The conservation of historic designed landscapes and the role of the Gardens Trusts
12th March 2019, Bramham Park, Yorkshire
An Historic Landscape Project training day, with Yorkshire Gardens Trust
Despite their popularity, the historic parks and gardens that we love are easily lost, as they are vulnerable to decay, development, and a lack of understanding. That they survive is testimony to decades of effort by professionals and dedicated amateurs, including members of the County Gardens Trusts. Every year, the Gardens Trust receives some 1500 planning applications that may affect historic parks and gardens, and this figure is expected to rise. With the economic crisis bringing a hammer blow to the availability of skilled resources in the conservation sector, is this make or break time for historic parks and gardens?
Visiting a fabulous park and garden and appreciating what makes it special helps us understand only too clearly how easy it is for it to be spoilt by inappropriate development. This day is intended to introduce some conservation issues facing the historic parks and gardens we so enjoy, and to offer ways in which we might help protect sites we care about. By looking at a real site, delegates will gain a broad understanding of key conservation issues and can think about and discuss what tools we could use to tackle possible threats. The day will explain just how important a role County Gardens Trusts play, and how the work they do helps The Gardens Trust protect the gardens we treasure. Delegates will leave with a fresh insight into historic parks and gardens, and some ideas as to how they can get involved.
This training day, including lunch and viewing some of the park and garden, is part-funded by Yorkshire Gardens Trust (YGT) and is free of charge to their members, or £10 for non-members.
Programme:
9.45am Arrival with tea, coffee and biscuits
10.15am Welcome (Tamsin McMillan, Historic Landscape Project Officer, the Gardens Trust, and Nick Lane Fox of Bramham Park & Vice President of YGT)
10.20am Threats to historic parks and gardens (David Lambert, historic landscape consultant and the Conservation Committee member, the Gardens Trust) An introduction to the wide variety of planning and management threats affecting historic designed landscapes
11.10am Conserving Historic Parks and Gardens (Chris Mayes, Landscape Architect for the North of England, Historic England) Using policy to protect HPGs; and the importance of understanding significance
12.00am Comfort break
12.10pm Bramham Park: a brief history, and challenges of protection, conservation and planning (Nick Lane Fox)
12.30pm Tour of Bramham Park (Nick Lane Fox, with HLP staff and Susan Kellerman, YGT volunteer) A guided walking tour around parts of the park and gardens, with a discussion of actual and theoretical planning issues
1.30pm Lunch & further time to look outside
2.30pm Crucial Role of the Gardens Trust and County Gardens Trusts (Margie Hoffnung, the Gardens Trust, Conservation Officer) The Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee, and the vital input of CGT volunteers
3.15pm Yorkshire Gardens Trust: How we work with volunteers (Val Hepworth, YGT Chair) How YGT manages planning cases. Exercise: which developments do we think are acceptable, and which not?
4.00pm Tea and Cake, with final discussion (Tamsin McMillan)
4.30pm Close
Enquiries or bookings to tamsinmcmillan@thegardenstrust.org
And look out for Part 2 of our Planning Training, in summer 2019, taking volunteers step by step through the nitty gritting of writing an effective planning letter