Martin Penney represents TSA at recent English Heritage BIM Conference

Fort Cumberland situated on Eastney Point at the entrance to Langstone Harbour on the Hampshire Coast was the impressive venue for English Heritage’s BIM Strategy Seminar in January.

The current remaining pentagonal fortification dates back to an early earthwork battery of 1716 and was the brainchild of William Duke of Cumberland- erstwhile of the Jacobite Rebellion and the Battle of Culloden. Built to control the entrance to Langstone Harbour with its impressive arsenal of 34 interlocking-arc guns, this strategic position also helped to defend the access to Portsmouth Harbour and its docks to the West.

Fort Cumberland

Fort Cumberland. Photograph courtesy of English Heritage

Strategy was also the order of the day at the conference along with discussion and understanding as various speakers considered the role of data within English Heritage (E.H.) and the meaning and possible uses of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a potential future business model for E.H.

Technics Group Martin Penney, Survey Director, spoke on behalf of The Survey Association (TSA) and the private sector view of BIM, citing the current wide interest but also confusion and uncertainty within the Land Survey community as to its possible long term role. Penney said “It’s a privelage to be invited here by English Heritage and we hope to be able to provide support and assistance to them in their future exploration and application of BIM. These are very exciting times for them and the wider survey industry”.

The day was very positive and many views were exchanged resulting in the E.H. BIMSIG realising that they potentially had a long road of investigation ahead of them before needing to confirm their BIM strategy next year.

Many thanks to Paul Bryan of English Heritage.