Heritage Link was set up in 2002 by national heritage groups to promote the central role of the voluntary movement in the sector and to make their voice heard collectively and coherently.
It now has 86 members - national organisations including the National Trust, Civic Trust, Council for British Archaeology, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) as well as many smaller and more specialised heritage groups.
Heritage Link’s Memorandum and Articles of Association (pdf)
Aims
- Influencing policy
- Underpinning advocacy
- Increasing capacity
Heritage Link provides a forum for members to formulate and promote policy on core issues as well as a support and information network. It participates in all the major sectoral fora. Its aims are explained in the Strategic Plan 2006-09
Opportunities
The current climate of change and consultation offers plenty of opportunity to influence government policies affecting the historic environment. Heritage Link expects to emulate the success its counterparts in the environmental sector have had in persuading policy and decision makers to recognise environmental issues whenever they put forward new proposals.
Signing-up
Heritage Link operates on the principle of ‘positive sign-up’. Members declare their support for policy statements or responses to consultations, such as draft Planning Policy Statements, so that the ‘sign-up’ (the list of organisations backing the statement) can be taken as a measure of sectoral support. Heritage Link responses are not intended to replace those of specialist members, many of whom will have commented from their own point of view, but to deliver a strong message on common themes.
Critical mass
Collecting opinion and data from members underpins advocacy. Members’ responses to the Heritage Protection Review were analysed to identify areas of consensus and to bring particular points of concern to the Government’s attention. Information is gathered on a wide variety of issues - volunteering, views on Gift Aid and in 2005 a proposed survey of local authority heritage practice based on members’ experiences.
