A new story by Michael Morpurgo, the author of War Horse, will be performed to mark the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley announced. The work has been specially written for the national commemorations on Sunday 30 July. His live reading …
Seven Wonders of the Waterways
The Canal and Rivers Trust [Alliance member] protects our waterways’ heritage and has launched Seven Wonders of the Waterways. These include Thomas Telford and William Jessop’s awe-inspiring Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (a Scheduled Ancient Monument; a Grade I Listed structure and a World Heritage Site), Caen Hill …
Celebrating conservation areas
Civic Voice [Alliance member] volunteers in Altrincham have produced the video below as a simple, effective, way to demonstrate how we can all play a part in celebrating conservation areas. It is a celebration of Altrincham’s 9 conservation areas as part of National Civic Day.
18th century drawing of Schmadribach Waterfall at risk of leaving the UK
Arts Minister John Glen has placed a temporary export bar on a drawing of the Schmadribach Waterfall, by Austrian Romantic artist Joseph Anton Koch. This provides an opportunity to keep it in the country if a buyer can match the asking price of £68,750. Dating …
The ‘Digital Infrastructure Fund’ has been announced
New Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund will unlock over £1 billion for full fibre broadband across the country. The Government’s £400 million Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund (DIIF) will unlock over £1 billion for full fibre broadband, and kick-start better broadband connections across the country. Ministers seek …
House of Commons Library note on garden cities, towns and villages
New garden cities, towns and villages have been proposed as one way to meet the housing shortfall. A new garden city is under development at Ebbsfleet and the Government has offered support for a number of further garden town and village sites across the country. …
Written questions on heritage and the EU
Kevin Brennan, Shadow Minister for Arts and Heritage, posed a written question asking the Secretary of State for DCMS, what recent discussions she has had with heritage sector representatives on establishing a budget for collaborative research projects on conservation issues between the UK and other …
Government-backed think tank calls for planning changes to ‘move away’ from high rise
The Housing & Finance Institute (HFI), which was established by the Government, has published, Repair, Protect, Build: What next for UK Housing After The Tragedy at Grenfell Tower. The report recommends: Immediate action is taken for a pause, a moratorium, on any new high-rise blocks …
IHBC/ Civic Voice Conservation Areas 50th Anniversary update
Historic England, working with Civic Voice (CV) and the IHBC [Alliance members], has released results of two parallel surveys of IHBC and CV members’ perceptions of conservation areas in their 50th anniversary year. Key points include: Almost all respondents from both groups felt that conservation …
The Taylor review of modern working practices
The Taylor review of modern working practices has made a number of recommendations which may affect the heritage sector. Perhaps the most important is the recommendation on interns. Any reforms the Government makes must not jeopardise volunteering which is key to supporting the heritage sector. …
Lake District becomes the 31st UK World Heritage Site
The English Lake District, a cultural and ancient landscape in North West of England that inspired Romantic poets and conservationists including William Wordsworth, John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter, has been inscribed onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The bid was submitted by the Department for Digital, …
DCMS becomes Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Department will continue to be referred to as DCMS in all communications, but it is now the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The move is intended to reflect the way the Department’s remit has evolved. DCMS states that the traditional core of …