Press Release: APPG for civic societies to make the case for the historic environment
Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic society movement, held the first meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies today.
The launch, which saw Craig Mackinlay MP proposed and elected to the position of Chair, also decided upon some of key themes for discussion for the group throughout meetings during the coming year. The inaugural meeting also instated William Wragg MP, Natascha Engel MP and Cat Smith MP into officer roles
The recommendations from the meetings concluded that the groups aim over the next 6 months should be to focus on the historic environment. The meetings during the coming year should specifically reference the impact of the loss of conservation staff, the importance of community involvement in local heritage listing and the impact of development on Cathedral cities.
Ian Harvey, Executive Director for Civic Voice, said “The first meeting of our All Party Parliamentary Group is a really exciting and interesting occasion. As an organisation who values collaboration and who makes the most of the collective strengths of the movement, we are always excited to add new expertise to our group and look forward to working with Craig and others to make the case for the historic environment in the coming months. ”
He added “We are fortunate that our movement will now include the breadth of knowledge offered by our Chair, Craig Mackinlay MP and also our Vice-Chair, William Wragg MP”
Craig Mackinlay, newly elected Chair of the APPG, commented “The conclusions drawn by the meeting are for the group to focus on the impact of the loss of conservation staff, the importance of a community voice when protecting the local historic environment and the future of Cathedral cities. I now call on all communities across the country to tell their MP to join the All Party Group and to give Civic Voice examples of what is happening to your local historic environment. We will debate these issues in future meetings.”