NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER No 2 Winter 2004/2005
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Many of you will recognise the phrase 'Continuing Professional Development' or "CPD", as a way of keeping people abreast of incessant changes, learning new skills and brushing-up on a few old ones. Some of you may still have to endure it at work, while others, perhaps recently retired, might be glad to have put all that behind them. Civic societies might feel tempted to tick the 'Not Applicable' box, but if asked whether they wish to 'continue', try to behave 'professionally' and need to 'develop' will probably answer "Yes" to all three! The obvious difference between the workplace and a voluntary organisation is that in the former CPD is quite often mandatory, whereas for a civic society it is entirely optional. That's why the Civic Trust and its regional associations can only provide the encouragement and the opportunities for member societies to equip themselves for the future. The Civic Trust's 'Pathfinder' development programme is now in its third year and has helped a number of civic societies in this region to improve their skills. Other organisations such as the English Historic Towns Forum have allowed our members to participate in seminars at much-reduced rates and, of course, our own 'Autumn Gatherings' provide a great opportunity to hear new ideas and learn from one another's experiences. With nearly 100 civic societies and an estimated 20,000 individual members here in the North West, nw.acts will do all it can to stimulate training and fellowship among those who are willing to participate. We owe it to those who have gone before us, and to future generations, to see that the civic society movement is successful in the 21st century. Stephen Langtree (Chairman nw.acts)

HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT CHAMPIONS nw.acts is a full member of the North West Historic Environment Forum and is pleased to have this opportunity to 'net-work' on behalf of civic soeieties throughout the region. Other members include English Heritage, the National Trust, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, North West Regional Assembly, North West Development Agency, Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Houses Association, North West Museums, Libraries & Archives and the Association of Garden Trusts. To date, 16 of the 46 district, borough and county councils in this region have appointed a Historic Environment Champion. They are: Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Bury Metropolitan Borough Council Cheshire County Council Fylde Borough Council Halton Borough Council Lancaster City Council Manchester City Council Rochdale Borough Council Rossendale Borough Council Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council South Lakeland District Council Stockport Borough Council Tameside Borough Council and Vale Royal Borough Council. nw.acts will be encouraging the others to follow suit	CONSERVATION AREA AWARENESS nw.acts receives a grant of Ł2,500 from English Heritage. Every civic society will recognise the definition of conservation areas as 'areas of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance'. -but do we all know exactly how many such areas there are in our locality, when they were last reviewed and why they were designated as such in the first place? After establishing that 'Development Control in Conservation Areas' was the number one campaign topic for civic societies across the region. nw.acts is delighted to announce that a grant of Ł2,500 from English Heritage will enable us to make a start. Poor development control is very often due to a combination of factors - lack of appropriate resources in local authorities, insufficient evidence with which to defend a refusal of permission or an appeal, and a general unwillingness to take enforcement action against unsympathetic alterations. It doesn't help that only 20 per cent of the conservation areas in this region have a character appraisal, and it should be no consolation to discover that this is only six per cent below the national average. We cannot, and should not, do the local authorities' job for them, but we can help. Several civic societies are already collaborating with council officers to collect data for appraisals, give advice on locally important buildings and review conservation area boundaries. nw.acts is compiling a register of all 808 conservation areas in the North West. It will show which have got current appraisals and which are in the purview of local civic societies. We are also producing a leaflet to promote the whole issue of 'Conservation Area Awareness'. With this, and future phases of the project, we want to make a difference!


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