Welcome to the latest edition of the HELM newsletter. We are delighted to present this quarterly newsletter for your interest.

Your next update will be January 2011.

National Heritage Champions Conference

The draft programme for the National Heritage Champions Conference, due to take place on 15^th November at the Foundling Museum, central London, is available on the HELM website. There will be an address from English Heritage Chair, Baroness Andrews; the opportunity to hear the experiences of fellow Heritage Champions; along with workshops on the future of the Heritage Champions network and on what local authorities can be doing to combat the problem of heritage crime.

There are limited spaces still available so those who wish to attend should either email or phone Owain Lloyd-James on .

Recent publications include:

Saving London: 20 Years of Heritage at Risk in the Capital

London’s historic environment is a precious, but fragile inheritance. In 1991, in response to rising public concern that so many historic buildings were threatened by redundancy, neglect and dilapidation, English Heritage published its first Register of Buildings at Risk in Greater London. Almost 1,000 listed buildings were identified as being at risk. 20 years later, 94% of all the buildings on that first register have been repaired, restored and brought back into use.

Download Saving London: 20 Years of Heritage at Risk in the Capital.

Guidance Note for Crown Bodies on Scheduled Monument Clearance in England

This note outlines the new procedures for applying for scheduled monument clearance and the new administrative arrangements between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and English Heritage which came into effect on 2^nd November 2009.

Download Guidance Note for Crown Bodies on Scheduled Monument Clearance in England.

Temporary Structures in Historic Places: Guidance for local planning authorities, site owners and event organisers

Events in historic places make a vital contribution to the economic sustainability of our heritage. They add to the enjoyment of countless visitors at a huge range of sites, from urban squares to open countryside, as well as generating an important source of income. However, the temporary structures needed to facilitate them are not appropriate in every location, and need to be carefully positioned and designed to avoid potentially disfiguring or damaging sites and landscapes of heritage importance. This guidance helps to show how this can be done, using examples of good practice and suggesting an approach to risk assessment and mitigation.

Download Temporary Structures in Historic Places: Guidance for local planning authorities, site owners and event organisers.

Implementing the Heritage Protection Reforms: A Second Report on Local Authority Staff Resources

The August 2010 report shows that historic environment staffing provision in local authorities has continued to decline since the last report in July 2009. In the 15 months between the 2008 surveys undertaken by ALGAO and IHBC and the equivalent surveys in 2010 the numbers of staff who deal with archaeology has fallen by 4%, and those who deal with building and area conservation by 6.9%, giving a combined reduction for all local authority historic environment staff of 5.9%. The numbers of historic environment staff, however, are still slightly higher than in 2003 when broadly equivalent figures were first collected.

Download Implementing the Heritage Protection Reforms: A Second Report on Local Authority Staff Resources .

Using Mineral Extraction and Archaeology: A Practice Guide in conjunction with Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment

In March 2010 Government issued Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment which in England replaced and cancelled Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 Archaeology and Planning and Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 Planning and the Historic Environment. This insert sheet describes the implications of this important change in national planning policy with regard to the planning guidance which is provided in Mineral Extraction and Archaeology: A Practice Guide (Minerals and Historic Environment Forum 2008).

Download Using Mineral Extraction and Archaeology: A Practice Guide in conjunction with Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment.

HELM Training 2010

We have now completed our run of 'Traditional Domestic Buildings and Energy Efficiency' HELM training courses with the final course running in Oxford on 28^th October. These have been very well received by delegates with over 90% of delegates over the 3 events in Taunton, Sheffield and Birmingham rating the day 4 out of 5 or above.

In November we are running two days entitled 'Conservation Areas: Appraisals and Management in Practice' in Leicester (4^th November) and Morpeth (18^th November). Places are still available on these courses.

The 'Historic Characterisation and Spatial Planning' training event in Bristol on 8th October was a great success with delegates saying it was one of the best training days they had attended with applicable case studies. This course was fully booked as is the subsequent 'Historic Characterisation' day in London on 25^th November.

The final training event for 2010 will be the 'Future of Historic School Buildings', also running in London on 2^nd December. Places are still available for this event.

For further details please contact Sam Channer on , email , or visit our website helm.org.uk/training.

HELM Training 2011

We are still in the planning phase for the 2011 HELM Training Programme but are looking to deliver events on the Transfer of Heritage Assets, Heritage Legal Guidance, Archaeology in Planning and Development, and the Setting of Heritage Assets. If you have any specific HELM Training requests please contact .

Historic Environment Traineeship (HET) Scheme

The first cohort on the Historic Environment Traineeship (HET) scheme has now completed the training and five of the trainees have secured employment within the sector already.

Contact details

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