About Us
Civic Voice
With its origins in the Kyrle Societies whose objectives from the late 1880s were to promote the cultural and physical qualities of their towns, the civic movement grew slowly initially, maturing in the period after the Great War and mushrooming after the Second World War.
The movement received a major boost when Duncan Sandys gave it a national voice in 1957 with the creation of the Civic Trust as a champion for the character and diversity of the buildings and places that make up our cities, towns and villages. From the outset, the Civic Trust focused not only on conservation, but also on bringing about positive change and promoting higher standards. The Civic Trust’s work included drafting legislation which created conservation areas in 1967 – there are now 9,300 conservation areas in England - and it ran the country’s largest voluntary cultural event – Heritage Open Days - until going into administration in April 2009.
The movement received a major boost when Duncan Sandys gave it a national voice in 1957 with the creation of the Civic Trust as a champion for the character and diversity of the buildings and places that make up our cities, towns and villages. From the outset, the Civic Trust focused not only on conservation, but also on bringing about positive change and promoting higher standards. The Civic Trust’s work included drafting legislation which created conservation areas in 1967 – there are now 9,300 conservation areas in England - and it ran the country’s largest voluntary cultural event – Heritage Open Days - until going into administration in April 2009.
The formation of Civic Voice as a national body for the movement in 2010 was a major landmark event, marking recognition that societies need to have their voice heard at a national level. Ensuring that government is made aware of the importance of local participation in planning and related decision making is, of course, the core objective of the organisation. However, building collective views on issues affecting communities across the country, ensuring that they are promulgated where they need to be heard, and stimulating the sharing of ideas, programmes and enthusiasm between societies are also essential components of the Civic Voice agenda.
To find out more see here.
Tewkesbury Civic Society was an early member of Civic Trust and joined Civic Voice at the first opportunity.
To find out more see here.
Tewkesbury Civic Society was an early member of Civic Trust and joined Civic Voice at the first opportunity.