Great presentation by Charles Smith, Policy Director at Historic England, about the importance of heritage in the future

Charles Smith, Policy Director at Historic England – the government’s adviser on the historic environment – gave an excellent and very informative presentation on the role of Historic England, and also localised it to Huddersfield.

Before joining Historic England in 2013 Charles was Team Leader for Conservation and Design at Kirklees Council and remains a Huddersfield resident. His early career included working for the Diocese of London and the Victorian Society. 

Charles talked about Historic England’s functions, its priorities and the opportunities and risks for heritage in the short to medium term. He highlighted successful local initiatives, such as the Huddersfield Heritage Action Zone, with suggestions of how local amenity groups can continue to be effective in ensuring heritage plays a positive part in delivering great places where people live, work and visit. 

Charles also gave an update on the current position of the government’s ongoing changes to the planning system and then responded to questions on a number of local historic building and site issues. 

The presentation, called Heritage – Looking to the Future, was held on Wednesday March 26, 2025, and was very well attended.