BEFS 2026 Manifesto: Building Foundations for a Better Scotland
BEFS has drawn together a call to action for the next Scottish Government. Our Manifesto outlines how essential investment is key to unlocking substantial value for public money and driving progress across vital public policy portfolios, including environmental sustainability, skills and economic development, housing, poverty, and health – unlocking the immense potential of our built heritage to deliver warmer homes, local employment, thriving town centres, and much more.
Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS) has launched its Manifesto in advance of the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. As the strategic intermediary body for the historic and existing built environment in Scotland, BEFS has drawn together a call to action for the next Scottish Government.
The Manifesto urges the incoming Government to create the conditions for a well-resourced, dynamic, and effective built and historic environment sector; without recognising and leveraging the benefits brought by the sustainable use of Scotland’s existing built assets, critical climate and wellbeing targets will not be met.
The Manifesto outlines how essential investment is key to unlocking substantial value for public money and driving progress across vital public policy portfolios, including environmental sustainability, skills and economic development, housing, poverty, and health – unlocking the immense potential of our built heritage to deliver warmer homes, local employment, thriving town centres, and much more.
Interconnected Benefits for People and Places
The built and historic environment, both rural and urban, contributes profoundly to the quality and character of Scotland’s places, its economy, and the wellbeing of its people. Encompassing everything from ancient monuments and historic buildings to townscapes and public spaces, it influences – and is influenced by – many public policy areas.
BEFS five main Manifesto policy areas are designed to demonstrate how a joined-up and strategic approach will deliver towards the long-term benefit of Scotland’s people and places.
15 Practical Policy Recommendations
BEFS Manifesto features 15 practical policy recommendations and calls on cross-party buy in towards implementation in the next term of Parliament – and beyond.
Culture and Heritage
- Scale up built environment and heritage investment programmes, leveraging value across portfolios
- Support Historic Environment Scotland as the lead public body to leverage the benefits of the historic environment for Scotland’s people and places
- Adopt Fair Funding principles set out by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
- Additional investments in historic and built environment data collection and research programmes
Climate Emergency and Net Zero
- Investigate the international experience with Material Passport schemes and consider adopting a suitable model in Scotland
- Holistic approach to existing and new climate emergency legislation; ensuring wider policy alignment, and consistent cross-party support beyond parliamentary cycles
Repair, Maintenance and Retrofit
- Implement all three recommendations from the Tenement Maintenance Working Group: Five Yearly Inspections, Compulsory Owners Associations, and Building Reserve Funds
- Establish a Ministerial Oversight Group on Retrofit, to devise and deliver a Retrofit Delivery Plan
- Increase provision of trained specialists to advise planning authorities on sustainability for the existing built environment
Training and Skills
- Invest in a national programme for training delivery across a variety of traditional building and wider construction skills
- Invest in preventative spend across built environment specialisms to meet Net Zero, place-making, and heritage targets, and to reverse the decline of essential skills
- Recognise the cross-cutting benefits of investing both in skills provision and training but also the culture shift required towards greater recognition of these skills as desirable careers
Planning and Placemaking
- Explore development of the Fourth National Planning Framework into a fully interactive online resource including guidance documents and signposts to linked policy initiatives
- Commit to investment in and enabling pathways to bring vacant and derelict land and buildings back into use at scale
- Integrate heritage and tourism activity and aspirations into Community Wealth Building action plans
Download the Full Manifesto here.
Download the shorter version here.
More information, including data, evidence and the details of the themes outlined above can be found in BEFS full Manifesto document.
About This Manifesto
BEFS Team would like to thank all Members and stakeholders that contributed their time and expertise to shaping this Manifesto through consultation from March to September 2025
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