7390 Research into the impacts of local authority cuts in the South West

Tender description

The South West of England has a significant proportion of England’s designated heritage – a quarter of its listed buildings and one third of its scheduled ancient monuments. The historic environment is vital to the region’s economy, both as a central plank of its tourism economy and as a contributor to the quality of place which attracts businesses and inward investment. Local government bears the greatest part of the responsibility for care and conservation of this rich resource. Historic England research has shown that since 2006, there has been a 42% decrease in specialist historic environment Full Time Equivalent posts in the region, one of the most marked decreases in the country, and well above the 32% loss for England. As a result, new models of service delivery have evolved, and continue to develop, across the region. Currently, little is known of the impact the variety of changes have had on the quality of service provided (regionally or nationally). Have the changes implemented since the introduction of austerity led to a different experience by the service user? And what impact has there been on the projects proposed by those service users? It is these questions that this project will seek to answer.