denison |
|---|
| CBA UPDATE |
The CBA last month submitted written evidence on urban development to the House of Commons Environment Select Committee, following a Government-sponsored report on urban regeneration. The Government plans an Urban White Paper for the near future.
The CBA called for the integration of conservation with urban renewal. Supporting the proposal that local authorities should have a strategic role for managing the whole urban environment, the CBA recommended the introduction of whole-town historic character assessments, to ensure that the capacity for different parts of a town to absorb change is recognised.
The CBA also lobbied for increased funding for local authority conservation services. It supported the proposal to foster more regeneration - provided it allows for sensitive re-use of historic buildings - but affirmed its support for locally distinctive new developments.
The CBA noted that many urban areas suffering from low demand for housing and social decline are those where too little regard was paid in the past to the historical and social context of regeneration. This in turn has impaired some communities' sense of historic identity with their neighbourhoods. The CBA claimed that the present policy of demand-led supply of housing was increasing problems, and called for a more imaginative policy to steer demand to certain areas for the benefit of conservation.
The CBA disputed the widespread belief that development on brownfield land is always good, on greenfield land always bad, noting that many brownfield sites contain important industrial and other archaeological remains, and have become havens for urban wildlife; while much greenfield land has been significantly degraded through intensive agriculture and peripheral development.
Have you ever wanted to survey the field
boundaries around your village? Or to
know more about the history of
buildings in your neighbourhood, or to
restore the old village pump at the end of
your street? Help may be at hand, in the
form of a new small-grants scheme for
local heritage projects launched by the
Countryside Agency and supported by
the Lottery.
The Local Heritage Initiative will run
for 10 years and has £8m to disburse in
the first three years. At present it covers
only England but will soon be extended
to the rest of Britain.
Standard grants of between £3,000-
£15,000 will be given to local groups -
such as archaeological societies and
schools - for projects that investigate,
explain or care for aspects of the local
historic environment for the benefit of
the local community. Most groups will
need to raise matching funding to
receive a grant.
The CBA has welcomed the scheme
and is now becoming involved. For
further information, contact LHI
Information at The Acorn Centre, 51
High St, Grimethorpe, Barnsley S72
7BB, or telephone 01226 719019, or visit
their website at www.lhi.org.uk.
The new Countryside and Rights of Way
Bill was introduced in Parliament last
month. Following lobbying by the CBA,
the bill includes a measure allowing for
closure of rights of way causing damage to
archaeological sites. As the bill proceeds,
the CBA will continue to press for
stronger planning controls in Areas of
Outstanding Natural Beauty to bring
them into line with National Parks, and
for better protection for field boundaries.
The CBA has given its views on a report
on rural economies, prepared by a
Government think-tank working on a
new Rural White Paper.
The CBA applauded the proposed
`radical rethink' of Government rural
policy, and welcomed the report's
definition of `environment' which
recognises the contribution made by
the historic environment to the
character and economy of rural areas.
The CBA drew attention to the
importance of the historic environment
in attracting tourism and recreation in
the countryside, themselves key sectors
in the rural economy. The CBA called for
more effective conservation of the
historic character of the countryside to
enhance the experience of visitors, and
policies aimed at drawing visitors more
to smaller attractions to reduce pressure
on honeypot sites.
While welcoming more local
involvement in decision making, the
CBA stressed the need to ensure that
sufficient specialist conservation
expertise is available. The CBA called for
greater attention to the materials, style
and setting of new buildings; careful
regulation to ensure conservation and
sympathetic conversion of old,
especially agricultural, buildings; and
the avoidance of urbanisation on the
back of rural diversification.
The CBA welcomed the proposal to
bring agricultural development -
which can cause serious damage to
archaeological remains - under
planning control, and urged that arable
payments under the Common
Agricultural Policy should be
conditional on protecting
archaeological sites and boundaries.
The CBA called for a review of `class
consents' for agricultural work on
scheduled ancient monuments, through
which landowners are permitted to
carry out damaging work without
seeking permission each time. The CBA
also restated the importance of
adequate provision of local government
conservation services.
Museums strategy
Earlier this year the Museums, Libraries
and Archives Council (MLAC), a new
strategic body set up by the
Government, published its first
corporate strategy. Commenting on the
strategy, the CBA reminded MLAC of
the close links between museums and
archaeology - in research, education
and storage - and urged the new
body to continue to work closely with
archaeology, for example in the
Portable Antiquities Reporting
Scheme and in integrating the work of
museums with that of Sites and
Monuments Records.
Noting that MLAC had been founded
to nurture `access, education,
innovation, and the creative industries',
the CBA stressed that museums also
had a fundamental role in preservation
and conservation of artefacts - an
idea curiously absent from the MLAC
strategy.
New CBA books
The CBA has published three new
research reports, all currently available
at special rates.
Archaeology and Conservation in
Ironbridge, by Richard Hayman,
Wendy Horton and Shelley White
(£24), is a reassessment of this World
Heritage Site following a recent major
repairs project. Conservation and
change in historic towns, edited by E
Patricia Dennison (£30), is a volume
of papers focusing on how to protect
a town's heritage while allowing it to
develop. Prehistoric Intertidal
Archaeology in the Welsh Severn Estuary, by Martin Bell, Astrid Caseldine
and Heike Neumann (£36), is a survey
of the greatest concentration of
prehistoric intertidal archaeology
in Britain.
For further details, call
Kate Sleight on 01904 671417
(cbabooks@dial.pipex.com) or visit
www.britarch.ac.uk.
Compiled by Simon Denison
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© Council for British Archaeology, 2000
New grants for local heritage
Byways bill
Advice on rural economies
In brief