Alliance members the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (IHBC) and Conference on Training in Architectural Conservation (COTAC) have highlighted in construction sector press their concerns over the damage the Government’s Green Deal initiative might cause to the historic environment. The Green Deal is a key plank of the Energy Act 2011. It intends to reduce carbon emissions cost-effectively by enabling homes and businesses to install energy-saving measures in their properties with no upfront costs.

IHBC, SPAB and COTAC warn the Green Deal proposals need urgent improvement if harm to older buildings is to be avoided. “When modern energy efficiency solutions are used on older buildings they can be extremely harmful. The Green Deal’s ‘one size fits all’ approach will cause unnecessary damage to the character and fabric of historic buildings and incur significant long-term costs for property owners while wasting millions of pounds of public money,” said John Preston, IHBC education secretary.

IHBC, SPAB and COTAC believe that older buildings could benefit from the Green Deal if the proposals were revised. A key concern is that Green Deal assessors will need to be properly trained in traditional building construction, including local vernacular materials and techniques, and will need to be able to understand how a combination of solutions can be best suited to the needs of each individual property. Click here for the full detail of the suggested amendments.

On Tuesday (24 January) Communities Minister Andrew Stunnell invited applications to a £100m fund designed to enable voluntary and community groups to bring empty homes back into use. This fund is part of the Government's Affordable Homes Programme, which aims to create up to 170,000 new affordable homes over the next four years.

According to the guidance, successful applications will: bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing; deliver value for money; have support from their local authority, and set out how they will ensure that works will be completed by 31 March 2015. Mr Stunell encouraged innovative and ambitious applications, expressing his hope that successful projects would not only bring much needed empty homes back into use but also provide extra opportunities for local jobs and training.

The Minister has appointed fund manager Tribal to manage distribution of funding to successful applicants. Tribal will also assess applications and report back to the Department according to the criteria set out in the guidance document.

The deadline for applications is 17 April 2012. Download the guidance document here and apply here.

On Thursday (26 January) Home Secretary Theresa May announced a Government amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to tackle metal theft. 

The Government accepts "there is an urgent need to make stealing metal less attractive to criminals", and that "legislation is the only sustainable, long-term solution to this growing menace". The amendment will create a new criminal offence to prohibit cash payments to purchase scrap metal, and significantly increase the fines for all offences under the existing Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. It is hoped tackling the stolen metal market will act as a significant deterrent to crinminals.

This announcement follows the commitment outlined in the National Infrastructure Plan published in November 2011, when the Government announced £5m to establish a 'metal theft taskforce'. Theresea May confirmed further measures would be brought forward in due course. Click here for the full statement.

Last year John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage, announced a one-off capital grant of £1.1m for listed places of worship. This month the decision was made to offer the funding to the Church of England and the National Churches Trust (NCT - a member of the Alliance) on the basis of the historic claims on the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme, with the Church of England receiving £781,000 and the NCT £319,000.

It has been agreed with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that given the tight time scale and small amounts of money involved, the CofE Cathedral and Church Buildings Division (a member of the Alliance) will manage the distribution of this sum across the Church of England’s dioceses. The National Churches Trust will distribute the remainder of the grant to listed places of worship of other denominations and faiths across the UK.

The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division has announced it is inviting its 42 dioceses to recommend possible projects for new capital works that can be seen to increase the usefulness of their church buildings beyond the worshipping congregation, to facilitate greater community use.

More on the Church Care website here and the NCT website here.

Following the recommendations of the recently concluded Portas Review, the Backbench Business Committee granted a debate on the future of town centres and high streets, which took place on 17 January.

Bob Russell MP (Lib Dem, Colchester) echoed the words of many Members when he quoted the British Retail Consortium that it would be “essential that local authorities across the country work with retailers, cultural and heritage organisations, landlords and other local stakeholders to maximise the inherent advantage of an individual area’s local heritage”. George Freeman MP (Con, Mid Norfolk) agreed: “around the country there are inspiring examples...which have shown that it is possible to combine the one-stop shop convenience of an out-of-town supermarket that people with busy lives need with the heritage, community and authentic local community experience of a well run and well organised town centre.”

Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP confirmed the Government would respond to the recommendations of the Portas Review by the spring. Over 50 Members contributed to this six-hour debate, highlighting the importance of this issue across all constituencies. Click here for the full debate transcript, and here for details of the Portas Review.

FAME (Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers - an Alliance member), the SMA (Society of Museum Archaeologists) and ALGAO (Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers) have issued a statement of intent to address the issue of undeposited archaeological archives.

The central issue is that some archives cannot be deposited because there is no suitable museum or store. Other significant issues include the absence of data on museum storage capacity, the number of undeposited archives, and usage of archives.  FAME, the SMA and ALGAO have agreed on six objectives to address these concerns – click here for the full list.

RESCUE (The British Archaeological Trust – an Alliance member) has issued a statement welcoming the “greater level of collaborative working within archaeology and the museums profession to resolve the issue” but noting “with regret the lack of any concrete proposals beyond the formulation of statements of intent”. RESCUE has proposed a list of actions “as a means of taking forward the good intentions set out in the statement” – click here for the full list.

The Challenge Fund, launched last summer, is co-funded by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and English Heritage, and managed by the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF - a member of the Alliance). Repair grants of up to £200,000 are available for projects undertaken by charities tackling Grade I and Grade II* buildings on the EH Buildings At Risk Register. 

The AHF would now like to hear from charities interested in applying for the next round of grants, which will be offered in April.  Full details and guidance notes on the Challenge Fund can be found here. Expressions of interest in support from the Challenge Fund should be sent to Gavin Richards, AHF Development Manager gavin.richards@ahfund.org.uk by the end of February.

TCPA A Vision for Rural England

Tourism Regulation Taskforce Seizing the Tourism Opportunity

House of Commons report on Town Centres & Planning

House of Commons report on Empty Housing

Despite the challenging economic climate the National Trust (a member of the Alliance) saw a substantial increase in its visitor numbers and retail and catering sales in December 2011, compared to the previous December.

The Trust welcomed more than half-a-million (521,000) visitors to its properties in December 2011 - an increase of 74 per cent on the previous year. The retail business (which includes high street shops, shops at properties and online sales) saw an increase in sales of 24 per cent and the cafes and restaurants had a 71 per cent increase in sales, compared to the same month in 2010. 

The Trust is on target to have its best ever year for visitor numbers to its pay-for-entry properties, exceeding 18 million visitors for the first time in its history. Chairman of the National Trust Simon Jenkins commented: “This shows that arts and heritage charities not dependent on government grants appear to be experiencing a surge in trading income. The public is turning away from more expensive leisure venues, overnight stays and foreign trips. It is a rare good news story in the gloom."

The National Trust for Scotland’s appeal to raise emergency funds to help tackle problems with some of Scotland’s most historic buildings has reached its £110,000 target in just four weeks.

Hundreds of members of the NTS responded to a personal plea from Chief Executive Kate Mavor to consider contributing at least £15 to help meet the cost of looking after properties such as Culzean, Brodick and Crathes castles. The charity issued the rallying call for support in November, saying it was unable to meet the full costs of the “sheer scale of its responsibilities”.

The NTS has said this appeal has become the fastest-grossing in its history with more than 3,000 donors coming forward, nine of whom gave more than £1,000. The NTS has been delighted by the “fantastic” response from members and says “every penny of this appeal will go into conserving and promoting our heritage for the benefit of the nation.”

Grants totalling £4 million to help improve 36 museums and galleries across the country were unveiled on Monday by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey. The grants were jointly funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Wolfson Foundation.

Grants awarded included £300,000 for Chatham Historic Dockyard for the renewal of the 'Wooden Walls Story', which explains the shipbuilding process during the age of sail through a reconstruction of the dockyard of 1758; £150,000 to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust for redevelopment of the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron with new gallery spaces, a new education space and improved access; £150,000 towards a new permanent display of Baroque art, furniture, state beds and wall paintings at Hampton Court Palace; and £50,000 to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum for the reconstruction of a labourer’s cottage. 

Click here for the full list of the 36 projects awarded funding.

Design Council CABE has appointed a new director to replace Diane Haigh, who resigned last year. Nahid Majid has over twenty years’ experience in urban regeneration as a professional urban designer. She began her career as urban renaissance manager for the Prince of Wales Foundation for the Built Environment, before becoming Associate Director of Regeneration at Turner and Townsend Construction Management. More recently Ms Majid was a Deputy Director at the Department for Work and Pensions, leading on area initiatives, the city strategy, localism and community agendas. More here.

The Clore Leadership Programme is currently inviting applications from exceptional individuals with the potential to take on significant leadership roles within culture. Sponsored by Arts Council England, the general fellowships are open to candidates with at least five years' paid work experience either in employment, self-employed or freelance, usually in the cultural sector. Applicants should be able to demonstrate a knowledge, understanding and passion for culture.

There are also a series of consortium fellowships, including a Heritage Consortium Fellowship supported by the Clore Leadership Programme and the Heritage Consortium - English Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund, National Trust. 

Further details on the specific criteria for each Specialist Fellowship and the General Fellowshops can be found here. The deadline is 24 February.

Applications are invited by the York Foundation for Conservation and Craftsmanship for bursaries to assist the training of craftsmen and conservators. Bursaries of up to £1500 each are available to further the knowledge and skills of craftsmen and conservators at various stages of their careers (this can include CPD courses). Bursaries of up to £3000 are offered to encourage and assist established craftsmen and conservators to take on a new apprentice / trainee.

While these latter awards are restricted to people with links to York and Yorkshire, the other awards have no such restriction.

For application forms and guidance notes email conservationyork@hotmail.com The closing date for receipt of applications is 31 March. More here.

The Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2012. Established to celebrate best practice within museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions across the UK, the Award scheme is open to operators and suppliers.

For 2012 eleven categories have been created, to offer opportunities for all budgets and profiles. The judges will look for evidence of "outcome, creativity, relation to objective and cost effectiveness."

The deadline for entries is 10 February. Click here to download an entry form.

Preparations are already beginning for this year’s London Open Garden Squares Weekend, organised by the London Parks and Gardens Trust. Many volunteers enjoyed themselves so much last year that they are returning, but extra volunteers are needed this year due to a higher number of participating gardens.

Friendly, enthusiastic volunteers are sought to help welcome visitors, check and sell tickets and ensure that the gardens are treated with respect. No one will have to be on duty for more than half a day and every volunteer will receive a free ticket to the whole two-day event.  

For further information click here or contact Jock Blakey vol@opensquares.org / 07707 066 765.

Consultation on the new rural policy functions within Government and the proposed abolition of the Commission for Rural Communities This consultation seeks views on the new rural policy functions within Government and the proposed abolition of the Commission for Rural Communities as a statutory NDPB, as provided for under the Public Bodies Bill currently before Parliament, following the Government’s Arms Length Body Review. Deadline: 30 January.

Finance Bill 2012: draft clauses and explanatory notes. HM Revenue and Customs is now consulting on a range of draft clauses and expanatory notes to be included in the Finance Act 2012 (including on charity and philanthropic measures - see article above). Deadline: 10 February.

The Red Tape Challenge: housing and construction A Cabinet Office consultation seeking views on whether certain housing and construction regulations should be scrapped, reformed, simplified, made non-regulatory, or left as they are. One of the regulations considered is the Authorisation of Works (Listed Buildings) (England) Order 2001, which requires notice of proposals to demolish a listed building to be given to English Heritage. Deadline: 16 February.

Cultural Gifts Scheme: A Scheme for the Gifting of Pre-Eminent and Associated Objects in Exchange for Tax Reductions  DCMS is now seeking feedback on the scheme guidance (see article above). Comments should be sent to mark.caldon@culture.gsi.gov.uk Deadline: 29 February.

Proposed abolition of the Railway Heritage Committee and transfer of its designation function to the board of trustees of the Science Museum. A Department for Transport consultation seeking views on both the proposed abolition of the Railway Heritage Committee and on the transfer of its designation function to the board of trustees of the Science Museum. Deadline: 1 March.

Building a sustainable future for Heritage Open Days: a short consultation. Creating a sustainable future for HODs provides us with a unique opportunity to look afresh at the programme and where it fits in a fast-moving world. We need to think about whether it needs to change and if so, how? Deadline: 4 March.

Discussion paper on the impact in England of EU Commission regulatory proposals for Common Agricultural Policy reform, post 2013. An informal DEFRA consultation seeking views on the impact in England of EU Commission regulatory proposals for Common Agricultural Policy reform, post 2013. Deadline: 5 March.

The European Commission's Proposal for a Creative Europe Programme. A DCMS consultation seeking views on plans announced by the European Commission for a new £1.5bn Creative Europe programme. Deadline: 16 March.

Consultation on changes to the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). The Standard Assessment Procedure is the government’s tool for assessing the energy and environmental performance of dwellings. This DECC consultation seeks views on proposed changes to it. Deadline: 28 March.

Introducing a Statutory Register of Lobbyists A Cabinet Office consultation. Deadline: 13 April.

Jan - Feb: Free Arts & Business workshops 'Engaging Business Effectively'

Throughout February: Traditional Building Skills workshops Fife

8 February: The Inaugural Non-Ferrous Metals Seminar Kettering

9 February: Conservation Values, Conservation-Planning and Climate Change  Guest lecture, London

21 February: Understanding Localism London The Heritage Alliance's Spatial Planning Adcocacy Group Chair, Henry Russell will be speaking at this event

Throughout March: Traditional Building Skills workshops Fife

3 March: 39th Annual Archaeology Forum Lancaster University

7 March: Localism and Heritage: Working Together Bristol

15 - 17 March: 13th EAC Heritage Management Symposium 2012 Paris

16 March: Culture, Heritage, Tourism: Developing the Product Blenheim Palace

25 - 27 March: RICS Building Conservation Winter School Cambridge

17 April: Federation of British Historic Vehicles Clubs 'Drive It Day'

18 - 20 April: IfA Annual Conference and Training Event Oxford

The postholder will work closely with the Church Buildings Development Officer and with other members of the Diocese of London Tourism Group, to ensure the success of the church walking tours programme being planned for the summer of 2012.

The successful candidate will have a background in heritage Interpretation or museum work, or demonstrable enthusiasm and interest in developing a career in this sector.

This is a two-day per week voluntary post, running from 29 february to 1 October. Deadline is 10 February. To find out more ring Catherine Ward on 020 7932 1223 / to apply please send a CV and covering letter to Catherine.Ward@london.anglican.org

The NCT is looking for a volunteer, available one - two days a week, to help with database and administration tasks at its London office. Tasks will involve basic training on the fundraising database ‘Raiser’s Edge’ and the grants management database ‘Benefactor’; electronic photo storage; data entry and record management. Creating files and filing paper correspondence may also be required.

Candidates should feel comfortable using Microsoft Office and be capable of learning basic skills for managing a database.

Travel and lunch expenses will be reimbursed. For further details / to apply click here or email your CV and a covering letter to recruitment@nationalchurchestrust.org

War Memorials Trust works to protect and conserve all war memorials within the UK. The charity seeks a Conservation Officer to develop the Trust’s conservation, advisory and grant-making activities.

The successful candidate will have knowledge of the conservation of the historic environment, relevant legislation and the technical issues involved in the care and repair of war memorials. They should be able to provide advice and guidance to custodians and members of the public on all aspects of war memorials and their care and act as an advocate for the protection and appreciation of war memorials. 

Full-time, based in London based but requires occasional travel. Salary £25,000 pa. For further details / to apply click here or email the Director frances@warmemorials.org Deadline is 31 January at 5pm.

The job holder will report to the Head of Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) West Midlands, and will assess and process applications for grants in that region. This includes progress monitoring of projects undertaken by successful applicants. The post is based in Birmingham and will involve some travel across the region for site visits.

As a more experienced case worker within the team, the job holder will be responsible for handling a wide range of applications and awards for grants for major projects, as well as assisting in the formulation of HLF regional grants strategies, participating in outreach activities, and pursuing other strategic objectives. The position will line manage Grants Officers and will work closely with Senior/Grants Officers and the Development Team. 

Salary is £26,797 - £36,898pa (plus responsibility allowance). For further details / to apply click here. Deadline 5 February.

The Churches Trust for Cumbria seeks a Church Buildings Project Officer to assist in reviewing the needs of faith communities and to provide support to help maintain and develop Cumbria’s places of worship as community assets. The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal, organisational and  IT skills, with a passion for heritage and experience of working in a range of sectors.

2.5 days per week. Salary is £25-30,000 (pro rata). One year fixed term contract. Carlisle-based with travel throughout Cumbria. For further details / to apply click here or email julieb@ctfc.org.uk Deadline is 8 February.

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), in partnership with English Heritage, seeks expressions of interest from individuals interested in a part-time freelance role as Heritage At Risk Regional Support Officer covering the South East, London and East of England.

This role, joining three Support Officers for the rest of England appointed at the end of 2011, is on a three-year contract, with a fixed fee of £25,000 per annum offered in return for approximately three days a week.  These roles are intended to work towards reducing the number of historic buildings at risk in each area by developing links with charities and community groups, local authorities, other agencies and EH and AHF staff to target specific sites and buildings where viable long-term solutions may be possible.

To apply please email Ian Lush, Chief Executive of the AHF ian.lush@ahfund.org.uk requesting the role description. Deadline is 10 February at 5pm.

Head of Communications & Marketing (full-time, £28-30,000)

Membership Development Officer (full-time, £23-26,000)

Events Officer (part-time, £21,000)

Information Officer (full-time, £22,000)

The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) wishes to appoint three new members of staff to improve the communication and marketing of the CBA's work, and to take forward a membership drive in line with the CBA's strategy for 'Making Archaeology Matter'. The CBA also has an open vacancy for a full-time Information Officer.

All posts will be based at the CBA's headquarters in the historic city of York and are offered with an employee benefit package including a 10 per cent employer contribution to pensions and 24 days annual leave (pro rata for part-time posts) with additional days at Christmas/New Year and at some bank holidays.

Further details and applications forms for each post are available here and queries should be directed to Dr Mike Heyworth, CBA Director director@britarch.ac.uk / 01904 671417. Deadline is is 6pm on 20 February (6pm on 9 February for the Information Officer post).

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