Heritage Link, Heritage Day, speech from Margaret Hodge

11 December 2007

Thank you, Anthea. From what you say it sounds like we are very much in the same place on many things- it is good that we are going in the same direction of travel.

May I start by thanking the Heritage Link team for what they do. It is thanks to their continued commitment and hard work that so many, very different, strands of the sector have been able to come together with a single voice, a voice that clearly expresses your concerns to us in Government.

And speaking with a single voice is quite a trick to turn. I know about this, speaking as a member of a political party.

May I also say that I am delighted to be here at the Ritzy Cinema today. Places like this really are part of our heritage. I remember the days when a visit to the cinema included appallingly made adverts for local businesses, the ‘supporting’ pictures, the clipped tones of the chaps who did the commentaries for the newsreels, the blue fug of cigarette smoke lying like a luminous blanket a few feet above the audience… The good old days.

I’m also Films Minister, by the way. I hope none of my films stakeholders will hear this and take me too seriously. I have always been fascinated by historic cinemas though, and this is a wonderful example. Incredibly, it has been in continuous use since 1911. It also illustrates for me most vividly why we are here today. Because it was voluntary sector support for local heritage that saved this cinema from demolition in the 1970s.

I understand that most of you here do what you do on a voluntary basis, which reminded me of the “Heritage Open Days” launch two months ago. What I saw that day was an impressive early insight into the work of the voluntary sector and the impact you all make. I was hugely struck by how this event galvanises public interest in all kinds of heritage – an interest that transcends age and background.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to speak to some of you in more depth about the issues that concern you. I have also spoken on wider issues around the historic environment with some of you, at a Smith Institute seminar in September.

Two weeks ago I unveiled the Blue Plaque for Mary Seacole- recognising who she was, what she represented was a fascinating experience. We had a good turnout for the unveiling. People who’d been involved in the campaign to get the Blue Plaque. English Heritage experts, dignitaries and local politicians. Although it is important, I’m not really trying to make a point about cherishing diversity here. Because the thing that stayed with me afterwards was something quite different. It was the conversation I had with some of those schoolchildren who’d been watching.

When I spoke to those children I realised that at the start of the day they had had no idea that Mary Seacole was a historical figure. That the Crimean War happened over 160 years ago. And it was seeing their faces register this, and then watching them make the connection between the story they’d heard and the building in front of them, that spoke volumes to me about the power of place.

But at each point along the way as I have worked myself deeper into my new role, I have been reminded over and over of the great commitment and passion of so many people for the historic environment.

I hear the latest data from the Heritage Counts Report suggests that nearly half a million people volunteer in some way at grass roots level and up. Whether that’s putting together a funding application or helping to restore a local monument, commenting on a planning proposal or getting involved in a local community archaeology excavation, that commitment is an astonishing positive force.

So, where is all this taking me? Going back to those questions I posed at the Heritage Open Days launch:

What more can we do to work with partners engaged in economic regeneration, “heritage tourism” and the creative industries?
How do we really make sure that the contribution the historic environment makes to our sense of identity and belonging is fully understood by strategists and decision makers at all levels?
How do we continue to widen our audiences and deepen the enjoyment and understanding of those just beginning to explore our shared heritage?

I have been developing my own thinking on these questions and I would like to share some of my emerging thoughts with you now. This is an iterative process, so please bear with me.

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Three questions, three things.

First of all – places matter.

Government needs to understand - and to encourage others to understand - how people value their environments. The values of place are intrinsic to culture and identity. Most people are not interested in buildings or spaces in the way that architects and designers are. They are interested in the places they were born, grew up, grew older. Now that people are far more likely to move around Britain in their lifetimes, and that migration has become a commonplace as a result of globalization, place matters more than ever before. Very often it’s the heritage associated with a place that helps make the location to be a place where people want to live and work.

More deeply, the sense of place is intimately bound up with wider cultural experiences. In recent years, historic sites are increasingly settings for events such as concerts and weddings – the celebrations of life. And so they become cherished in surprising ways. Ways that are not so academic or learned. But still place a value on their locality.

I really do believe that we must work with the grain of these values. To encourage place-making professionals and decision makers to put people’s concerns for their historic environment at the forefront of their thinking. This is all part of the “more that we can do” in terms of working better with our partners.

Because overwhelmingly the things that you and I stand for – protecting and promoting our heritage – are also what the great majority of our fellow citizens want.

So where do we go from here? What works? Well, to begin with, partnership working at local and regional level is vital to successful regeneration. An example I could cite here of this approach is “The Great and the Good” in Norwich, run by Norwich Heart, which is achieving international recognition as a way of working. Even the Treasury has recognised it as an example of good practice and is granting nearly £1m through their “Invest to Save” fund.

And at DCMS we have been busy too. We have supported the case for keeping traditional buildings and structures eligible for funding under the Rural Development Programme.

And last week, with the support of the Department for Communities and Local Government, we announced new funding of £15m a year over three years to support regeneration in seaside resorts. CABE, The Regional Development Agencies, English Heritage and both the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund- and others – will all have the opportunity to be involved in deciding how this money is allocated. I have always had a personal commitment to the future of seaside resorts – it always seemed to me that their regeneration needed a catalyst for change and that local authorities need to be quite bold about the choices that they make. When I was in local government in Islington twenty years ago the council put in £400,000 towards the refurbishment of the Business Design Centre. This was lambasted at the time but has led in time to the regeneration of the whole area. In terms of seaside towns, I have seen myself a number of examples of this happening in practice- In West Kilbride, where a local woman is helping to regenerate the high street to make it fit for use by crafts industries- in Morcambe, in Great Yarmouth- there are many ways to use heritage for regeneration and although the funding here is relatively small, small amounts of public money can and have levered in much greater figures from other bodies and private investment.

Earlier this autumn The Heritage Protection Reform Bill was mentioned in the Queen’s speech. We are now in a position to legislate. We all worked together to publish the Heritage Protection White Paper, and will continue to do so to put reforms into practice; including a new framework for the protection of the marine historic environment. We are planning to publish a Draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny in the Third Session (2007-8).

You know how much this matters. Many of you contributed to the White Paper consultation. Changes to these processes will bring transparency to decision making and take it to the heart of the community. Local people, local say, local values.

But of course the need for the experts remains. Informed and controversial choices need to be made. I do think there is a need for a debate around the continuity of purpose of some post-war listings. Heritage Link’s own roll call of membership shows how perceptions of what is worth saving have developed this century - as views have changed on Georgian, Victorian, twenties, thirties- cinemas even, and most recently post-war architecture like the South Bank.

This year has proved some of those past naysayers wrong in so many ways. The Festival Hall is renewed and revitalised – there’s a real buzz about the place. And St Pancras- which was nearly lost - has been transformed. Thousands of people pass through these living structures every day.

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Secondly, communities matter.

As a one time refugee myself, I have been looking at the role of culture in shaping identity, about what it means to be British, and more importantly what political representatives can do to ensure that communities are at ease with themselves. Britishness is not a straightforward, easy concept. Because we can all inhabit multiple identities - as, for example, a mother, artist, football fan, Muslim – at the same time.

So much of what you do: through, for example, Heritage Open Days, through outreach, through the new Heritage Link Diversity Programme, through encouraging wider participation in volunteering on a specific site – helps us all to make sense of these issues, to imagine what it is like to be someone other than yourself, to make the most of people’s natural and positive curiosity.

Allowing us all to find out, time and time again, that whatever people’s backgrounds, we have much more in common than what separates us. And in doing that, developing an ongoing sense of shared identity. Which leads me into a recent example of how this has happened in practice: the work around this year’s commemoration of the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the transatlantic Slave Trade- work which has brought into focus issues around people trafficking and other forms of modern day slavery.

I would like to acknowledge the contribution that many of you here today, including English Heritage, the National Trust and the Historic Houses Association, have made over the year, and the impact this has had on our understanding of this challenging period of history. Some important discoveries have been made. It has seen a real step change in bringing some of the hidden histories of our past into the present - from Kenwood House and Dido Belle to street names in Liverpool. And isn’t it a sobering thought to discover that nearly half of the houses owned by members of the Historic Houses Association were originally built from profits from the slave trade and the sugar industry that it supported.

But this commemoration wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t for the support and engagement with communities at the grass roots. It is quite hard to think of another such theme of history which might inspire people in the same way to connect with each other in the present day.

Thirdly and finally, connections matter.

It has often been quoted, so I will again, because it is something that is worth repeating- that more people visit historic sites than go to football matches. Sometimes, of course, they find themselves doing both at the same time. The figures are pretty impressive: there were 62.8m visits in 2006. But, of course, caring about heritage means more than visiting sites.

The most recent evidence from the “Taking Part” survey has shown what we all instinctively knew, that children who visit heritage properties are much more likely to become lovers of heritage for life. This coincides with the announcement being made today by Ed Balls on our plans for our cultural offer: of two hours a week of cultural activity of some kind for every child. We have enough money to pilot it in ten localities and take the results forward to the next spending review. So I want to continue to work with you in developing our plans for a Cultural Offer for children and young people.

I know that Heritage Link members already support the DCMS/DCSF “Engaging Places” project, which is helping schools to link up more with their local built and historic environment. We will be developing work on this in 2008 and exploring how the sector can further contribute to supporting a rich and varied curriculum for young people. And I would like to thank Kate Pugh of Heritage Link and Don Henson of the Council for British Archaeology for all they have done so far to support the Department on this.

Through participation, young people can learn to feel connected to their community and its past histories, to learn new skills and, to become more aware of different career paths. I recognise there is a shortage of skilled craftspeople, and also that there are skills needs across the sector- skills such as management, visitor services, planning and conservation.

Nine sector skills councils have an interest in the historic environment in some way. At the Heritage Counts launch, James Purnell said he wanted to do more work with you on skills. He met last week with some of the nine – including Creative and Cultural Skills- to explore ways in which we can better build the workforce for the historic environment of the future. Once again, I would like to thank the Heritage Lottery Fund for acknowledging and supporting this area, and also those of you who have taken on trainees with HLF bursaries.– and those working to support standards in cultural leadership.

Let me finish by thanking you again for all the work that you have done. I ask you to keep working with us together to ensure some real, positive outcomes for the sector.

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