COTAC Conference

A COTAC conference was incorporated into Heritage Forum. It concentrated on training and education because that is what COTAC (Conference on Training in Architectural Conservation) is about and was organised with support from the European Union Leonardo da Vinci programme as part of the Transfusion dissemination project.

Again, there was an international contribution, this time from Jean Marc Lanfry of the European Association of Heritage Building Contractors (AEERPA), which, with its headquarters in Strasbourg and offices in Paris, was formed in 1998 with 400 members from across the EU.

‘We (all contractors) are convinced restoration of historic monuments must be quality work. Each monument is a work of art that can only be placed in the hands of experts.’ That required specialist education of the professionals and the trades and there had now been formed an organisation called the AEERPA, of which Jean Marc Lanfry is the chairman.

Launch of Higher Level NVQ's
The COTAC conference also saw the launch of three new higher level National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs),that COTAC has been instrumental in bringing into existence. At Level 5 there is the Conservation Consultancy NVQ and, at Level 4, Conservation Control and Building Site Management (Conservation).

The new NVQs are being administered by the Edexcel examining body, bringing the number of NVQs they offer up to 22. These qualifications are linked with the international standards of ICOMOS and the various units of the NVQs can stand alone as CPD credits for architects and surveyors.

National Trust
The conference was also used by Richard Wheeler of the National Trust to announce that the stone monuments within the 350 acres of gardens contained in 6,000 acres of landscaped countryside at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, where the house itself is now a private school, could be used for long-term, site-based training. The Trust had, said Wheeler, been looking at creating the scheme, perhaps with Heritage Lottery Fund backing and in conjunction with COTAC and colleges, for two or three years. It now wanted to carry out a feasibility study. He thought the site could sustain training for two or three craftsmen at a high level and another at a lower level.

Jamie Vans, who heads another important stone conservation programme, Woodchester Mansion, Gloucester-shire, which has been used for training for years, was in the audience and expressed surprise at how long it was taking the National Trust to get their scheme up and running. He said, ‘We run our operation on a shoestring – it’s what’s spent on matches at the Stowe estate I should think – but we’ve had more than 100 students down there now. I’m rather surprised you’re looking for money for a feasibility study. The need for better craftsmen is so urgent ... Let me encourage you to press on with urgency.’

Funding for Heritage Projects
There was advice for those looking for funding for projects from Hilary Weir, who recently left the Architectural Heritage Fund. Those wishing to pursue the matter should consult the Fund’s directory of sources of funding, which has been fully updated this year. Hilary Weir also spoke about the ‘vexed and extremely complex issue of VAT’. ‘Thanks to VAT,’ she said, ‘a range of government policies, including sustainable development, come with a 17.5% penalty attached.’ She backed the suggestion put forward in VAT and the Built Heritage, a report by the Tax Group of the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies, published in October 1999. It suggested harmonising VAT on all building work at 5%

Funds for Historic Buildings in England and Wales, A Directory of Sources from the Architectural Heritage Fund is available for £24.50 (including p&p) from the Fund at Clareville House, 26-27 Oxendon Street, London SW1Y4EL Tel. 020 7925 0199. VAT and the Built Heritage can be seen on website, www.vatbuiltheritage.org.uk

Reproduced in part from an article in Natural Stone Specialist Magazine, July 2000, by Eric Bignell.