Lyons appoints 11 new members to the Historic Buildings Council
Date published:
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced the appointment of 11 new members to the Historic Buildings Council.
They will serve in a voluntary capacity from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029.
First constituted in the 1970s, the council is an expert advisory body of the Department that provides advice on proposals for listing historic buildings and on the associated work of the Department for Communities. It also provides advice to district councils on the creation or extension of Conservation Areas.
The new members reflect a wide range of experience, from community heritage development, to the work of district councils, to specialist experience of conserving historic buildings.
Minister Lyons said:
“This expert advisory body has provided significant voluntary advice to my Department over many years. The new cohort of members reflects a very strong range of experience. This will be of huge benefit to my Department in the future particularly as we develop and refine our first Historic Environment Policy. This is currently out for consultation and seeks to ensure that we can create an inclusive and valued historic environment that delivers for Northern Ireland.”
The new Council members are:
- Mr Callum Bowsie
- Mr Des Cairns
- Mrs Katherine McClean
- Mrs Heather McGuicken
- Ms Nina McNeary
- Miss Nikki McVeigh
- Mr Tony Monaghan
- Mrs Jenny O’Donnell
- Mr Roger Perrott
- Mr Alan Ross
- Mrs Kerrie Sweeney
Notes to editors:
- The Historic Environment Policy consultation is published at: www.communities-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-historic-environment-policy-northern-ireland
- The Historic Buildings Council is an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department for Communities. It is constituted under Section 198 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. Its role is to provide independent advice to the Department on the listing of buildings, the general state of listed buildings and other matters relating to their preservation.
- The member position attracts no remuneration, however there is a provision for out-of-pocket expenses.
- The appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s (CPA NI) Code of Practice. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, CPA NI requires the political activity of appointees to be published. Mr Callum Bowsie has undertaken political activity in the past five years in association with the Democratic Unionist Party as a Councillor. No other appointee has undertaken any political activity. Individual biographies are available at: www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-buildings-council-membership. These details are correct at the time of publishing.
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