Protecting our heritage for future generations

The Alliance to Reduce Crime against Heritage (ARCH) was launched by English Heritage to protect the country's historic environment for future generations. It aims to bring together a national network of organisations to tackle and reduce offences such as:

• architectural theft;
• criminal damage;
• illegal metal detecting;
• graffiti;
• vehicle nuisance; and,
• arson.

Cllr Janet Duncton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning at Chichester District Council and has responsibility for Community Safety, signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The Memorandum is with English Heritage, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service to help tackle and reduce heritage crime offences.

"Our district has a highly valued and varied historic environment. It is key to making Chichester an attractive place to live, visit and work and is an important economic driver supporting our tourism industry. We need to make sure that we protect it, and this initiative is another way that we can do this," says Cllr Duncton.

"Heritage crimes in Chichester have included metal detecting on archaeological sites, metal theft from historic buildings including Petworth House, and the alteration of listed buildings without consent. We hope that this new initiative will help support the work we already carry out to tackle these offences."

Local history societies, amenity groups, neighbourhood watch and residents' associations will be encouraged to raise awareness of the risk of criminal damage to historic sites and buildings in their area.

Many other organisations are also supporting the initiative, including:

• the National Trust;
• the Church of England;
• Crime Stoppers;
• the Woodland Trust; and,
• the Historic Houses Association.

For more information, please contact Chichester's Community Safety Partnership or go to the English Heritage's website.

Date: 18 May 2012

Reference: 3112