1. COTAC is a UK wide Charity supported by a wide cross section of the Construction Industry as well as users and owners of buildings. The members of the COTAC Standing Conference include CITB, RIBA, RIAS, RICS, CIOB, BRE, British Waterways, the National Trust, English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Cadw and DOE Northern Ireland. We believe that the following are comments that reflect the general attitude of our membership as a whole.

2. The aim of COTAC is to foster the skills and knowledge required for the conservation and regeneration of the built heritage. For us, conservation is interpreted in its widest context and should not be connected with any negative associations of restrictions on development and growth.

3. In our view, a sustainable community is one in which people wish to stay, live, work and play, and are thus prepared to invest time and effort. The built environment is one tangible element for the community of the links between past, present and future. It is essential that it perform effectively, that it is fit for purpose, adaptable and economically viable. The community needs a sense of place and should have confidence in the future of its surroundings.

4. Confidence produces a virtuous circle where the built environment is well maintained, is adapted to meet changing needs and as a result sustains or increases in value. Usually, it is more economic to adapt and add to the existing building stock rather than to comprehensively redevelop an area. It is also less of a shock to the structure of the community. There are special skills associated with effective management of the built environment, and these are significantly different from new build skills for which the industry is generally recognised.

5. Skilling up for the Building Industry will presumably entail an appreciation of economy in energy and materials. No doubt it will wish to temper improvement and change with cultural continuity. In searching for a general improvement in the quality of the built environment, lack of skill must be recognised as a broad problem.

6. The conservation sector has for some time emphasised the need for teamwork and the involvement of all sectors of the community in maintenance and regeneration of the built heritage. This is perhaps best summarised in the core paragraphs of the ICOMOS International Guidelines for Conservation Training. The required range of skills includes, in addition to historians, all the building professions, builders, craftsmen and community leaders. The underlying philosophy is that none can operate independently of the others, and all need to be able to communicate with the community within which they need to operate. The result for the UK has been a set of special qualifications, for architects, engineers, planners, conservation officers, building managers and craftsmen and women. All are based on performance specifications that relate to the common base of the ICOMOS Guidelines. All start from the premise that intelligent management/ maintenance is an essential skill, based on an understanding of the significance of a built area/object and knowledge of its material and its associated technology. These are seen as additional to those of new build.

7. The purpose of this note is to remind those concerned with the current review of the skills required for a sustainable built environment of the fact that building conservation in its broadest sense has played a leading part in the development of multidisciplinary participatory design and management regimes. Furthermore, there exists a suite of qualifications based on common standards that may be useful points of reference for other developments.

8. Also important is the fact that those concerned with conservation standards believe that their drive to expand the use of these qualifications should benefit from the additional impetus that the wider review may be able to generate.

COTAC's Reply to Questions from the Egan Review of Skills

Question 1
We agree that simply skilling up of building a professional is insufficient. There needs to be a general awareness of the benefits of higher quality sustainable solutions over the more usual short term minimum investment solutions. Without genuine long term demand from the community, investment in skills is unlikely to produce a return.

Question 2
We agree that local authorities should take a lead role in delivery of a sustainability agenda. They need encouragement and advice as well as funds. We will be happy to discuss an example of how civil service control has been singularly counterproductive, and urge a return to increased delegation of power. Also key in the motivation of the community is the voluntary sector including amenity societies and trusts.

Question 3
We are not convinced that the existing planning control process needs to be radically changed. The system needs to be properly managed and the essential guidance and policy framework have to be available if developer’s reasonable demands for speedy and skilled decisions are to be met.
More investment in local authority planning skills is essential for this.

 Question 4
There is a question as to what exactly are the “professional” skills referred to here. The ICOMOS Guidelines mentioned above are an example of performance specification for a multidisciplinary team concerned with urban development/conservation.

Question 5
The possibility of a multi-purpose conservationist professional has been a point of discussion for some years. In the event, each of the existing disciplines has benefited and developed new skills as a result of its attempts to put its own house in order. This is not to say there should not be a common understanding, a more work is required on this.

Question 6
The common base for nearly all professions in construction is new build. This is unwise given that half the current output of the industry is maintenance and refurbishment. This fact needs to be recognised at all levels of education and training (undergraduate, post graduate and CPD).
There have been examples of common foundation courses, often driven from the point of view of environmental scientists and the green movement (eco warriors and conservators).
There is a movement called the “Edinburgh Group” with representatives of the main construction professional institutions that has successfully cooperated in the development of a common core for specialist conservation registers. There is every likelihood that it will continue in order to oversee further developments and to monitor outcomes. Perhaps this is a precedent to follow?

Question 7
The existing professional institutions should be encouraged to put their own houses in order within a commonly agreed framework. The specialist registers referred to in 6 above have representative of the other professional disciplines and the consumers fully integrated members of their working teams.

Question 8
There are always unsubstantiated claims of skill shortages. For the conservation sector, there have been a series of studies, none of which have been effective in terms of scale or range. The most effective data gathering framework for skill demand would seem to be the CITB annual surveys. These are about to be expanded to take account of the craft skills required for conservation. Should this be the frame work for other such surveys?
The CITB traditionally asks the employers what the future demand will be. This is not enough, the consumer needs to be involved. When it comes to building maintenance, the problem has been poor understanding and a justifiable fear of cowboy operators.

Question 9
The industry has a poor image and may not attract the best quality of recruits.
The shortage of specialist skill is due to lack of recognition. Properly policed registers can solve the problem.

Question 10
Not so much re-branding as re-emphasising what the core professions can do. There is an emotional link to the best of the existing environment and the excitement of the new. They should always be linked.

Question 11
The right economic skills and culture to relate to and work effectively with developers for the benefit of the local community comes with experience. Perhaps a road show with successful examples is the basis for discussion between the whole of this spectrum of interest at the local level.
The key professional here is the Conservation Officer and there is a performance specification for what they should be able to do in this respect. The Institute of Historic Building Conservation is the focal point for this.

Question 12
We know of many HERS schemes where the “other” groups mentioned here are involved in general dialogue with the local authority and community. The road show mentioned above should involve such people.

Question 13
There should be training for all on sustainable development and much is on offer already. (BRE SPAB etc.) There is a strong case for all such training to be marketed and supported/coordinated at national and regional levels. This sort of activity has already started under the guidance of the CITB and its new National Heritage Training Group (NHTG). This model should be extended.

Question 14  
The development industry is not well informed of the real profits of sustainable development. This can only be effectively done through case studies that prove the case. See English Heritage statistics.

Question 15
This response may be quoted and attributed.

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