16 C O N T E X T 1 1 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0 IHBC Annual School 2010 IHBC Annual School 2009 IHBC Annual School 2010 panel. He gave an illuminating explanation of the benefits and pitfalls of local authority design panels. His description of the royal borough as a conservative place with a natural suspicion of contemporary architecture would have been familiar to many delegates. He stressed the importance of design panels being seen as independent from the local authority, both for the credibility of the panel itself and to ensure that the independent judgement of the council was not compromised. It was reassuring to know that there were occasions when the panel’s advice was not be supported by the planning committee. Craig considered this tension inevitable and beneficial. Using the example of Kensington and Chelsea, he explained how they set up and ran the panel, highlighting some dangers along the way. The role of chairman was considered fundamental to success. The panel members themselves represented the modernist, contemporary and traditional fields of architecture, to engender debate and bring the widest range of skills to bear. Advertisements were placed in the architectural press and the RIBA mailing list. Over 100 applications were received for panel membership, with a pool of 26 finally being appointed. Costs are relatively low as Kensington and Chelsea do not pay expenses to panel members, though many local authorities do. Refreshments and room hire costs are unavoidable. Perhaps the most significant cost is the rather surprising amount of officer time to manage and coordinate the panel, estimated at one to two days per week.The meetings themselves are expansive, including the panel members and support officers, case officers, English Heritage and RIBA representatives, scheme architects and their team. Interestingly, no place is allowed for local amenity societies or other third-party objectors. Presentations are generally limited to 10–15 minutes, and the same amount of time is allowed for questions. Craig summed up with the big questions: do they work and are they value for money? His experience at the royal borough was positive. He felt that the panel had helped to overcome conflict between officers and applicants. It had led to improvements in some cases, including the replacement of architects on some projects. Like all good presentations, Craig’s was thought provoking. I came away thinking that it would have been interesting to have heard the architect’s view, and to explore the issues of impartiality and prejudice. I would also have liked some statistics on the number of schemes supported by the panel and subsequently refused. David Clegg The way ahead: PPS5 and all that Mike Harlow, legal director of English Heritage, gave an informative insight into how English Heritage expects the guidance contained within PPS5 to be applied in practice. Harlow had the unfortunate prelunchtime slot, where delegates’ minds often start to wander. But he did a sterling job, making a potentially dry policy review into a stimulating and practical overview of the role of PPS5 in managing change in the historic environment. His title for the talk, ‘Sweating our heritage assets under PPS5’, may have raised eyebrows with some. But Harlow was quick to explain that this was simply a way of summing up the process encouraged by PPS5, which promotes a proactive approach to the management of heritage assets. ‘Sweating’ the significance of a heritage asset can ensure that the value of an asset, can be exposed, exploited, enhanced and enjoyed.This will ultimately extend the asset’s life. Continuing with this financial metaphor, he outlined the three types of return that can arise from ‘investing’ in a heritage asset: (1) the heritage value dividend; (2) the maintenance dividend; and (3) the community dividend. In most situations the sweating of a heritage asset will result in a combination of these three. In order to demonstrate an exemplar of the PPS5 approach, Harlow used the example of Blencowe Hall in Cumbria. The Grade I-listed late medieval fortified farmhouse was disused and in a deteriorating state. Richard Craig: design panels do work. Mike Harlow: balancing the benefits
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