For tradesmen looking to broaden their skills, news of Essex County Council’s traditional building skills, conservation courses and lecture programme will be welcomed.

Run by Place Services, a provider of integrated environmental assessment, planning, design and management services based within Essex County Council, the courses are designed to enable conservation and building professionals, contractors, general builders, and the owners and managers of historic buildings and sites, to increase their knowledge and skills in the technical and practical issues involved in the conservation management and repair of historic buildings and the wider historic environment.

All of the courses and lectures are delivered by leading craftsmen and experts in their specialist fields and are open to all skill levels.

The lectures, which are recognised by the Institute of Historic Building and Conservation (IHBC), continue to be run from the magnificent Cressing Temple Barns near Braintree in Essex. New subjects include the conservation of ruins, heritage interpretation, and managing the relationship between trees and historic buildings.

Hands on courses are either workshop- based, or run from live projects on historic buildings. This year there is a fantastic new venue for the timber frame repair course, and a rare opportunity to learn historic brickwork repair on a 19th century windmill.

A number of free places are offered, which heritage developer City and Country are supporting for the eighth year. To find out more about eligibility and to apply for funding, contact Gemma Clayton on 0333 013 2738 or at traditional. buildingskills@essex.gov.uk. To view the courses and lectures offered visit placeservices.co.uk/courses.