WHC out and about

WHC has been busy attending CPD, seminars and conferences to ensure staying up to date on all things heritage, design, development, etc. It is always great to see people you have not seen in some time, meet new people, create new contacts, share stories and enjoy a day out of the office!

Here is a brief summary of some of the events WHC has participated in:

SAVE 50^th anniversary

Buildings In Context event in Norwich

Key takeaways:

·         670,000 new homes could be developed based upon existing empty buildings in the country- do not have to build new, renovate and retrofit is key

·         Approximately only 20% of people want to buy a new build property

·         74% of new build housing between 2007 and 2020 is considered mediocre, which means that approximately 25% are satisfactory. Argument of quantity and not quality

·         There are 8 large developers building houses and they build some 50% of the homes in the country, which drives the mediocrity and quality

·         1.2 million homes already have planning permission, yet have NOT been built

As well as:

·         Learned more about the history of SAVE, some of their campaigns and latest concerns

·         Champion design quality

·         Has a historic places panel

·         Feels there is a significant gap in master planning and urban design skills

·         They feel that PEOPLE are the answer, public interest and engagement are key to inclusion

·         Speakers on best practice and experience in creating successful projects

·         Defra and Historic England have capital grants for farmers and landowners to do feasibility studies

·         Argument that the embodied carbon required to build 1.5 million new homes raises serious concerns that the current government needs to mitigate

·         A holistic approach involving all key stakeholders (residents, locals, architects, landscapers, developers, designers, heritage consultants, planners, etc) need to be involved from the beginning to create quality

·         Inbuilt flexibility should be made to accommodate changes, such as personal needs, costs, etc.

Essex Historic Buildings Group meeting, Maldon

Market and Shops in the medieval and early modern period

 Key takeaways:

·         1591 Walker map of Chelmsford

·         1758 Eyre map of Saffron Walden

·         Can identify former market shops and buildings as they had not real back gardens

·         Markets had courts to chase debts, leading to Moot Halls

·         Typology of shops, market stalls, layouts and plan forms

·         Can form part of hall houses and be located in service end

RTPI/IHBC

Heritage and Conservation Conference, St Albans

Key takeaways:

·         Tim Murphy from Place Services spoke on heritage significance and assessing harm

·         Jack Barber spoke to the legal side of the argument and heritage harm versus public benefits

·         Designing for historic settings and best practice with collaboration talks

·         Walking tour of St Albans conservation area pointing out 20^th and 21^st century architecture alongside historic and medieval