Rescue News 113

Published in Summer 2011. To receive Rescue News, please join Rescue.

New demolition controls

Posted on July 11, 2011

SAVE Britain’s Heritage has secured a landmark judgement against the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which will introduce new controls over demolitions of buildings and structures under UK planning law. The case revolved around the decision by Lancaster City Council to authorise the demolition, without prior approval, of the historic Mitchell’s Brewery building, situated in the contested ‘Canal Corridor’ area of the city. While the brewery has since been listed, SAVE’s legal team sought a landmark ruling…

New Life for Brunel's Building

Posted on July 11, 2011

The perilous situation of an engine house belonging to one of Britain’s great engineering sons, Isambard Kingdom Brunel owned by Dairy Crest Group Plc in Totnes, Devon was covered in RN 104 and 105. The site was built to house Brunel’s atmospheric railway propulsion system and represents one of only three surviving engine houses from his time. The fact that his system was eventually superseded by direct steam powered traction makes the remaining buildings all the more important for industrial…

Cleveland Street Workhouse saved!

Posted on July 11, 2011

The Secretary of State has decided to designate the Cleveland Street Workhouse in Central London as Grade II listed. It would seem that all the hardwork of the Cleveland Street workhouse group, numerous heritage organisations and the media have saved the building from planned demolition and development. The workhouse was built in 1775 and is the best preserved Georgian era workhouse in Central London, and one of only three that have survived inthe capital. Its original purposewas to provide some…

City of Adelaide still grounded

Posted on July 11, 2011

In August 2010, the Scottish Government announced the decision to award preferred bidder status to Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Limited (CSCoAL) to remove the historic clipper City of Adelaide from the Irvine slipway leased by its owner, the Scottish Maritime Museum (SMM) from Ayrshire Metals. This followed a review of the options then available to the SMM carried out by consultants DTZ. CSCoAL’s aim is to return the ship to Adelaide, South Australia, where it would be displayed as…

Stonehenge Update

Posted on July 11, 2011

An Inquiry has been announced into proposed Stopping Up Orders for the A344, from its dangerous junction with the A303 at Stonehenge Bottom, and for part of the B3086 so that it might be diverted slightly to the west at Airman’s Corner where it is intended to construct a new roundabout to improve road safety and facilitate access to the new visitor centre in the fields close by. The Inquiry will begin on 22 June this year and will run…

Localism Bill Marches On

Posted on July 11, 2011

Bound for scrutiny in the Lords andpossibly due for Royal Assent this year, one of the coalition’s flagship policies, the Localism Bill, is on its way to giving Eric Pickles andGreg Clark at Whitehall an important policy victory. The Bill’s central themes of power devolution to local councils and local community empowerment are intended to give local communities greater control over housing and planning decisions and fix the current planning system that has been labelled as ‘too centralised’ and ‘bureaucratic’.…

New Lanark WHS buffer zone threat

Posted on July 11, 2011

The story of the iconic New Lanark World Heritage Site and its buffer zone is symptomatic of the threats posed to other sites designated with WHS status throughout the UK. New Lanark World Heritage Site is a beautifully restored 18th century cotton mill village nestled in the spectacular south Lanarkshire valley in southern Scotland, close to the Falls of Clyde and less than an hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Founded by David Dale in 1785, the village became famous as…

Rescue responds to curatorial cuts at Museum of London

Posted on April 19, 2011

Mary Beard, in her Times blog, first reported news of cuts at the Museum of London, on 25th February. Since that time, details have emerged on a number of intended cuts including redundancies across senior curatorial staff. The latest details indicate that the following reductions have occurred: The following posts have become redundant: 1. Senior Curator (Prehistory) 2. Senior Curator (Roman) A proposed post of combined Senior Curator (Prehistoric and Roman) has NOT been filled. 3. Senior Curator (Photographs) 4. Senior Curator…