What is the position in Scotland please?
John Wood
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Hunt [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 29 April 2002 17:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Sustainability Fund - eligibility criteria and application
proced ures for major new stream of funding
English Heritage have now published details of eligibility criteria and
application procedures for funding under the new Aggregate Levy
Sustainability Fund (See
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/default.asp?WCI=WebItem&WCE=3001)
For those unaware or unfamiliar, the Sustainability Fund arises out of the
redirection of a new flat-rate tax per tonne on aggregates (known as the
Aggregates Levy) to help tackle environmental impacts and problems in areas
affected by aggregates extraction. As the English Heritage website states:
"The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have made
available resources, through the Fund, for an initial two-year pilot scheme.
This will comprise £16m in 2002/03 and £13.5m in 2003/04, which will
distributed in equal measures by English Heritage, English Nature and the
Countryside Agency, through existing grant schemes"
In the case of English Heritage distribution will be through the archaeology
commissions programme. The English Heritage web-page sets out the priorities
for funding for the different agencies as follows:
"The Countryside Agency, English Nature, and English Heritage, in
consultation with local authorities, interest groups and the aggregates
industry, will distribute grants to local projects which encourage community
involvement in areas which are, or have been, affected by aggregates
extraction. Countryside Agency grants will focus on projects which deliver
landscape, community and recreational benefits, while English Nature will
work with local communities to deliver ecological, geological and
biodiversity benefits and English Heritage will concentrate on historic
environment, including historic buildings, archaeological sites and
landscapes."
One of the key elements within the criteria is the kinds of themes which
will be supported, which are stated as follows:
"The Fund will support projects to develop the knowledge, understanding and
appreciation of the historic environment that has been, or may be in the
future, affected by aggregate extraction. The broad thrust of the projects
supported by the Fund at English Heritage will fall into three main areas:
* Projects to increase the understanding and dissemination of knowledge
gained from previous work undertaken on aggregate extraction landscapes:
both to the local communities and the wider academic and public. This work
will also improve our ability to predict future impacts in such
environments.
* Projects aimed at developing the capacity to manage the impact of
aggregate extraction on historic landscapes in the future. To develop
reliable predictive information to enable curators, planners and the
industry to better manage the impact of future extraction on the historic
environment.
* In partnership with English Nature and Countryside Agency, to enable the
targeted buying-out of old mineral permissions, for the benefit of the
long-term management and sustainability of the historic environment."
However another key element of the funding criteria is that "proposals do
not compromise the industry's obligations under normal planning procedures,
especially those set out in Planning Policy Guidance 16". i.e. minerals
developlers will still be expected to provide fully for developer-funded
archaeology and that any initiatives or projects supported under the scheme
should extend beyond what can be achieved reasonably through the minerals
planning process.
_______________________________
Alex Hunt
Research and Conservation Officer
Council for British Archaeology
Bowes Morrell House
111 Walmgate
York
YO1 9WA
Tel: 01904 671417
Fax: 01904 671384
Web: http://www.britarch.ac.uk
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