STANDARDS & DUTIES:
Just what is conservation?

Conservation is a term that is used in many different ways!
In the IHBC ‘conserving’ our heritage is the integrated and proportionate process of valuing, caring for and, where necessary, changing fabric and places with a view to securing the long-term survival of what is, or might be, valued. Conservation is integrated, because it takes account both of the need to preserve and the need to change; and it is proportionate, because we should not do more than is appropriate to the needs of conservation.
In the IHBC’s ‘Conservation Cycle’ we promote conservation as integrated evaluation, management and, where appropriate, intervention across the built and historic environment. These are the IHBC’s ‘Practical Areas of Competence and they correspond loosely to different specialist areas: for example history underpins the evaluation of what we want to protect; planning frames the management process, and architecture and the wider construction industry shapes intervention.
GUIDANCE ON IHBC MEMBERSHIP STANDARDS

IHBC conservation standards are based on the 1993 ICOMOS guidelines for conservation education and training, and developed in accordance with models advised by the World Bank in the environmental assessment and project management of cultural heritage.
Tying standards to assessment and learning this way means that the IHBC’s services can provide structured support for relevant conservation skills:

Our calendar events are listed by our ‘Areas of Competence’ the general areas of practice that deliver conservation
SEE OUR CALENDAR

Our CPD guidance and assessment is structured by our ‘Areas of Competence’
CPD GUIDANCE

Our Annual Student Award is advertised across our ‘Areas of Competence’
IHBC ANNUAL STUDENT AWARD

Our recognition of courses and training is mapped against our ‘Areas of Competence’
RECOGNISED COURSES
RECOGNISED CPD PROVIDERS

The IHBC’s professional members – our ‘Full Members’ - have passed strict entry requirements, and must deliver informed advice that respects the interests and values of historic structures, fabric and areas. Our list of businesses aligned to our professional standards is called our HESPR service. HESPR stands for Historic Environment Service Providers Recognition.
Our Code of Conduct requires all members to offer properly informed advice on the best interests of the historic environment, and failure to abide by it, or to maintain Continuing Professional Development (CPD) that keeps practitioners up to date with current standards, can lead to disciplinary action and even expulsion from the institute.
IHBC’S LISTING OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: HESPR
IHBC’S CODE OF CONDUCT
IHBC’S DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

Your local authority – our local government infrastructure – is bound by law to take account of its historic places in the planning process: conservation is a statutory consideration for local authorities. And for good reasons!
The legal duties do not mean that places or buildings cannot change, only that when they do change, it needs to be managed properly.
SEE OUR PAPER ON MAKING HERITAGE WORK

If conservation services in local authorities fail independent regulators or authorities – the local government Ombudsman in England for example, or the courts – may investigate and pass judgement on them, and require their correction.
As well as fines, damaging and costly legal proceedings may also ensue, so it pays to have a properly skills and supported conservation officer or service in place.
SEE OUR CONSERVATION SERVICES PAGES
SEE OUR OMBUDSMAN REPORTS FOR ENGLAND
SEE OUR PROSECUTION FINES DATABASE
SEE OUR PROSECUTIONS PAGES
SEE OUR ONLINE PROSECUTIONS COMMENTARY BY BOB KINDRED

The best way to be sure that built and historic environment outcomes balance the need for change with the duty to care and protect is to have the right specialist skills in place, skills that align with the IHBC’s membership requirements.
Our list of specialist registers provides the best starting point for understanding the breadth and depth of skills related to conservation and includes the IHBC’s own HESPR recognition service
IHBC Historic Environment Service Providers Recognition HESPR
IHBC'S HESPR: HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS RECOGNITION
IHBC’s LISTING OF SPECIALIST REGISTERS