IHBC at 25, where it came from, how it has evolved and where it might go

1 From chrysalis to butterfly…
2 Malcolm Airs writes
3 Giving evidence to the House of Commons Environment Committee
4 Comfortable chrysalis destined to burst forth into the radiant butterfly of the institute
5 To promote and raise the profile of conservation
6 Related articles on Designing Buildings

From chrysalis to butterfly…

Marking the 25th anniversary of the IHBC – #IHBC 25 – our ‘IHBC at 25’ issue of Context looks back at where today’s multidisciplinary institute came from, how it has evolved and where it might go, and this celebratory NewsBlog features Malcolm Airs, past chairman and first president (2001 to 2003).

Malcolm Airs writes

I first encountered the Association of Conservation Officers [ACO] in its very early incarnation when Mike Pearce, the driving force behind its foundation and its first chairman, convened a meeting of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire conservation officers to encourage us to join. I had moved from the well-resourced historic buildings division of the Greater London Council in 1974 to become the lone advocate for conservation in the planning department of the newly constituted South Oxfordshire District Council.

The Oxfordshire County Council, which had been the previous planning authority, had not thought it necessary to employ any specialised conservation expertise so the reorganisation of local government provided a blank canvas for us lonely conservation officers in the five new district councils. We had already come together for informal meetings to share our common concerns, but the idea of a national forum which would give us a broader perspective was immediately attractive and it did not require much persuasion from Mike for us all to join the ACO.

Shortly afterwards, in February 1983, the first 100 members of the association received their copy of Context No 1 in its original typewritten and stapled form. In welcoming us, Mike bravely set out his definition of a conservation officer. The tools of their trade, he wrote, ‘apart from patience, diplomacy and humour [are] experience of problems successfully overcome, a thorough knowledge of UK planning law, appreciation of costs and values, and the availability of grants [and] above all… an understanding of the problems of ordinary people or landowners, or public bodies and local authorities alike’. It is a succinct description which remains valid in the very different circumstances of today. The original intention of the ACO was not ‘to create a professional Institute or learned Society… but rather to allow conservation officers to meet their colleagues on a local, or regional, and vol- untary basis; and by doing so they may enlarge their individual and collective experience.’ All with ‘the minimum necessary formality’. Such were the modest beginnings.

Edited from his kitchen at home by John Fidler, with assistance from the chairman and Peter Richards, our first treasurer, and with a wonderfully humorous cartoon by Jenny Birkett as a heading, Context was a brilliant initiative to communicate with members. Jenny soon took over as editor and, despite marrying the chair- man, continued in that role for the next seven years before handing over to Bob Kindred, who oversaw its transformation into a sophisticated commercial publication. The regular features on law and practice from M’Learned Friend and Sir Titus, and the technical advice offered by Supporting Columns, all helped to expand our knowledge, while the book reviews and the case studies ensured that we were well informed about current issues in the field.

Bob was the last volunteer to sit in the editor’s chair before the appointment of Rob Cowan at the beginning of the new century. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all of them for providing us with such an effective and readable journal that remains eagerly anticipated with each new issue. I am particularly pleased that Rob has continued the tradition of charting the tribulations of those involved with conservation by deftly drawn cartoons first introduced by Jenny and now often in full colour. As Mike Pearce wrote in the very first issue, a sense of humour is crucial in promoting the cause.

Giving evidence to the House of Commons Environment Committee

From the beginning, personal contact was maintained through the regional groups and they, too, remain as an effective vehicle for sharing our joint experience. However, it is the annual school which brings us together as a truly national body, and the very first one took place the month after the launch of Context. It was held over three days at University College, Oxford, with a programme organised by Roger France. It was notable for the presentation by Peter Rumble, the chief executive designate of the new Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, which was to be established under the more friendly title of English Heritage on April Fools’ Day the fol- lowing year.

The association went from strength to strength over the next decade. After heated debate, it expanded its initial membership from local authority conservation officers to embrace all those involved in the profession. By 1986 it had been invited to give evidence to the House of Commons Environment Committee and it has remained a prominent consultee ever since. In September 1991, in celebrating its first 10 years, Chris Smith as chairman set out his vision for the future. This included the need to seek charitable status, and the establishment of a permanent office and secretariat.

Comfortable chrysalis destined to burst forth into the radiant butterfly of the institute

The following year, the idea of becoming a professional institute was first floated, and in due course a working party was established to explore the complicated statutory requirements of such a radical move. It was perhaps fitting that the annual school for 1996 was again in Oxford, this time at Keble College, where an overwhelming majority at the AGM voted in favour of seeking institute status. The theme of the school was ‘Building Bridges’ and as the ACO News lyrically noted, ‘there, in Oxford, we built the best bridge of all – the one that links us all in enduring and fulfilling professional union. After that April… the comfortable chrysalis of the association was destined to burst forth into the radiant butterfly of the institute’.

Following the official launch on 9 October 1997 in the empty shell of the St Pancras Hotel in London and in Saltaire in Yorkshire – both venues which are testimony to the importance of conservation in the modern world – Mary King, as chairman, set out three priorities for the new institute:

To establish professional standards for all conservation practitioners, and to improve edu- cation and training.
2. To continue the work of the ACO in providing a forum for the exchange of information and experience.

To promote and raise the profile of conservation

No one can be in any doubt that over the following 25 years, our secretariat and our voluntary officers have ensured that all these aims have been fully achieved. It is a measure of their commitment to the cause that over that period under the inspired leadership of Sean O’Reilly our small band of permanent staff have remained in post from the very beginning to take the institute forward to its present position as the acknowledged professional organisation for conservation practice in both the public and the private sectors. We owe an enormous debt to Fiona Newton as operations director and Lydia Porter as company secretary, together with Rob Cowan as editor of Context, Jonathan Taylor as editor of our Yearbook, Gordon Sorensen and Cathedral Communications as publisher of both, and xendo as designer of both, all for more than 20 years.

A list of all the initiatives that they have overseen in order to expand our appeal would be lengthy and does not need to be set out here. But among all our volunteers who act as trustees, members of Council and on our various committees, special mention must be made of the contribution of Bob Kindred. Not only did he establish Context in its present form, but he continues to provide the research which underpins the website Toolbox and has made it such a valuable means of monitoring national trends and legal decisions which affect us all.

The ACO was once dismissed as simply ‘a bunch of friends’. It was, of course, much more than that and it has now grown to be the body that supports all of us with a professional interest in promoting the historic environment. We might now have a board of trustees to ensure that we meet our corporate objectives, and we have taken full advantage of advances in technology to communicate with our members through our sophisticated website and our regular NewsBlogs. Our charitable purpose is underpinned by our requirement for regular CPD updates. Above all we have helped to shape national legislation through the timely contributions of our consultations panel.

It is perhaps a reflection of the changing nature of conservation that the majority of our members are now employed in the private sector rather than in public service. Our Historic Environment Service Providers Recognition scheme is an appropriate response to that shift. Most important of all, we have achieved all of this while still managing to remain a friendly and accessible organisation. I am immensely proud to be entitled to put the letters IHBC after my name, even though I am supposed to preface them with the qualification (ret). I look forward with confidence to the next 25 years.