C O N T E X T 1 3 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 3 45 Notes from the chair Not all fun and frolics Greetings to one and all. This is my last Notes to you from the thing on which I sit (or, more correctly, used to sit). As these precious jottings are my last words to you as the chair, I wanted to craft something special. So I reached for the dusty volumes of the Evans family library to gain some inspiration. I thought that by some study of the closing lines of great writers I too could produce something profound, useful and possibly not too nauseating. ‘It doesn’t look as though it’s been written by a mad person but only a woman with no imagination.’ Rose Tremain, Sacred Country Yes, I know I do go on a bit. However, my theory was that with a magazine choc-a-bloc with top-quality conservation the last thing you all required was me going on about it as well. I know that the Pride and Prejudice homage was not to everyone’s taste, but be grateful. I might have chosen Enid Blyton or Dorothy L Sayers and produced a murder whodunit. ‘For the sake of a delightful and convincing story, there isn’t a lie Orhan [the past chair] wouldn’t deign to tell.’ Orhan Pamuk, A New Life Actually, I have to impress on you all that the bizarre accounts of my children, husband and sister-in-law were all true. My husband did have a ‘chart of glory’ to map out his Olympic tickets, my children did take me to task over the Mongolian yurt in Norfolk (by the rules of localism it was a Norfolk yurt, not Mongolian) and my sister-in-law did get into a fracas at her choir annual dinner while defending the honour of the local conservation officer. ‘So the years pass and repeat each other; so the same events revolve in the cycles of time.What will be the next adventure of the Moonstone [the new chair]? Who can tell?’Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone However, it is not all fun and frolics being the chair of this great and noble institute. I did have serious moments, you will be relieved to know. Over the three years I was chair there were a number of substantial changes in the world of conservation.We had a new government, a new set of policies in the shape of PPS5, and then those policies were recast into the National Planning Policy Framework – and all in the context of a rather different economic climate.We had some rather different words to use too: coalition, heritage assets and localism, for example. The biggest challenge during my term as chair has been the prevailing economic climate. This meant that some very difficult decisions have been made that have affected our membership profoundly. Savage cuts to many local authority conservation services and government bodies and departments have resulted in job losses, contraction in services and a reshifting of priorities that have not always been in our favour. I hope that the IHBC has been as supportive, useful and informative as it possibly can be during this time. A number of initiatives have been introduced to try to assist our members. These include the web-based advice; the briefing Why local authorities need conservation services; a review of subscriptions to help those with reduced incomes or who are out of work; and, most recently, the motion at the AGM in Carlisle to commit the IHBC to supporting new and affiliate members to achieve their potential within the organisation. ‘Nothing is learned and everything is learned.’ Thomas Keneally, TheWidow and her Hero When I took over from Dave Chetwyn, things were a little different, but there are still parallels between then and now. Three years ago we had just experienced the painful birth of PPS5 and during my time as chair we underwent the switch to the NPPF. Now, as Mike Brown takes over, we await the new guidance documents to accompany the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=