The English Conservation Planning System: Strengths and Weaknesses - Essay Example

The English Conservation Planning System: Strengths and Weaknesses What is heritage? Heritage is that platter on which a country or region offers a sumptuous serving of its historical buildings, parks and gardens that demonstrate the best of its natural surroundings as well as the ways in which this wealth has been utilized, apart from other features like streets, religious buildings and other structures that form a part of all those things that have historical significance. In this context, one will note that in today’s world, a country’s heritage has become its most valued belongings. Conservation in the world of population and increased instances of crime against such places has come to occupy a special place on the agendas of various governments. This process of conservation with regard to the policies, methods of execution of plans and programs as well as the budget allocation and the associated authorities, has come to be known as the conservation planning system. A conservation planning system involves works of restoration, protection as well as enhancement of such attractions so as to build a specific national identity in terms of culture, nature’s offering to that country as well as various other features. English Heritage is one of the major planning and policy implementing bodies dedicated to hold under its purview and deliver accordingly all those features including churches, roads, parks, gardens, etc., which are in need of conservation and planning. To their merit, instead of simply describing English Heritage's "brand" as such, in UK, the conservation planning authorities have chosen to make a more fundamental point about its core role. The idea behind an English Heritage 'brand,' boasts of strong implications that are basically aimed at selling a product. In this context, it has been widely believed that the conservation planning authority must be clearly linked to the public issue with which it deals i.e., the historic environment. With over 80% of the English history since the introduction of farming six millennia ago, lacking any formal written record, it is easy to see why the physical remains of the past are intrinsic to how we understand the culture and history right up to the present day. While this legacy has shaped the living environment, it is this very environment which has turned out to be consistent legacy that every generation contributes to, transforms and repackages. Also, this environment and heritage is believed to be fundamentally non-renewable. (DCMS Heritage Protection Review) Therefore, the basic function of English Heritage's comes to the surface when there is a requirement for an informal authority to act on behalf of Government with the aim of demonstrating the value that society derives from the historic environment. Such activities must be directed not just towards the present, but for meeting the goal of posterity. Further, the results must not be enjoyed simply for the lifetime of a triennial strategy, a public spending round, a quinquennial review or a single parliament, but for timescales that make sense in terms of the inheritance we seek to hand on to the future. For a large part of the policies adopted in the structure of the conservation planning system, it may be asserted that the role of such a system is based in enhancing the quality of life and sustainable change within a very long-term perspective. This signifies that appreciating how perceptions of the historic environment change through time is a major priority on the agenda of this system. Force for our Future (para 3.16) states that "The historic environment should be seen as something which all sections of the community can identify with and take pride in, rather than something valued only by narrow specialist interests". The first part of this statement is a necessity in terms of building large scale recognition of the benefits that people derive from their own perceptions of their local historic environment, it is also true that the dismissal of 'specialist interests' ignores the adopted in the local and national interest when it comes to the actual development of the historic environment. ('Force for Our Future' report) One of the factors that the system does not take into account is the fact that the minority interests, which are almost always from the voluntary or academic sector, have been the springboard to new perceptions of the historic environment. This has been a weakness of the planning system when assessing the needs of those in the backward regions where the resources are plentiful. In the recent past English Heritage has taken to the trend that supports the belief that 'heritage coming over the horizon,' which in turn means that English Heritage must go that extra mile to support and implement such ideas while they are still 'special interests' to help them become mainstream. In general terms, there are various relevant tasks that revolve around what the conservation planning system is required to do in order to fulfill its basic role as defined above. While these substantially reflect what is widely recognized as the basic cycle of managing the historic environment and its contribution to society, it is an accepted fact that one cannot derive social, educational, environmental and economic benefits from the historic environment. In keeping with this, authorities have also recognized that the task of keeping track of the extent to which it relates to past and future change, without understanding and conserving what you have, is a matter of tremendous effort. As far as the planning structure in this case goes, all these tasks are shared by the sector as a whole. If one is to apply an objective point of view to the entire process, it will demonstrate that a myriad of other bodies collectively do more to fulfill these in their unique ways. While this factor cannot lessen the importance of English Heritage’s strategic contribution, a crucial test for the conservation planning system is not whether the task is relevant, but what kind of involvement is needed from various quarters in terms of fixing responsibilities and avoiding overlapping of duties. To its disadvantage, the conservation planning system’s mental makeup over the last few years has been following an inward-looking trend. To put it across more clearly, it has been believed that the system often delegates tasks more in terms of what it can achieve itself within a limited income, rather than taking a wider strategic view of how it might break out of those constraints to release other resources. Where English Heritage has broken the mould, the results can be impressive. The authorities need to pay particular attention to its role in the introduction of PPG16, which has released a major new funding stream for archaeology. Further, it works primarily in context of demonstrating the benefits of conservation-led regeneration. If adopted in a general way by others, it has the potential to enhance the quality and public value of innumerable redevelopment schemes. (DCMS Heritage Protection Review) While the planning system has shown a lack of strategic vision, its own achievements have remained largely disappointing. Further, this has been reflected in the activities of English Heritage to the tune where it has set back the development of a wider sense of responsibility for the historic environment across the governmental span of operations. Here, one can clearly see the failure to collect consistent information that may be analyzed to reach a conclusion regarding the state of the historic environment, other than for Grade I and II listed buildings at risk - despite, for example, having regular reports from Field Monuments Wardens on scheduled monuments; and also the failure to report annually - as English Nature does - on loss of or damage to protected places. As a consequence of this failure to monitor the state of the historic environment, the system has been left as the poor relation of environmental management, particularly in the countryside, although there is still a huge gap to close compared with the natural environment. (DCMS Heritage Protection Review) Apart from English Heritage's central function of maintaining consistency, standards and advising the Government on various policy matters when it comes to building a strong structural base within which the conservation planning system may operate, bringing together a national centre of technical expertise to support the regions and external users is also of great importance. Which this has been achieved in some measure, the authorities have some concerns regarding the degree of expertise, innovative work, and provision of badly needed services and how far it is variable. Thus, it is clear that similar or better provision could be procured independently, on a more cost-effective basis. Yet, it has been believed that the existing provision should either be transformed or done away with while greater peer review could help if the idea of centers of excellence is to be strengthened. (English Heritage) As far as procurement of such resources goes, it has been a matter of concern that shortage of resources both at the centre and in the regions could imply that the actual potential benefits of professional support and interaction have yet to be fully realized. This invariably results in tensions. Once the big picture is considered, one will realize that at the national and regional level alike there is probably still more involvement than necessary in detailed casework at the expense of developing a critical mass of research-supported policy development and advice. This practice would yield far greater returns in terms of public benefit in the medium to long term. As far as the contribution of various authorities is concerned, the English conservation planning system has reached a critical turning point where lessons must be carefully considered in the context of the recognition in Force for our Future. In this context, all parts of Government must take responsibility for how they impact upon and manage the historic environment. This will turn out to be the most fundamental issue to emerge from the Government's statement on future policy in this area owing to the fact that the opportunity to make historic conservation and access a general responsibility at a strategic Government level, just as it has long been imposed as a responsibility on private individuals and businesses at a site-specific level through PPG 15 and PPG16 and the planning process, is an integral part of the government policy. (English Heritage) There is also an increased need to improve the activity of overseeing the local development plans in context of the framework within which key decisions are made. The conservation system’s perception is that local societies, especially those in the archaeological field, have not been well attuned to this process. Further, the most thorough input comes from professionals in local government which does not give the impression that anything much has changed in terms of English Heritage coverage. In the future, this weakness in the system’s framework might turn into a full blown issue concerning the trends that will emerge in the course of the forthcoming planning reforms. Apart from this, there has been a renewed emphasis on the planning system’s role to engage more effectively with the general character as well as the local value of the historic environment. In the last five years, English Heritage has been effective in developing the characterization process at various scales from individual building complexes to county and national scale, and also in demonstrating the value of conservation-led regeneration. While some of this work has engaged effectively with local communities, it is interesting to note that the overall achievement in this area is valuable, besides being recognized in Government policy. An area of particular interest to the CBA is English Heritage's education role. While this has been believed to be extremely valuable and effective, with clear-cut objectives, and valuable partnerships with various authorities, it ensures that we do not cut across each other's initiatives. The appointment of more education staff as part of the regionalisation process has been poised as an important requirement for transforming the system even as the authorities come across as more concerned of a possible danger of the demands of servicing the needs of its own Properties in Care. Further, these might hamper English Heritage's efforts in helping local organizations to develop their own archaeological and historic environment education initiatives and services. (English Heritage) On the basis of the information provided above, one can identify various specific ways towards achieving a more effective conservation planning system in England. These may be defined in context of three key issues: The authorities are in need of more resources and the scarcity of these resources must be appropriately dealt with to evolve an effective system. Various independent bodies like the English Heritage need to come into play in order to develop a much stronger strategic presence as the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment. The Government needs to make more investments in strategically significant initiatives. This will help to make the case for more resources, whether for itself, for others in the sector or for those outside it who should do more to fulfill shared responsibilities towards the historic environment. (DCMS Heritage Protection Review) If compared to the United States and its conservation planning system, one will find a better demonstration of strong land use planning and urban regenration in UK. Also, the stewardship policies in the US are weaker than they are in the UK. On the other hand, France has followed a better urban regenration plan as far as conservation of heritage goes. UK can take a leaf out of Frnace’s conservation planning system where its countryside and old cheatues as well as preservation of the same are concerned. Also, as far as the larger environmental issues in context of regional planning is concerned, the French example demonstrates more strength in its urban planning design where national character and identity in terms of heritage is concerned. In context of the Government's policies for environmental stewardship, a fundamental premise for more effective structuring of the conservation planning system lies in the belief that there should be effective protection for all aspects of the historic environment. While the physical remains from the past need to be met with more care and value, they must also be better protected so as to present the same as a central part of England’s cultural heritage, which will in turn contribute to a more enhanced sense of national identity. It must be recognised that these have been passed down by nature as an irreplaceable record which contributes, through formal education and in many other ways, towards a better understanding of both the present and the past. The quality of our lives is enhanced, by contributing to the protection and conservation of the familiar and cherished local scene. This practice will also help us sustain a sense of local distinctiveness which is an extremely important feature of the character and appearance of our towns, villages and countryside, apart from holding immense importance in context of leisure and recreation. ('Force for Our Future' report) Authorities have come to the conclusion that important choices have to be made in various aspects of the functioning and framework of the conservation planning routine. Besdies this, it has been recognised that conservation and sustainable economic growth are objectives that should be give equal importance besides being made to work in tandem, so as to make sure that most historic buildings can still be put to good economic use in, for example, commercial or residential occupation. While these may be considered as a valuable part of the infrastructure and a source for material, they can also contribute to the prosperity of the economy, provided that they are properly maintained: the avoidable loss of fabric through neglect is a waste of economic as well as environmental resources. As a result, one will find security in the economic prosperity through the continued vitality of conservation areas. Also, the continued use and maintenance of historic buildings, provided that there is a sufficiently realistic and imaginative approach to their alteration and change of use, will serve to reflect the needs of a world in transistion. References: 1. English Heritage. URL: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ (Accessed on: 13th January, 2006) 2. 'Force for Our Future' report URL: http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Historic_environment/ (Accessed on: 13th January, 2006) 3. DCMS Heritage Protection Review URL: http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Publications/archive_2003/Review_Heritage_Protection.htm (Accessed on: 14th January, 2006) Read More