The National Trust, aside from being one of our most treasured charities, has over 3 million members in the UK. As part of its duties, they maintain classic homes and gardens across the country for our enjoyment, however, they’re aided by another organisation -English Heritage. English Heritage seeks to “promote the understanding and enjoyment of our historic environment in order to ensure it continues to be valued and cared for according to HELM.
English heritage, along with local authorities has a statutory duty to protect the best examples of our nation’s varied historic environment, this is carried out through designation: which simply means that it allows us to protect and celebrate England’s significant/historical, buildings, parks, gardens, battlefields, wreck sites and monuments. These types of sites are designated as an asset or site of significance within the historic environment before any planning stage that may decide its future
English Heritage works in partnership with local authorities and both play an important role in heritage protection, it is the government’s statutory advisor on the historic environment. The conservation of Scheduled Monuments and Grade one and two listed Buildings fall within the sphere of the above organisations.
The NHPP, (The National Heritage Protection Plan), in its report written for 2011-2015 found that natural processes and human activity impact on our heritage. Some processes and activities have a very significant impact that can be countered, offset, mitigated or adapted to in ways that reduce the loss of our most important heritage. Threat assessment and response comprises of the following fourteen activities, according to the report, which are:
- DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE
- RESOLVING IMPACT OF CARBON CHALLENGE ON BUILT HERITAGE
- NEGLECT
- HERITAGE CRIME IMPACTS OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES
- MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
- ATTRITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
- AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY IMPACTS
- MARINE EXPLOITATION IMPACTS
- ENERGY GENERATION IMPACTS
- MINERAL EXTRACTION IMPACTS
- MATERIALS SUPPLY LOSS
- HERITAGE MANAGEMENT, CONSERVATION AND CRAFT SKILLS
- SHORTAGES
- CAPACITY-LOSS IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Pace of urban redevelopment and housing reorganisation of housing provision strategies will also have a significant impact on our English Heritage,
A number of supporting actions have been deemed essential for protecting our heritage. Amongst these measures notably, are ensuring that the public understand and agree that looking after our heritage is important both in terms of the economy of the country and the well-being of its people, and, by understanding that message, it will encourage people to take pride in helping to protect their own heritage through philanthropy, volunteering and celebration of success. English Heritage report that most of the above translate into a range of specific activates which can be supported through their grants programmes.
Resources available to English Heritage In 2013/14, amounted to, ninety nine point eighty five million, from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the form of Grant in Aid… It also generates almost half of its income through commercial activities and fundraising, the majority of which comes from membership, admissions to English Heritage properties, retail and catering, and from donations, In 2013/14 this amounted to eighty six point seven million.
Our cultural heritage is increasingly under threat from climate change. Without action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the direct impacts of the changing climate will have major adverse effects on society, the economy and the environment… Actions required to limit further dangerous emissions, combined with the need to adapt historic assets to make them resilient to a changing climate will have significant implications for the historic environment and its future management.
The United Kingdom is actively seeking ways to adapt to climatic changes that are now inevitable, both in the short and long term. The historic environment is not immune from the impacts of climate change. Shifts in temperature, sea level, storminess, flood risk and the distribution of pests and disease will take their toll on traditional buildings, historic townscapes, archeologically sites and cherished landscapes.
The conservation bulletin published by English Heritage, report that: we must not neglect the lessons we can learn from the record of past environmental change and human adaptation to it. Also, and, to recognise that we have a wealth of information derived from ancestors who often lived in a more sustainable way than we do today, and from whom energy was not such a throw-away commodity, (Adapting to Climate Change).
Protecting our Heritage is about creating a role in forging a sustainable and cohesive low-carbon society. English Heritage has announced a major partnership with E.ON, with a view to collaborate to the goal of reducing the impact of climate change upon the built, and wider environment. Patchett Joinery is committed to the highest level of workmanship in all their timber windows and doors