Recent News
Recent headlines
Call for Evidence: Current understanding of Heritage threats and future opportunities. The Historic England Environmental Strategy Team is interested in hearing from the sector regarding threats to the historic environment as well as any potential future opportunities. They wish to understand from the sector how threats are being identified, any current action taken against threat, areas of future concern, and key priorities in addressing and responding to threat.
- Historic England's Call for Evidence
- Closing 15th Febuary 2021
Improving home energy performance through lenders. This consultation sets out a range of proposals that could improve the energy performance of mortgaged properties, and deliver substantial emissions reductions.
National Heritage Fund – Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage: Second Round. Part of the rescue package announced by DCMS to safeguard cultural and heritage organisations across England from the economic impact of COVID-19.
- National Heritage Fund
- Closing 22nd January 2021
MSc Timber Building Conservation course. MSc Timber Building Conservation, delivered by the Weald & Downland Living Museum and validated by the University of York.
This course enables practicing building conservators to improve their competence, and can open new doors to other building professionals wanting to specialise further or change career direction. Applications for this course close on 31 January 2021. The course starts in May 2021.
- Weald & Downland Museum
- Closing 31st January 2021
Future-proofing our past – how can we make our historic buildings more sustainable? Join British Property Federation and Historic England for their first webinar of 2021 exploring the challenges inherent in making historic buildings more sustainable through responsible retrofit.
National Retrofit Strategy Consultative Document. This paper sets out the case for the UK Government, working in partnership with industry, finance, and other community based bodies to introduce a national retrofit strategy to make our existing homes greener and more energy and water efficient.
- Construction Leadership Council
- December 2020
National Maintenance Week (20-27 November) reminds anyone who cares for a property – regardless of its age, type or purpose – of the straightforward steps they can take to protect their building from winter weather.
- SPAB
- 20th - 27th November 2020
The Chartered Institute of Building’s (CIOB) ‘Understanding Building Conservation’ course and ‘Building Conservation Certification Scheme’ have received official endorsement from English Heritage.
PAS 2035 Update: TrustMark have updated the ‘Overview and Roles to Qualifications’
- TrustMark
- November 2020
Historic England have published a statement on its ‘Position on Climate Change and Sustainability’.
This is an important publication as it will help to quash any comments about heritage organisations just wishing to preserve the status quo in favour of traditional buildings over the issue of climate change. It also raises the really important factor of embodied carbon within the existing estate which represents a major carbon sink in the armoury against carbon emissions.
- Historic England
- July 2020
Leeds Beckett University has a new opening for a funded PhD. The doctorate will work in the development and validation of a management tool to achieve the most appropriate and cost-effective solutions to moisture imbalance in dwellings. This research will aim to identify the most appropriate solutions and quantify the benefits from finding better ways to treat current damp issues and to help plan the investment strategy to avoid future mould and moisture problems across the housing association People for Places national estate.
- Leeds Beckett Uni
- 31st August 2020
Welsh Government publishes Building Better Places: The Planning System Delivering Resilient and Brighter Futures.
The document sets out the Welsh Government’s planning policy priorities to assist in taking action in the recovery period after the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. The planning system should be centre stage in the consideration of built and natural environment issues that have arisen from this situation.
Link is a PDF file.
- Welsh Government
- 16th July 2020
The STBA welcomes this exciting round of IHP funding for OR as it is underpinned by the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act that embeds holistic thinking and approaches into the retrofit agenda.
The STBA absolutely supports the call for reduced VAT on maintenance, repairs and retrofit. Embodied carbon within the existing stock is a valuable asset and we should encourage people to look after their homes so that they last longer and retain this carbon within their structures.
Trustmark registration to be a necessary element of a quality drive with the UK Green Recovery
- UK Government
- 4 August 2020
The STBA is pleased to see some element of quality control over this process, however the system should be driven by the PAS2035 process, not just PAS2030 registered contractors / installers. Understanding the building is a pre-requisite for designing a quality assured retrofit.
STBA Comments
