C O N T E X T 1 0 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 8 1 Context Cover: ‘Nutley’, 37 Adelaide Park, Malone Suburb, Belfast, was seen on the IHBC walkabout (see p13). Designed in 1902 by Vincent Craig, brother of the then prime minister, it won the Royal Academy Exhibition Award in 1908. (Photo: Harrison Photography) New horizons in Northern Ireland Editorial The last time IHBC council visited Northern Ireland, note national council member Sharon Brown and Alan Oliver (p13), was in 2004 for the IHBC Annual School in Londonderry. Conservation in Northern Ireland has changed considerably since then, opening up new opportunities and challenges for the institute. The IHBC is seeking to work closely with government to ensure that emerging proposals for the planning system provide for the conservation of historic places, and for conservation officers and historic buildings advisors to have the necessary skills and wide range of competencies. This would allow for conservation officers covering the full complement of heritage asset regulation and management: conservation areas, listed buildings, historic parks and gardens, and archaeology. IHBC chair Dave Chetwyn (p18) sees Belfast as a city in transition.The peace process has brought a huge and welcome increase in investor confidence.The danger, Chetwyn warns, is that shortterm opportunism will harm longer-term economic prosperity, to the detriment of the needs and aspirations of local communities. Developers’ bulldozers have already caused needless losses of historic buildings. ‘At a pivotal and delicate time for Northern Ireland politics,’ Chetwyn writes, ‘there seems to be a genuine concern among senior politicians to avoid the needless loss of historic buildings and places, and an appreciation of the value of conservation to the quality of life.’ He is confident that the politicians also appreciate that effective community engagement in the development process is essential. But there will be plenty of other matters vying for priority. IHBC director Seán O’Reilly (p19) explains the IHBC’s role in this.The objectives of the institute’s Northern Ireland programme are to raise the institute’s presence and profile; to underpin its position as the UK’s professional body for historic environment conservation specialists; to represent the institute as a substantial, informed and proactive charity and service provider; and to provide an accessible resource to help and guide change under evolving planning structures. ‘Volunteers from the Northern Ireland branch, supported by the national office, delivered a remarkable success,’ O’Reilly writes, ‘depending entirely on the kind of capacity-building partnership that distinguishes so much of the institute’s best work.’ As Brown and Oliver suggest, the IHBC is well placed to help channel, facilitate and support the conservation of Northern Ireland’s historic places. The Institute of historic building conservation www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a Charity Number 1061593. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England Number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. IHBC Officers President Eddie Booth email [email protected] Chairman Dave Chetwyn email [email protected] Vice Chair Sheila Stones email [email protected] Secretary Richard Morrice email [email protected] Treasurer Michael Knights email [email protected] Membership Secretary Jo Evans email [email protected] Education Secretary John Preston email [email protected] Publicity Secretary Doug Black email [email protected] Law & Practice Coordinator vacant email [email protected] Director Seán O’Reilly email [email protected] Projects Officer Fiona Newton email [email protected] Consultant Consultations Coordinator James Caird email [email protected] Membership Services Officer Devon DeCelles email [email protected] Administration Officer Lydia Porter email [email protected] IHBC Committee Chairs Policy Mike Brown email [email protected] Membership & Ethics Jo Evans email [email protected] Finance & Resources Richard Morrice email [email protected] Education John Preston email [email protected] Communications & Outreach vacant email [email protected] Branch Officers North Geoff Underwood Tel 0191 433 3435 NorthWest Kate Borland Tel 0161 2344556 Yorkshire Keith Knight Tel 01904 658482 West Midlands Charles Shapcott Tel 020 7973 3660 East Midlands Roy Lewis tel 01332 591175 South Julia Foster Tel 01296 585888 SouthWest Ian Lund Tel 01380 724911 East Anglia StaceyWeiser-Jones Tel 01954 713178 South East David Kincaid Tel 01227 862185 London David McDonald Tel 020 8881 6724 Scotland Charles Strang Tel 01835 822560 Wales Nathan Blanchard Tel 01285 642428 Northern Ireland Sharon BrownTel 028 9754 3087 Republic of Ireland Cormac O’Sullivan Tel 00353 5677 62907 Business Office Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA England Tel 01747 873133 Fax 01747 871718 email [email protected] Briefing 2 Out of Context 4 TheWriter’s Voice 4 Periodically 5 Conference report: ICOMOS Triennial General Assembly, Quebec Dennis Rodwell 8 Conference report: Tall storeys: IHBC London branch conference Dennis Rodwell 10 Conference report: Thinking outside the heritage box Keith Parsons 11 IHBC council in Northern Ireland Sharon Brown and Alan Oliver 13 Notes from the chair 18 Director’s cut 19 Modern ventilation in historic fabric David Clark 22 Recycling historic buildings Edward Holland 24 Value for our investment Geoff Dawe 27 The CommonwealthWar Graves Commission Barry Edwards 29 Conserving war memorials Joy Russell 31 Remembering the cold war Devon DeCelles 35 War, peace and Britannia in the reign of Hadrian Graham Tite 37 Membership notes 41 Vox pop 41 Book reviews 42 Products and services 45 Advertisers index 48 Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No107 November 2008 Making conservation mainstream in Northern Ireland
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