HERITAGE COUNTS 2013 WEST MIDLANDS Heritage Counts 2013 is the twelfth annual survey SKILLS IN THE HISTORIC of the state of England’s historic environment. It is ENVIRONMENT prepared by English Heritage on behalf of the West Midlands Historic Environment Forum. This year the This year, Heritage Counts focuses on skills; since the beginning of the financial crisis many parts of the sector theme for Heritage Counts is skills in the historic have seen significant reductions in budgets and staffing environment. Visitors to the Heritage Counts website numbers, causing concerns that specialist knowledge is being lost. For the 2013 report, a number of research can download the complete research projects projects were undertaken to assess these skills provisions, commissioned to support this year’s report and access including a survey of the whole cultural heritage sector in the full set of local statistics and maps detailing the the UK. One of the key findings from this study was that the majority of respondents (60%) indicated that they did historic environment for the West Midlands, including not have a training budget, which means that initiatives like asset data, funding information, employment numbers those outlined in the case studies below are essential for developing skills across the sector. Please see the national and visitor figures. Please see Heritage Counts 2013 report for more analysis and www.heritagecounts.org.uk. further details. Practical skills workshop for beginners and professionals alike Since 2004, the Ironbridge International lime mixes are vital in understanding Institute for Cultural Heritage has run most pre-First World War buildings, and a part time, post-graduate course in is popular with plasterers and builders. Historic Environment Conservation – The workshop on Timber includes a with teaching sessions held on Fridays visit to Ludlow and the Treasure & Sons and Saturdays to maximise participation joinery shop with demonstrations on by allowing students to participate while how to use the side axe and the adze continuing working. Appealing to a in squaring up timbers for framing wide range of professionals - including and how to repair infill panels. For the architects, archaeologists, surveyors, session on Metal, students travel to Blists planners, conservation officers and Hill Victorian Town and work in the engineers. Going beyond simply training ironworks using the forge and anvil, and in the traditional skills of the sector, the learn the difference between cast and course also aims to teach more modern wrought iron. techniques, such as the conservation of twentieth century buildings. While it A specific workshop focusing on remains popular, and funding has been Twentieth Century Materials investigates secured for 2014, the long term future how repairs can be made to reinforced for the course is uncertain. concrete structures, while the Ceramic course practises using terracotta Many of the elective, two-day practical moulding and repairs, brick laying and workshops offered at Ironbridge, are conservation of wall and floor tiles. suitable for crafts people undertaking For the seminar on Stone, different continuing professional development methods of repair are demonstrated by and reflect the different needs for skills stonemasons. within the historic environment sector. www.ironbridge.org.uk/assets/ The Lime course, held at Llanymynech Uploads/170913CPDTraining Limeworks in Shropshire, for example A student on the Ironbridge Institute’s Metals course Courses2.pdf using a blacksmith’s forge © Ironbridge Institute explains why knowledge of lime and 1 | HERITAGE COUNTS 2013 WEST MIDLANDS SUMMARY OF HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT INDICATORS FOR 2013 Listed Listed Listed Registered West Midlands Assets 2002 2013 Scheduled Conservation Area Buildings Buildings Buildings Parks & Monuments Areas World Heritage Sites 1 2 Grade I Grade II* Grade II Gardens Scheduled Monuments 1407 1420 Herefordshire 127 356 5405 263 24 64 Listed Buildings Grade I 600 618 Shropshire 131 536 7006 465 32 129 Listed Buildings Grade II* 2119 2153 Staffordshire 78 361 4794 279 20 185 Listed Buildings Grade II 31124 31487 Warwickshire 112 354 5519 117 31 138 Registered Parks West Midlands 145 152 63 224 3126 64 30 145 and Gardens (Met County) Registered Battlefields 6 6 Worcestershire 107 322 6354 172 15 137 Conservation Areas 731 779 Note: these sub-regional totals may include heritage assets which are located across local Designated Collections n/a 22 authority boundaries. Accredited Museums n/a 143 Understanding the Assets Area Consent decisions are examined decisions in England fell by 33%. Listed alone, they show an increase in activity building plus conservation area consents, For a comprehensive set of statistics on of around 20%, in the last 12 months. however, declined by just 5%. the historic environment for the West This may be an indication that activity Midlands, and for local authority areas, is focusing on conservation and repair If this trend continues, the need for visit www.heritagecounts.org.uk. of existing assets, rather than on qualified and experienced local authority Key changes and trends are highlighted in new building activity and some areas historic environment staff will be crucial. this report. have seen more activity than others. While the rate of staffing has stabilised In Stratford-on-Avon, for example, in the past 12 months, there is nearly a Caring and Sharing Conservation Area Consents rose from third less capacity in the sector in 2013 than in 2006. Planning applications in the West 12 in 2011/12 to 29 in 2012/13; and in Midlands have continued to decline – Birmingham they rose from 17 to 26 There is a risk, therefore, that local falling another 3% between 2011/12 and over the same period. authorities with reduced historic 2012/13. The situation for Conservation The comparison, between planning environment staffing capacity will not Area Consent and Listed Building applications and decisions relating to be able to keep up with the workload Consent decisions, however, is more the historic environment, is even more generated by planning applications complex. Taken together they have marked when examining the national relating to heritage assets. declined more slowly, as the graph trend. Between 2002/03 and 2012/13, below illustrates. When Conservation The availability of grant aid has continued the number of planning application to support the historic environment. English Heritage’s grant expenditure has fallen by around a third since 2002/03 – Comparison of planning work over ten years to 2012/13 to £1.5million for 36 projects in 2012/13. 60,000 3,500 The level of funding available from the Heritage Lottery Fund, however, has remained buoyant. In 2012/13 alone, 3,000 50,000 £31.5million has been given out in grants in the region. Since 1994/95, 2,500 40,000 70 grants worth £642,400 have gone to community heritage projects; 554 2,000 awards worth £351.2million to historic 30,000 buildings & monuments; 46 projects 1,500 totalling £50.3 million have supported 20,000 industrial, maritime & transport heritage; 1,000 1,907 schemes worth £51.5million have focused on intangible heritage; 215 grants 10,000 500 around land & biodiversity have attracted £139.4millioin; and museums, libraries, 0 0 archives & collections have received 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 £430.4million for 522 projects. Number of planning application decisions Number of listed building consent decisions plus conservation area consent decisions 2 | HERITAGE COUNTS 2013 WEST MIDLANDS Using and Benefitting between 2000 and 2012. Factors situation, although free schools visits behind this boom are likely to include to English Heritage properties have Enjoyment of the historic environment the cost-effectiveness of membership increased by nearly 20% between continues to be an important activity of organisations like National Trust and 2011/12 and 2012/13 to 32,401. This for many communities. The popularity English Heritage and in more recent may be due to the central location of key of local heritage, and the way people years the appeal of holidaying at home. sites such as Kenilworth Castle, where engage with it, is demonstrated in the With increased interest has come the recent investment in recreating the growth of Heritage Open Day events. a wider range of places to visit. The Elizabethan garden has proved to be a In the West Midlands, this annual festival number of Historic Houses Association significant draw. staged 394 events in 2012; marking a member houses that are available to visit steady increase in the number of events in the West Midlands, for example, has Getting involved in the historic over the past five years. risen from 62 in 2007 (50% of member environment remains popular with 8,683 people volunteering 721,713 hours of The appeal of heritage remains high. properties at that time) to 79 in 2012 (or, 60% of member properties). their time for the National Trust in the Visit England figures show that, in the Midlands in 2012/13. West Midlands, the number of visitors Educational visits have suffered to historic attractions rose by 47% somewhat from the on-going economic Harnessing community spirit to revive lost skills Sarehole Mill – one of only two Repair of the machinery, and the compare notes, discuss milling and surviving watermills in Birmingham availability of water from the mill pool, keep a written log, as well as an online – dates from the mid eighteenth meant that the flour milling capacity blog at www.sareholemillers. century and is thought to be an was restored to working order. A call wordpress.com. An account of the inspiration for the author JRR Tolkien for volunteers – using local newspapers project has also been added to the who grew up nearby. The grade II and social media – gained such an Birmingham Archives & Heritage blog listed building is now in the care of overwhelming response there is a at www.theironroom.wordpress.