Aftermath: the consequences of the result of the 2016 EU referendum for heritage conservation in the United Kingdom

Abstract

In June 2016, a referendum was held in the UK on membership of the European Union. Two of the territories of the UK, England and Wales, voted to leave the EU whilst two, Scotland and Northern Ireland, voted to remain. The overall result was a narrow UK vote to leave the EU. Perhaps the one thing that all sides in a now deeply divided state can agree on is that the decision to leave the EU is a momentous one. Internally, the position of Scotland and Northern Ireland within the UK is a key issue. In England, the status and role of London and other major cities (which also mostly voted to remain in the EU) in relation to other regions, are also a matter of debate (BBC News, 2016). Less attention has been given to the many and varied relationships that local authorities have developed with the EU since the UK joined the then EEC in the 1970s. The withdrawal will impact on diverse areas of their work - for example, experts predict it will lead to a hollowing out of environmental protection (Travers, 2016). How it will affect the heritage sector, however, has received scant attention in the referendum campaign and since the result. This Viewpoint provides some reflections on this issue.ResourcesThe EU has been a key mechanism for the redistribution of funds to regeneration areas (Sykes and Schulze-Baing, 2016). In effect, by virtue of being allocated through the thematically organised EU Structural and Investment Fund regime, funds from the UK and other 'net contributor' states were directed to areas of need. In addition, given that the EU budget works on a seven-year cycle, EU funds provided a secure source of matching funding for projects in contrast with the more fickle and centralised funding models which have traditionally operated in the UK. In 2014-2020, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in England was due to be worth around £3 billion. There is thus some uncertainty at present about what will happen to such funding streams in the medium term. But beyond the actual amounts which were redistributed, the availability of a dedicated stream of funding for certain areas has proved important in supporting project partnerships and bids. As Travers (2016, 19) underlines, 'Seemingly, when local government cannot get what it wants from national government it looks elsewhere, and the EU has been a very convenient source of allies in other cities and the Commission', adding that 'this is even more important with the impact on local government of austerity'. This ability to combine funds has been a key feature of how project finance has worked over recent decades. The argument that 'someone else' (e.g. Structural Fund programmes, the private sector etc.) is putting resources into a project provided a powerful argument for those making a case for support to their own organisation, or other funding bodies.1It is for the reasons above that many heritage restoration or valorisation projects in the UK have sought funding from the EU amongst other funding sources. 'Cultural Heritage' has also recently been recognised as a growing EU priority, eligible for more significant and wide-ranging EU funding, including 'for conservation, digitization, infrastructure, research and skills'. There are several other EU programmes as well as the European Structural and Investment Funds, such as Horizon 2020, Creative Europe, Erasmus+ and Europe for Citizens2 that reflect a direction of travel symbolised by the EU's explicit and increasing desire to recognise, preserve and promote Europe's 'rich and diverse' heritage. Whether the UK can access such a growing pot of funding as a non-EU member is unknown and clearly subject to negotiation post official withdrawal from the European Union under article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. It is to be hoped, however, that established initiatives and networks and Heritage Open Days will continue.3 Though, perhaps rather tellingly, in the UK, the European roots of the latter initiative have largely been forgotten, with only Northern Ireland still billing the event as European Heritage Open Days. …