BEFS News

BEFS are proud to be supporting Members of the Climate Heritage Network, and wish to draw attention to the launch of a new Action Plan 2022-2024. We too believe that: Heritage has the power to help people imagine and realise low carbon, just, climate resilient futures.

Looking to the future, now is the time to give your views on HES’ new Responsible Tourism Framework, where the focus is on how Scotland’s tourism sector has a key role to play in tackling the climate crisis and achieving net-zero while contributing significantly to the Scottish economy.

And if you’re thinking of travelling – Europa Nostra 2022 European Heritage Awards winners have just been announced: read all about the fantastic projects here. We’d also draw attention to the Prague Manifesto – “For a Value-based and Culture-driven Europe”.

A little closer to home, BEFS were delighted to be at the Engine Shed in Stirling to work with AHSS and HES to host the Conservation Areas Seminar. This sold-out event enabled practitioners and professionals across the sector to hear more about policy development, good practice, and the challenges of working in and managing conservation areas. Thank you to all who made it possible! For those within a Local/Planning Authority with responsibility for conservation areas – and not already connected – you can become part of the Conservation Officers Group (COG).

In other policy news, Robbie Calvert RTPI Policy, Practice and Research Officer gave Evidence on the Levelling Up Bill for Scotland to the Net Zero Committee. You can read their written response here.

Considering the state of the sector – the latest UK Heritage Pulse Survey has been published. This iteration was designed in response to what the heritage sector told NLHF was most important; it focused on organisational resilience, recruitment and staffing, and environmental sustainability. We recommend that organisations (particularly within Scotland) who want to be part of future surveys sign-up to be part of the process, helping to inform future strategy and policy for the sector.

And, when examining those very topics: MGS with BEFS and greenspace scotland are holding focus group sessions to assist the co-design of the Business Support Programme (NLHF funded) 2023 extension. Book here to be part of the focus groups.

Congratulations are due across the sector:
Jackie Bird has become the new NTS president, after being endorsed at the charity’s AGM. Her nomination information can be found here.

Well done to HTN for a successful bid to NLHF for the start of their Essential Networks project. We look forward to seeing the project develop.

We appreciate all the work, and volunteering across the sector that produces the Festival of Traditional Buildings, and were delighted to see this work, and the importance of the topic, highlighted in a parliamentary motion to celebrate and support the Festival’s 10^th Year.

And finally, whilst we bring the news that The Egyptian Halls working group, led by the Scottish Civic Trust, has secured funding from Glasgow City Heritage Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund to develop a business plan for the restoration of this site. We also congratulate Susan O’Connor, current Director of the SCT who is moving to take on a role integral to sector sustainability, Head of Grants at HES. If you want to continue her great work with SCT, and The Egyptian Halls (as well as many other projects), please see details of the role available here.

BEFS does not have a Communications Manager in post at this time. BEFS will continue to get readers all the information that matters, particularly ensuring parliamentary activity is covered. And we’ll endeavour to include Events, Training and related Vacancies. These will be presented in the Bulletin as links (we will not be updating the website Events diary or Vacancy pages) until the team is back at full complement. Next Bulletin dates are: 20^th of October and 3^rd November – BEFS Members should submit information for inclusion by the Monday prior to publication.

Consultations

New Build Heat Standard: consultation – part two
Scottish Government
Closes 20 October 2022

Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
Closes 30 October 2022 

Battlefields: Planning Best Practice 
Historic Environment Scotland
Closes 3 November 2022

Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture. Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill
Scottish Government
Closes 21 November 2022

HES Responsible Tourism Framework
Historic Environment Scotland
** NEW Closes 30 November 2022**

Developing a Scottish Tax to replace the UK Aggregates Levy
Scottish Government
** NEW Closes 4 December 2022**

Consultation Responses

None at this time.

Publications

Is heating homes with hydrogen all but a pipe dream? (Jan Rosenow Sept. 2022)
A significant evidence review of papers relating to hydrogen heating for domestic homes.

SAIR 100: The excavation of a prehistoric settlement at Lower Slackbuie, Inverness (SoAoS 26/09/2022)

Climate Heritage Network Action Plan 2022-2024 (CHN 28/09/2022)

Interim Strategic Plan (Environmental Standards Scotland Sept. 2022)

Prague Manifesto “For a Value-based and Culture-driven Europe” (Europa Nostra Sept. 2022)

RICS Sustainability Report 2022 (RICS Sept. 2022)
Based on the sentiment of 4000 real estate and construction professionals from across over 30 countries.

Construction Innovation Hub – Value Toolkit Resource Library (Oct. 2022)

BE~ST Annual Impact Report 2021-22 (BE~ST 03/10/2022)

Addressing overheating risk in existing UK homes (Arup CCC 4/10/2022)
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) commissioned Arup to appraise the current and future risks posed by summertime overheating to the UK housing stock at scale.

Scottish & UK Government Publications

Fiscal Statement (UK Govt 23/09/2022) Note some polices may have changed since time of publication.

Community Ownership in Scotland 2021 – Annual publication showing the extent of community ownership in Scotland. (SG 27/09/2022)

National Partnership for Culture recommendations: Scottish Government response (SG 27/09/2022)

Environmental impact of mini-budget and Retained EU Law Bill: letter to UK Government (SG 29/09/2022)

Report on the National Performance Framework: Ambitions into Action (ScotParl 03/10/2022)

Emergency Protections for tenants (SG 03/10/2022)

News Releases

Europa Nostra 2022 European Heritage Awards winners announced (26/09/2022)

Edinburgh Council agrees powers to regulate short-term lets. (BBC 29/09/2022)
and Scottish Housing News (30/09/2022)

Funding Secured to help save Glasgow’s at-risk Egyptian Halls (26/09/2022)
The Egyptian Halls working group, led by the Scottish Civic Trust, has secured funding from Glasgow City Heritage Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund to develop a business plan for the restoration of Glasgow’s A-listed Egyptian Halls. 

Fife pupils get a taste of traditional construction skills (Project Scotland 30/09/2022)

And finally …not just any old iron (Scottish Construction Now 30/09/2022)
The underwater discovery of a distinctive wrought iron anchor found by ScottishPower Renewables at the bottom of the southern North Sea has been hailed as an “incredibly rare” find.

UK Heritage Pulse Survey Second Wave results (NLHF 05/10/2022)

Opinion & Comment

Older buildings could have vital role to play in meeting net zero targets (Project Scot 13/09/2022)

Emergency budget: what it means for arts and culture sector (Arts Professional 23/09/2022)

Scottish and UK ministers hold ‘constructive’ discussions on investment zones (Herald 04/10/2022)

Investment zones could be allowed in England’s national parks (Guardian 03/10/2022)

Parliamentary Questions and Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-10632 Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 26/08/2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10006 by Michael Matheson on 23 August 2022, in light of it stating that it has not yet assessed the cost of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and not providing a suggestion of a figure, whether it has at least assessed the cost of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 within an approximate range or figure, or whether it has no estimate of the cost of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 September 2022

S6W-10745 Stephen Kerr, Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 01/09/2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times ministers have called in planning applications from planning committees in each of the last 10 years.
Current status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 September 2022

S6W-11154 Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date Lodged: 27/09/2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish its refreshed Culture Strategy Action Plan.
Current Status: Expected Answer date 25/10/2022

S6W-11264 Emma Roddick, Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party,
Date Lodged: 30/09/2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to fulfil its commitments to protect nature in Scotland and maintain or exceed EU environmental standards, in light of the reported plans by the UK Government to dismantle laws protecting nature.
Current Status: Expected Answer date 28/10/2022

S6W-11289 Sharon Dowey, South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date Lodged: 04/10/2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07194 by Neil Gray on 16 March 2022, whether it will provide an update on the progress of protecting the properties in the care of Historic Environment Scotland that are reportedly being left to “gracefully die”.
Current Status: Expected Answer date 01/11/2022

Parliamentary Motions

10th Festival of Traditional Buildings

Submitted by: Gordon MacDonald, Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party.
Date lodged: Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Supported by: Jeremy Balfour, Colin Beattie, Miles Briggs, Stephanie Callaghan, Foysol Choudhury, Bob Doris, Jackie Dunbar, Annabelle Ewing, Christine Grahame, Bill Kidd, Monica Lennon, Fulton MacGregor, Paul McLennan, Stuart McMillan, Audrey Nicoll, Alex Rowley, Collette Stevenson, Kaukab Stewart, Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Elena Whitham

That the Parliament congratulates the Edinburgh Traditional Building Forum on delivering the 10th Festival of Traditional Buildings in August 2022 and the welcomed return to it being delivered in person; notes that the event focussed on sustainability of traditional buildings; recognises the efforts of the forum to celebrate Edinburgh’s traditional buildings, bringing together experts with the wider public, in order to demonstrate knowledge and skills across a whole spectrum of traditional construction skills; understands that the festival was a collaboration between the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, Historic Environment Scotland, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the Built Environment Forum Scotland, the Stone Federation Great Britain, the British Geological Survey, GLM Chartered Surveyors, Bannockburn House, Scottish Lime Centre Trust, David Fisher & Sons Plastering, Nevin Decorators, Developing the Young Workforce, and City of Edinburgh Council; believes that this collaborative approach plays a vital role in widening the public’s understanding of the importance of maintaining Scotland’s traditional buildings with the right knowledge and skills, and thanks each of the organisations for their ongoing efforts to protect and maintain Scotland’s historic built environment.

Events

AHSS Dr Alistair Fair – Building a Modern Scotland: The New Towns, 1947–76
Date & Time: Monday 10 October 2022, 6.30pm
Location: Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL (wheelchair accessible) Note: Lectures will also be streamed online via Zoom
Between the late 1940s and the early 1970s, six new towns were begun across Scotland, inspired by the ideals of the earlier Garden City Movement. For policymakers, they reflected an ambition to build a new Scotland; for architects and designers, they were an opportunity to create new kinds of urban environments. In this talk, Dr Alistair Fair surveys what was planned, some of the key buildings, and what happened subsequently.

SoAoS October Lecture – Mary of Guelders and the Architecture of Queenship in Fifteenth Century Scotland
Date & Time: Thursday 20 October, 6pm
Location: Hybrid (in-person at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL) and live streamed online via Zoom
During her widowhood, Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots, pursued an energetic programme of architectural patronage, including renovations to Falkland Palace in Fife, and the commissioning of Ravenscraig Castle (Fife) and Trinity Collegiate Kirk and hospital outside Edinburgh. Recent dendrochronology at St Giles’ Kirk in Edinburgh also suggests that her patronage was more extensive than previously thought. In this lecture, Dr Rachel Delman will explore how Mary’s building projects articulated messages regarding her gender, piety, power, and status during her son’s minority.

AHSS Dr Diane Watters – Scotland’s Post-War New Towns: Plan, Lives and Legacy
Date & Time: Thursday 20 October 2022, 7.30pm
Location: Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow  Note: Lectures also be streamed online via Zoom
Dr Diane Watters, architectural historian, will provide a brief introduction to the inter-disciplinary Leverhulme-funded research project on New Towns led by the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. In the face of ongoing condemnations, such as the ‘Plook on a plinth’ award, the project aims to uncover the original vision, plans, reception, and their legacy. She will focus on Cumbernauld (the speaker’s hometown) and Livingston.

ICON ECRN: Building a salvage network for Scotland
Date & Time: Thursday 27 October, 9.30am – 4pm
Location: The Engine Shed, Stirling
Edinburgh Collections Response Network is hosting a day of knowledge and skills sharing open to anyone involved in disaster recovery work from the GLAM sector in Scotland. ECRN is a voluntary group of conservators, curators, archivists and others based in and around Edinburgh who form a disaster recovery coalition that spans many organisations from national to local. The group is keen to foster closer connections with the wider Scottish heritage sector, and share the knowledge and lessons they have learned from collaborating. Event run in partnership with Icon Scotland, SCA and HES.

RTPI Scotland – The Point by Dandara site visit
Date & Time: Thursday 3 November 2022, 5.30pm
Location: The Point, Aberdeen
The Point by Dandara development has developed a vacant derelict brownfield site in Aberdeen and brought housing back into the city centre. In addition to this, its development has also enabled refurbishment of the Category C listed Spire that sits in the heart of the site. Join RTPI Scotland for a tour of the development lead by Dandara’s Austin McGuire.

AHSS & SGLH Judy Riley – Ornaments and Obelisks: Changes at Tyninghame in the Early 19th Century
Date & Time: Monday 14 November 2022, 6.30pm
Location: Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL (wheelchair accessible)
Note: Lectures will also be streamed online via Zoom
With the help of previously unpublished archival material, Judy Riley explores the development of Tyninghame House and gardens, in East Lothian, around the first half of the nineteenth century, including William Burn’s work for the 9th Earl of Haddington. 

Scotland’s Towns Conference
Date & Time: Wednesday 16 November 2022
Location: Kilmarnock
Scotland’s Towns Conference is our annual, flagship gathering of stakeholders from across sectors involved in supporting Scotland’s towns and improvement districts. 
Links here for Member and Non-Member Booking

AHSS Geoff Bailey – The Architecture of  Matthew Steele
Date & Time:Thursday 17 November 2022, 7.30pm
Location: Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow (barring any new Covid 19 restrictions) 
Note: Lectures will also be streamed online via Zoom
Geoff Bailey of the Falkirk Local History Society [Heritage Engagement Officer Falkirk Community Trust] will talk about the unique style of the provincial architect Matthew Steele who gave the town of Bo’ness near Falkirk much of its present character.  Working in the period 1910-1940 he adopted and adapted the latest designs and materials adding a Nordic twist to provide his own flavour.  

Training 

PAS SP=EED Community Engagement Skills training 
Date & Time: Thursday 13 October, 10am – 3pm
Location: Online – Zoom
Looking to sharpen your community engagement skills? Join our next live ‘SP=EED’ training, Thursday 13 October 2022. SP=EED is a unique development programme designed to develop your skills and confidence in designing, delivering and evaluating effective community engagement

SPAB – Repair of Old Buildings Course
Date & Time: 17 to 21 October 2022
Location: Online
The Repair of Old Buildings course delivers an extensive programme of lectures and recorded site visits demonstrating building repair projects, accompanied by a series of live online Q&A sessions with speakers and site hosts. Presented by leading building conservation professionals, the Repair Course considers British and international approaches to the conservation of old buildings.  The SPAB philosophy of repair and maintenance – established by William Morris in 1877 – underpins the course programme of case studies, presentations and site visits.
The SPAB has a small fund to allow it to award bursaries to individuals who might not otherwise be able to afford a place on the Repair Course.

RICS Explore the potential impact of Commercial Real Estate within the UK Government’s Levelling-up agenda
Date & Time: Tuesday 18 October, 4pm
Location: Online
Hear first-hand, the opportunities and challenges for Commercial Real Estate in driving and enabling levelling-up across the United Kingdom.
In this webinar session we will explore the latest prospects and headwinds, as well as what actions can be undertaken to drive Commercial Real Estate forward.

Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust – Architectural Conservation CPD 2022 Programme
Date & Time: Saturday 26 October & Wednesday 30 November 2022
Location: Online
The Perth and Kinross annual series of Architectural Conservation CPDs is underway. The programme continues with sessions on conservation techniques for historical sculptures and retrofit of traditional buildings.

RIAS Conservation Committee: Helping you care for buildings – Conservation CPD
Date & Time: Thursday 27 October, 1pm onwards
Location: Online
The topics will be of interest to all who are interested in saving and re-using historic buildings, including those considering conservation accreditation, architects, planners, and people working in the heritage sector. The price of this CPD is £80 (+ VAT).

CIfA – Practising ethical competence in archaeology
Date & Time: Wednesday 16 November, 2-5pm
Location: Online
This CPD workshop is for accredited professionals and those that need to demonstrate ethical abilities as part of their application for accreditation.

Vacancies

The Auchindrain Trust Conservation and Maintenance Supervisor/ Urras Achadh an Droighinn
Salary: £27,300
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: Auchindrain Historic Township, Argyll
As a result of the retirement of a long-serving member of staff, the Trust are seeking to recruit a suitably-skilled and experienced person as Conservation & Maintenance Supervisor for the museum at Auchindrain Historic Township in Argyll. The post represents a rare opportunity for someone who would like to develop a career in the care, conservation and management of Scotland’s historic environment, with a strong emphasis on the use of traditional building skills in the modern world. 
Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 7 October 2022 

Director of the Scottish Civic Trust
Salary: £45-50k
Status: 35h per week
Location: Glasgow office and home working combined
Scottish Civic Trust are currently recruiting for a talented and dynamic individual to become their new Director, their most senior position. You will be responsible for enhancing the charity’s reputation and influence, acting as an advocate for the heritage sector, developing effective partnerships, inspiring greater support including generating income, developing thematic work, running the business and reporting to and working closely with Trustees. 
Closing date: Wednesday 19 October 2022

BEFS News

In this time of great flux, with a new Monarch, a new Prime Minister, and a new UK fiscal statement since the last Bulletin, this is a bumper issue. 
 
The Scottish Government Programme for Government was released in early September. There are stark warnings about inflation, and the expressed limited scope of the Scottish Government for financial flexibility. Balance at a time of volatility appear to be the watchwords. The Scottish Government are also expressing strong support for the commitment to meeting net zero as “part of the solution” (p4) – whilst simultaneously not embracing the opportunity of our existing built environment. The potential and protection of the natural environment is rightly present, the same could be hoped for, but is not made explicit, in relation to our built environment. There is great emphasis placed within the document on the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (March 2022).
 
In relation to planned Bills to be introduced in 2022-23 BEFS will keep a close eye on the Budget, Circular Economy, Housing (2), and Local Visitor Levy. It seems note worthy that NPF4 is not mentioned within the document.
 
In a world of continually stretched budgets and expanding challenges, advocacy and relevance (across portfolios) will be of increasing importance. BEFS Director noted that the pickings for the existing built environment and cultural-heritage were slim in 2021-2022, and in 2022 it feels that finding the expressed value and importance of cultural-heritage within the current Programme for Government is even more challenging. For more thoughts from the Third Sector in relation to the Programme for Government, please see the response from SCVO.
 
Today’s (23^rd September 2022) UK fiscal statement or Growth Plan throws many of the usual cards in the air, and only further reflection will help to understand where they might land. The Emergency Budget Review within Scotland (stated to be within two weeks of the UK fiscal statement) will be eagerly examined in coming weeks.
 
Other reactions to activity within the UK Parliament this week include the deep concern expressed by the Scottish Government to the Retained EU Law Bill  – where the UK Government seeks to revoke over 2,400 pieces of EU legislation by the end of 2023.
 
In related fiscal news:
MGS – have an important update regarding their grants programme which they have decided to pause while reviewing the needs of the sector. They recognise that this creates uncertainty for those of you who were planning applications and encourage you to contact the MGS Grants team with any questions or concerns.
 
Following the UK Government’s announcement that it will be introducing the Energy Bill Relief Scheme to fix wholesale gas and electricity prices for businesses for six months from 1 October 2022, the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) has launched a snapshot survey to gauge the impact of the scheme for tourism businesses here.

It’s been a very busy few weeks, but BEFS would like to thank the sector for a huge amount of engagement in relation to the ongoing Our Place in Time refresh. BEFS Engagement Report in relation to all sessions run by BEFS can be found, here.

We’re also grateful for the continued engagement from those working in a conservation related role within local and planning authorities. It was a great CPD session in Stirling this week, and BEFS, HES and AHSS look forward to seeing so many from across the sector at next week’s Conservation Areas day.
 
BEFS would like readers to note that BEFS does not have a Communications Manager in post at this time. BEFS will continue to get readers all the information that matters, particularly ensuring parliamentary activity is covered. And, as ever, we’ll endeavour to include Events, Training and related Vacancies. These will be presented in the Bulletin as links (we will not be updating the website Events diary or Vacancy pages) until the team is back at full complement. Next Bulletin dates: 6^thand 20^th of October.
 
And finally, those who are subscribers to the AHSS Magazine, may also have seen BEFS Director writing about her favourite building in the Autumn edition.

Consultations

New Build Heat Standard: consultation – part two
Scottish Government
Closes 20 October 2022

Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
Closes 30 October 2022 – date extended

Battlefields: Planning Best Practice 
Historic Environment Scotland
Closes 3 November 2022

Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture. Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill
Scottish Government 
Closes 21 November 2022

Consultation Responses

BEFS response to the call for evidence from the Committee for Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture (19/09/2022)
Culture Counts response can be found here.

Publications

Understanding Scotland (Diffley Partnership August 2022)
Understanding Scotland is a new quarterly survey tool measuring the most important facets of our lives and decision-making in Scotland: our society, economy, and environment. 

HES Funding announcement (HES 01/09/2022)
A total of £98,988 has been awarded to nine heritage projects as part of the Historic Environment Support Fund, administered by HES. The projects will benefit communities in the Highlands, Angus, Falkirk, Edinburgh, East Lothian, the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.

Scottish & UK Government Publications

Programme for Government (Scottish Government 06/09/2022)

The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015 Department for Levelling up, Housing & Communities (UK Govt 08/09/2022)
 
The Role of Local Government and its Cross-Sectoral Partners in Financing and Delivering a Net-Zero Scotland – COSLA Submission (Sept 2022)

SPICe Briefing for Citizen Participation and Public Petitions – on Petition 1959 (Scottish Parliament Sept 2022)

The Town and Country Planning (Pre-Application Consultation) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 (legislation.gov.uk) (The PAC Regulations)

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 (Commencement No. 9 and Saving and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk) (The Commencement Regulations)

VAT refund scheme for museums and galleries reopens ( UK Govt – Sept 2022)

English Planning Data gets new portal (September 2022)

Scottish Government deep concerned at Retained EU Law Bill (Scottish Government 22/09/2022)

News Releases

Crichton Project Shortlist (RIAS 20/09/2022) 
RIAS Consultancy – the competitions and procurement arm of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland – has revealed the five shortlisted teams for a competition to design The Crichton Project – a £15 million new cultural building in Dumfries and Galloway.

New Stonemasonry Apprentices carve the path to net-zero (HES 22/09/2022)
The organisation has recently significantly increased its capacity for traditional skills training with the opening of a new larger facility in Stirling, building on the successful delivery of Modern Apprenticeships in Stonemasonry for over 10 years in the city, and for over 20 years in Elgin.

SURF releases shortlist for their awards for best practice in community regeneration (SURF 23/09/2022)

Opinion & Comment

Development planned for Calgary’s Stephen Avenue fuels debate about protecting city’s heritage buildings (Globe and Mail 02/09/2022)

Edinburgh could be first UK city to introduce tourist levy (Evening Standard 06/09/2022)

SCVO response to Programme for Government (SCVO 07/09/2022)

Now the facts – an extended rent freeze would savage Net Zero investment (Scottish Housing News 08/09/2022)

Retrofit Radicals: Housing can be energy efficient and beautiful (FT 11/09/2022)

Let’s level the financial playing field, not Scotland’s Built Environment (Holyrood 12/09/2022)

Our crumbling housing stock is helping Vladimir Putin blackmail Britain (The Telegraph 13/09/2022)

Net zero: Copenhagen’s failure to meet its 2025 target casts doubt on other major climate plans
(The Conversation 13/09/2022)

Refurbs are for wimps, what commercial developers really think about retrofirst (AJ 14/09/2022)

Net Zero A Very British Problem: HEAT (BBC RADIO4)

Scottish Landlords threaten to sue over Sturgeons rent freeze (The Times 20/09/2022)
 

Parliamentary Questions and Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-10408: Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 18 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for a Home Energy Scotland Loan were (a) accepted and (b) rejected in (i) 2020-21 and (ii) 2021-22.
Answered 5 September 2022

S6W-10429 Alex Rowley, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour Date lodged: 18 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much agricultural land has been lost in Scotland to house building developments in the last decade.
Answered 6 September 2022

S6W-10193 Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date lodged: 5 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how the single building assessment is designed to take account of any risk of electric vehicle fires, whether any specific assessment protocols are included in the assessment to respond to any such risks and, if this is the case, whether it will provide the details of any such protocols.
Answered 6 September 2022

S6W-10516: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and UnionistParty Date Lodged: 24 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place to cover any financial costs and loss of earnings of community representatives who take part in planning enquiries.
Answered 20 September 2022

S6W-10630: Liam McArthur, Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats Date Lodged: 26 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to improve the energy efficiency of (a) business buildings, (b) local authority buildings (excluding housing), (c) social housing and (d) domestic housing in each year from 2020 to 2022.
Answered 20 September 2022

S6W-10918: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 07/09/2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the comparable costs of running an air source heat pump in a non-retrofitted, non-fabric refitted average property, compared with a gas boiler.
Answered 21 September 2022

S6W-10950: Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/09/2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its proposed Local Visitor Levy Bill.
Answered 22 September 2022

S6W-10951: Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/09/2022
To ask the Scottish Government what it expects the earliest date will be for local authorities to implement a Local Visitor Levy, subject to parliamentary approval of its proposed Local Visitor Levy Bill.
Answered 22 September 2022
 

Events

Scottish Archaeology Month 2022
Date & Time: September to early October 2022
Location: Various across Scotland
Heritage-themed events are being held all across Scotland, as part of the annual celebration of the nation’s past coordinated by Archaeology Scotland.

Doors Open Days 2022
Date & Time: Weekends in September 2022
Location: Various across Scotland
The 2022 Doors Open Days programme is now live!

A&DS Climate Week Designing for a changing climate
Date & Time: 27/9/2022 at 12:30 – 14:00 PM
Location: Online
Scotland’s climate is changing and to adapt to these changes we all need to work together. Across Scotland, initiatives are moving beyond cities to consider what can be done in Scotland’s towns and villages.
This event will tell the story of three projects which have been exploring place-based collaborative approaches to climate action in Scotland, covering over 20 places from Alness in the north to Annan in the south.  

GCHT – What Next for Glasgow’s City Centre?
Date & Time: Wednesday 28 September 2022 7pm
Location: The Merchants House, Glasgow
Panelists will look at the challenges currently affecting the city centre such as the legacy of the Covid 19 pandemic, the high number of vacant buildings and the decline in shopfront retail, as well as how solutions to these challenges can help tackle the climate crisis. It will also open it up for questions and discussion about how to shape a city centre that maintains its historic character and is accessible, safe and functional for Glasgow’s people and visitors.
The event will be chaired by Bailie Christy Mearns, Depute Lord Provost of Glasgow.

RIAS Convention – Value of Architecture
Date & Time: Main event Friday 30^th September from 0900. Fringe events on Thursday and Saturday
Location: Eden Court, Inverness
The RIAS annual convention is the leading architectural event in Scotland. Bringing together every aspect of the built environment to talk, think and collaborate. 
This year’s theme is VALUE. This wide topic will allow us to cover the value of Architecture, the value of collaboration, and perceived value, alongside exploring and debating what value in architecture means.

RTPI Scotland – Annual Conference 2022: Target Net Zero – Planning our Renewables, Buildings and Places
Date & Time: Thursday 6 October 2022 10am-6pm
Location: Park Inn by Radisson, Aberdeen
It is a pivotal time for planning in Scotland. We await the publication of the 4th National Planning Framework which undoubtedly will have a key ambition to tackle climate change and deliver net zero. But how exactly can planners, planning and the planning system help to achieve these aspirations? This ‘must attend’ conference will explore this through assessing the opportunities, challenges and needs of planning for renewable energy, of how we build our homes and buildings and how we design our places. It will be done through a mix of presentations, interactive debate and examination of good practice examples on the ground.

AHSS Dr Alistair Fair – Building a Modern Scotland: The New Towns, 1947–76
Date & Time: Monday 10th October 2022 6.30pm
Location: Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL (wheelchair accessible) Note: Lectures will also be streamed online via Zoom
Between the late 1940s and the early 1970s, six new towns were begun across Scotland, inspired by the ideals of the earlier Garden City Movement. For policymakers, they reflected an ambition to build a new Scotland; for architects and designers, they were an opportunity to create new kinds of urban environments. In this talk, Dr Alistair Fair surveys what was planned, some of the key buildings, and what happened subsequently.

SoAoS October Lecture – Mary of Guelders and the Architecture of Queenship in Fifteenth Century Scotland
Date & Time: Thursday 20^th October 6pm
Location: Hybrid (in-person at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL) and live streamed online via Zoom
During her widowhood, Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots, pursued an energetic programme of architectural patronage, including renovations to Falkland Palace in Fife, and the commissioning of Ravenscraig Castle (Fife) and Trinity Collegiate Kirk and hospital outside Edinburgh. Recent dendrochronology at St Giles’ Kirk in Edinburgh also suggests that her patronage was more extensive than previously thought. In this lecture, Dr Rachel Delman will explore how Mary’s building projects articulated messages regarding her gender, piety, power, and status during her son’s minority.

ICON ECRN: Building a salvage network for Scotland
Date & Time: Thursday October 27^th, 9:30-16:00
Location: The Engine Shed, Stirling
Edinburgh Collections Response Network is hosting a day of knowledge and skills sharing open to anyone involved in disaster recovery work from the GLAM sector in Scotland. ECRN is a voluntary group of conservators, curators, archivists and others based in and around Edinburgh who form a disaster recovery coalition that spans many organisations from national to local. The group is keen to foster closer connections with the wider Scottish heritage sector, and share the knowledge and lessons they have learned from collaborating. Event run in partnership with Icon Scotland, SCA and HES.
 
RTPI Scotland – The Point by Dandara site visit
Date & Time: Thursday 3 November 2022 5.30-6.30pm
Location: The Point, Aberdeen
The Point by Dandara development has developed a vacant derelict brownfield site in Aberdeen and brought housing back into the city centre. In addition to this, its development has also enabled refurbishment of the Category C listed Spire that sits in the heart of the site. Join RTPI Scotland for a tour of the development lead by Dandara’s Austin McGuire.

Training

HES/AHSS/BEFS Conservation Areas Seminar
Date & Time: Thursday 29 September 2022 10am-4:30pm
Location: Engine Shed, Stirling
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and BEFS will host a day of discussions focussing on Conservation Areas, their management, designation, and exploring their role in creating good places. This event is aimed at anyone with a role in decision making within a Conservation Area, Local Authority officers and policy makers.
 
Developing Inclusive Archaeology Projects’ mentoring programme. York Archaeological Trust
Deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday the 2^nd of October.
Are you interested in attracting new and more diverse audiences to your archaeology or heritage project/organisation? Have you ever had an idea for an inclusive engagement project but not had the time, ability or confidence to plan it properly? Then this new programme might be for you.
Wessex Archaeology, York Archaeology and MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) have joined forces to offer an 8-part online mentoring scheme starting in October 2022. Our three-month digital programme is for anyone involved in archaeology or heritage who wants to work with new audiences but isn’t sure where to start. 

STBA-SPAB Annual Conference: Sustaining Buildings 2022

Date & Time: 12 October 2022 9.30am-5pm
Location: Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
The popular STBA / SPAB annual conference returns in-person this autumn for a full day of presentations and Q&A sessions by UK experts in the field. With retrofit and the green agenda firmly in the eye of the public, SPAB Scotland and STBA bring you a selection of speakers who will dive deeper into these topics and provide expert analysis of WUFI, embodied carbon analysis, training opportunities, and much more. 
 

PAS SP=EED Community Engagement Skills training 
Date & Time: Thursday 13 October, 10am – 3pm
Location: Online – Zoom
Looking to sharpen your community engagement skills? Join our next live ‘SP=EED’ training, Thursday 13 October 2022. SP=EED is a unique development programme designed to develop your skills and confidence in designing, delivering and evaluating effective community engagement.
 

SPAB – Repair of Old Buildings Course
Date & Time: 17 to 21 October 2022
Location: Online
The Repair of Old Buildings course delivers an extensive programme of lectures and recorded site visits demonstrating building repair projects, accompanied by a series of live online Q&A sessions with speakers and site hosts. Presented by leading building conservation professionals, the Repair Course considers British and international approaches to the conservation of old buildings.  The SPAB philosophy of repair and maintenance – established by William Morris in 1877 – underpins the course programme of case studies, presentations and site visits.
The SPAB has a small fund to allow it to award bursaries to individuals who might not otherwise be able to afford a place on the Repair Course.

Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust – Architectural Conservation CPD 2022 Programme
Date & Time: Saturday 26 October & Wednesday 30 November 2022
Location: Online
The Perth and Kinross annual series of Architectural Conservation CPDs is underway. The programme continues with sessions on conservation techniques for historical sculptures and retrofit of traditional buildings.

CIfA – Practising ethical competence in archaeology

Date & Time: Wednesday 16 November 2022 2-5pm
Location: Online
This CPD workshop is for accredited professionals and those that need to demonstrate ethical abilities as part of their application for accreditation

Vacancies

The Auchindrain Trust Conservation and Maintenance Supervisor/ Urras Achadh an Droighinn
Salary: £27,300
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: Auchindrain Historic Township, Argyll
As a result of the retirement of a long-serving member of staff, the Trust are seeking to recruit a suitably-skilled and experienced person as Conservation & Maintenance Supervisor for the museum at Auchindrain Historic Township in Argyll. The post represents a rare opportunity for someone who would like to develop a career in the care, conservation and management of Scotland’s historic environment, with a strong emphasis on the use of traditional building skills in the modern world. 
Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 7 October 2022 

BEFS News

BEFS Director was delighted to attend a recent celebration to mark the conclusion of the National Lottery Heritage Fund Business Support Programme, ‘Surviving to Thriving’, with Business Support Programme participants and partners. The programme was jointly developed by Museum Galleries Scotland, Greenspace Scotland and BEFS. Following the success of the 2021-22 programme, it has been announced that additional funding has been awarded to support the heritage sector in Scotland through a one-year programme extension during 2023. Watch this space for more details!

In other funding news, Round 3 of Steps to Sustainability, again a National Lottery Heritage Fund programme, recently opened. Delivered by the Social Enterprise Academy, heritage organisations across the UK are encouraged to apply for funding, which will provide a pathway of support and help organisations to be ambitious, forward-thinking and deliver exciting new projects. Sign up for the information session on 6th September to find out more.

BEFS Members, Scotland’s Towns Partnership, have reflected on their recent event in Inverness, highlighting the success of local initiatives including the Castlehill project. This event formed part of an ongoing series looking at how to secure a strong future for Highland town centres.

And again looking to the future, BEFS Members, Glasgow City Heritage Trust ask, “What Next for Glasgow’s City Centre?” It will be an in-person event on 28th September and looks to be a lively and illuminating discussion.

And finally:
Last call (almost!) for The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s second UK Heritage Pulse survey. Sharing your views will help to support and inform policy, recovery and reinvention post-Covid for the heritage sector, and ensure vital coverage for Scotland. The survey questions have been designed in response to what the sector says is currently most important: organisational resilience, environmental sustainability, recruitment and staffing. Do take the chance to complete it before it closes on 9th September.

Consultations

Dialogue Challenge: Energy and Just Transition Plan
Scottish Government
*new* Closes 5 September 2022

Heritage Fund Strategy Refresh
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Closes 5 September 2022

Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
Closes 25 September 2022

New Build Heat Standard: consultation – part two
Scottish Government
Closes 20 October 2022

Battlefields: Planning Best Practice 
Historic Environment Scotland
Closes 3 November 2022

Consultation Responses

BEFS response to the review of permitted development rights phase 2
BEFS

BEFS response to the Circular Economy Route Map & Delivering Scotland’s Circular Economy
BEFS

RTPI Scotland’s response to Delivering Scotland’s Circular Economy
RTPI Scotland

Heat in Buildings Strategy: Domestic EPC Reform Consultation: Analysis Summary Report
Scottish Government

Publications

Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland (Scottish Futures Trust August 2022)
Guidance to support the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan to ensure public sector organisations are familiar with this new common framework and how they might approach its application when undertaking strategic planning of their property assets.

What is a 20 minute neighbourhood? (Architecture Design Scotland August 2022)
Blog exploring what a 20 minute neighbourhood means, highlighting its importance, and sharing examples of this concept through ongoing projects.

Survey of Community Councils Report (Planning Democracy August 2022)
Report of survey, based on responses from 175 community council areas, analysing community councillors’ experiences and knowledge of the planning system in Scotland.

Scottish Government Publications

Heat in Buildings Delivery Report: 2019-2020 (August 2022)
Seventh annual summary report of the HIBs (formerly HEEPS) programme which includes the outcomes achieved from the 2019-2020 programme and an overview of cumulative progress since 2013.

Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2021-22 (August 2022)
Report estimating the revenue raised in Scotland and the cost of public services provided for Scotland.

Planning performance statistics 2021-2022: annual (August 2022)
Statistics on planning application decision-making timescales for 2021-2022.

Planning enforcement notice appeals: form and guidance (August 2022)
Appeal form and guidance notes for a planning enforcement notice appeal.

News Releases

New strategic plan for Holyrood Park (17/08/22)
HES news highlighting that a long-term Plan for Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park will be ready for consultation towards the end of 2022.

AJ architecture awards shortlist revealed for housing, heritage, refurb and projects under £500k (18/08/22)
The AJ reveal the AJ Architecture Awards 2022 shortlists in the Housing, Heritage and Project under £500,000 categories. The Heritage category includes Glasgow’s Burrell Collection by John McAslan + Partners.

Medieval heart of Scottish Highland town could lose conservation status (19/08/22)
The medieval quarter of Thurso could lose its conservation area status.

Public appointments: Members appointed to the board of National Museums Scotland (19/08/22)
Scottish Government announcement on the appointment of Professor Monojit Chatterji, Stephen Dando, Dr Bridget McConnell and Beth McKillop as Members of the Board of National Museums Scotland.

Cost of living causing consumers to think again about retrofitting report finds (22/08/22)
New research from RICS and YouGov has revealed that consumers are now concerned about paying for the cost of living above upgrading their homes.

Federation of Master Builders backs national retrofit plan for homes (23/08/22)
The Federation of Master Builders is calling on UK politicians to introduce long-term plans to improve the energy efficiency of homes.

Calls to improve protections of Aberdeenshire’s historic battlefields as north-east residents asked to weigh in (25/08/22)
Links to HES’ report and current consultation on Battlefield Planning Best Practice.

Glasgow City Council The Place Fund 2022/23 Call For Applications (26/08/22)
SURF news item highlighting that The Place Fund (TPF) is now open for applications for capital projects.

Opinion & Comment

Should tourism be taxed? (14/08/22)

‘Demolition is an act of violence’: the architects reworking buildings instead of tearing them down  (16/08/22)

Sustainable Scotland: How wooden pod kits could help turn old buildings into climate proof workspaces of the future (18/08/22)

Skills development will be key to improving the energy efficiency of our homes (19/08/22)

Doors open day 2022 – top venues to visit across Scotland (19/08/22)

Decarbonising the nation’s housing – the role of lenders (22/08/22)

Glasgow is turning into London – just look and you’ll see (27/08/22)

Councils will face tough decisions in balancing preserving historic buildings with being eco-friendly (30/08/22)

Parliamentary Questions

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-10408: Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 18 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for a Home Energy Scotland Loan were (a) accepted and (b) rejected in (i) 2020-21 and (ii) 2021-22.
Answer expected 15 September 2022

S6W-10516: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 24 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place to cover any financial costs and loss of earnings of community representatives who take part in planning enquiries.
Answer expected 22 September 2022

S6W-10630: Liam McArthur, Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date Lodged: 26 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to improve the energy efficiency of (a) business buildings, (b) local authority buildings (excluding housing), (c) social housing and (d) domestic housing in each year from 2020 to 2022.
Answer expected 26 September 2022

Parliamentary Questions and Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-10119: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 1 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have benefitted from the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund as of 30 July 2022, and what the average cost per property is. Answered on 25 August 2022

S6W-10165: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 3 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, whether it will prepare a medium-rise inventory, in light of the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022, which ban combustible cladding on buildings with any storey at a height of more than 11 metres above the ground.
Answered on 19 August 2022

S6W-10798: Bob Doris, Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party Date Lodged: 3 August 2022 (?)
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it will take to ensure that the skills delivery landscape is set up to deliver the ambitions for skills in Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation.
Answered on 31 August 2022

S6W-10199: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 5 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09252 by Shona Robison on 21 July 2022, whether these sums of money are included in the Single Building Assessment programme: spending information, which was released on 12 May 2022, and how much has been spent on contractors (a) prior to July 2021 and (b) in July and August 2022. Answered on 19 August 2022

Events

For the full list of BEFS Members’ upcoming events see our events calendar.

Scottish Archaeology Month 2022
Date & Time: September to early October 2022
Location: Various across Scotland
Heritage-themed events are being held all across Scotland, as part of the annual celebration of the nation’s past coordinated by Archaeology Scotland.

Doors Open Days 2022
Date & Time: Weekends in September 2022
Location: Various across Scotland
The 2022 Doors Open Days programme is now live!

Building Limes Forum – Annual Conference and Gathering
Date & Time: 2-4 September 2022
Location: Queen’s University, Belfast
This event will include the presentation of papers on the use of building limes by a variety of speakers including practitioners, specifiers, academics and historians. Site visits and tours will also be organised. On Friday evening the Great Hall designed by Charles Lanyon will be the location of the Baker Memorial Lecture by Dawson Stelfox MBE, Conservation Architect.

Heritage Trust Network – Growing Your Community; Carluke High Mill
Date & Time: Tuesday 6 September 2022 9.30am-2.30pm
Location: Carluke High Mill, Carluke
Hear from a fantastic team who have made huge progress in connecting with their community, whilst progressing towards a major heritage regeneration project. There will also be plenty of time to get to know other attendees, hear from projects across the country and chat with funders.

Scotland’s Towns Partnership – TCAP2 Roadshows
Date & Time: 7 & 14 September 2022
Location: Various across Scotland
The TCAP2 Roadshow Series continues, illustrating how a place-based holistic approach can help revitalise towns across Scotland. Ambition, collaboration and leadership are key to aligning and delivering on TCAP2.  The series aims to encourage stakeholders to embrace and commit to the place agenda and to understand their roles in the approach to regenerating places. The events share policy context and exemplars based around TCAP2 themes, including planning, town centre first principle, town centre living, digital, enterprising communities and vibrant local economies and climate action.

GCHT – Architecture and Health in Historic Buildings
Date & Time: Thursday 8 September 2022 12.30-1.30pm
Location: Online
Dr Richard Hobday will discuss what historic buildings can teach us about managing airborne infections through a mix of passive ventilation, material characteristics, and quality of internal space. He will also look at how retaining these characteristics is key when refurbishing historic buildings, and demonstrate how past approaches to combatting infection in buildings remain relevant for creating healthy internal environments.

AHSS – Miller, Marbles and MacRae: Walking Tour of Craigentinny and Restalrig
Date & Time: Thursday 8 September 2022 6pm
Location: Craigentinny and Restalrig
On this walk, Steven Robb, Deputy Head of Historic Buildings at Historic Environment Scotland, explores the early history of two of Edinburgh’s north-eastern suburbs, represented by Restalrig Parish Church, Craigentinny House and the Miller family. Along the way he looks at the considerable interventions made by the City Council in the area in the 1930s, including schools, the Craigentinny housing estate, and the use of Craigentinny House as, arguably, Scotland’s first community centre.

Nesta – Future gazing: homes in 2050
Date & Time: Thursday 8 September 2022 12-1pm
Location: Online
Dr Rosenow will share his expert insights on how we can decarbonise homes, drawing from extensive experience in the energy sector, his research at the Environmental Change Institute and his role advising the House of Commons. He’ll be discussing the flexibility of our energy systems and alternative methods for better heating homes; from heat pumps, to retrofitting and hydrogen.

A&BS – The power of creative partnerships in Edinburgh and the Lothians: sharing and networking event
Date & Time: 15 September 2022 6.30-8pm
Location: Edinburgh, Princes Exchange
Arts & Business Scotland are hosting a reception for business/public sector professionals in Edinburgh and the Lothians to share some exciting news, as we present a new service we’re developing: the Culture & Business Marketplace. The Marketplace is the result of research, looking at the changing needs of the business and public sectors. It will be a unique online platform, providing creative solutions to challenges.

RTPI Scotland – Sir Patrick Geddes Commemorative Lecture
Date & Time: Tuesday 20 September 2022 12:30-1:30pm
Location: Online
RTPI Scotland holds an annual lecture to advance Geddesian thinking. This year’s lecture is by Susan Murray, Director of the David Hume Institute who uses her position to discuss how Geddes’ ideas fit current placemaking and planning in Scotland.
As Director of the David Hume Institute, Susan leads on a growth in focus on people and the economy at the Edinburgh based think tank, which specialises in delivering research and thought-provoking events. Recent work includes ‘A Scotland of Better Places’ and ‘Understanding Scotland, an analysis of perceptions of Scotland’s economy’.

RTPI Scotland – Tour of Cowden Japanese Garden
Date & Time: Thursday 22 September 2022 5-7pm
Location: Cowden Japanese Garden, Dollar
A guided tour of the restored Japanese Garden by Sara Stewart, Chairwoman of The Japanese Garden at Cowden & Grant Baxter, Principal Placemaking Officer, Clackmannanshire Council. The tour will cover the origins of the garden and the people who created it, and the project to restore it so far and open it to the public as a visitor attraction. The garden is subject of a bid for City Region Deal Funding for the next stages of development. The tour will also cover some of the planning, heritage and environmental issues around the restoration and creation of a tourist attraction in rural Clackmannanshire.

GCHT – What Next for Glasgow’s City Centre?
Date & Time: Wednesday 28 September 2022 7pm
Location: The Merchants House, Glasgow
Join GCHT for an in-person panel discussion that asks the question, “What Next for Glasgow’s City Centre?”
Panelists will look at the challenges currently affecting the city centre such as the legacy of the Covid 19 pandemic, the high number of vacant buildings and the decline in shopfront retail, as well as how solutions to these challenges can help tackle the climate crisis. It will also open it up for questions and discussion about how to shape a city centre that maintains its historic character and is accessible, safe and functional for Glasgow’s people and visitors.
The event will be chaired by Bailie Christy Mearns, Depute Lord Provost of Glasgow.

RTPI Scotland – Annual Conference 2022: Target Net Zero – Planning our Renewables, Buildings and Places
Date & Time: Thursday 6 October 2022 10am-6pm
Location: Park Inn by Radisson, Aberdeen
It is a pivotal time for planning in Scotland. We await the publication of the 4th National Planning Framework which undoubtedly will have a key ambition to tackle climate change and deliver net zero. But how exactly can planners, planning and the planning system help to achieve these aspirations? This ‘must attend’ conference will explore this through assessing the opportunities, challenges and needs of planning for renewable energy, of how we build our homes and buildings and how we design our places. It will be done through a mix of presentations, interactive debate and examination of good practice examples on the ground.

RTPI Scotland – The Point by Dandara site visit
Date & Time: Thursday 3 November 2022 5.30-6.30pm
Location: The Point, Aberdeen
The Point by Dandara development has developed a vacant derelict brownfield site in Aberdeen and brought housing back into the city centre. In addition to this, its development has also enabled refurbishment of the Category C listed Spire that sits in the heart of the site. Join RTPI Scotland for a tour of the development lead by Dandara’s Austin McGuire.

Training

A&B Scotland – Introduction to Fundraising
Date & Time: Monday 5 & Monday 12 September 2022 10am-1pm
Location: Online
Are you new to fundraising or need a refresher? This course is designed to kickstart your fundraising knowledge & skills whether you are a volunteer, staff or Board Member. The course will consist of case studies, presentations and discussions to cover all aspects of fundraising – from understanding the Scottish Funding Landscape post-covid and what your organisation needs to have in place to three fundraising models, different sources of fundraising and how to develop relationships with your funders and supporters.

RTPI – CPD: Heritage and Conservation
Date & Time: Wednesday 7 September & Thursday 6 October 2022
Location: Online
This Masterclass will be delivered over an eight-week period, with two interactive webinars. Learning objectives include:

• Learn how to apply the central elements of UK legislation and policy governing the historic planned environment
• Gain insight into what designated and undesignated heritage assets are and how they are assessed
• Understand analysis and reporting tools including Heritage Statements and Heritage Impact Assessments

Heritage Trust Network- Dealing with Rising Energy Costs
Date & Time: Wednesday 14 September 2022 10.30-11.30am
Location: Online
Is your historic building or site being affected by rising energy costs? Are you worried about the predicted rises in Winter? Join Paul Clark from Heritage Trust Network partner member Citrus Energy for insight and advice on this worrying topic.

Heritage Trust Network – Saving buildings, while saving the climate
Date & Time: Wednesday 14 September 2022 2-3.30pm
Location: Online
Hear from speakers on how to environmentally manage old and listed buildings and learn how to make them more self-sustainable and eco. Also, you will hear new facts and figures on why reusing buildings are more environmentally and sustainability friendly.

PAS – SP=EED Community Engagement Skills training
Date & Time: Thursday 15 September 2022 10am-3pm
Location: Online
Want to brush up on your community engagement skills? Join PAS next live ‘SP=EED’ training. SP=EED is a unique development programme designed to develop your skills and confidence in designing, delivering and evaluating effective community engagement.  
 
HES/AHSS/BEFS – Conservation Areas Seminar
Date & Time: Thursday 29 September 2022 10am-4:30pm
Location: Engine Shed, Stirling
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and BEFS will host a day of discussions focussing on Conservation Areas, their management, designation, and exploring their role in creating good places. This event is aimed at anyone with a role in decision making within a Conservation Area, Local Authority officers and policy makers.
 
STBA and SPAB – Annual Conference – Sustaining Buildings 2022
Date & Time: 12 October 2022 9.30am-5pm
Location: Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
The popular STBA / SPAB annual conference returns in-person this autumn for a full day of presentations and Q&A sessions by UK experts in the field. With retrofit and the green agenda firmly in the eye of the public, SPAB Scotland and STBA bring you a selection of speakers who will dive deeper into these topics and provide expert analysis of WUFI, embodied carbon analysis, training opportunities, and much more. 

SPAB – Repair of Old Buildings Course
Date & Time: 17 to 21 October 2022
Location: Online
The Repair of Old Buildings course delivers an extensive programme of lectures and recorded site visits demonstrating building repair projects, accompanied by a series of live online Q&A sessions with speakers and site hosts. Presented by leading building conservation professionals, the Repair Course considers British and international approaches to the conservation of old buildings.  The SPAB philosophy of repair and maintenance – established by William Morris in 1877 – underpins the course programme of case studies, presentations and site visits.
The SPAB has a small fund to allow it to award bursaries to individuals who might not otherwise be able to afford a place on the Repair Course.

Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust – Architectural Conservation CPD 2022 Programme
Date & Time: Saturday 26 October & Wednesday 30 November 2022
Location: Online
The Perth and Kinross annual series of Architectural Conservation CPDs is underway. The programme continues with sessions on conservation techniques for historical sculptures and retrofit of traditional buildings.

CIfA – Practising ethical competence in archaeology
Date & Time: Wednesday 16 November 2022 2-5pm
Location: Online
This CPD workshop is for accredited professionals and those that need to demonstrate ethical abilities as part of their application for accreditation.

Vacancies

NTS Project Director: Hill House Conservation Project
Salary: £43,050-£47,667
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: Flexible within South & West Region
The National Trust for Scotland is now seeking an exceptional individual to lead the Hill House Conservation Project on behalf of the Trust.  The Hill House Conservation Project will embrace all heritage assets contained by the Hill House site in Helensburgh.  You will have a relevant degree and experience of managing similar multi-heritage projects at large scale.  You will be a confident leader with the highest of standards.  A collaborator and a consummate communicator able to take on a wide-ranging challenge and deliver excellence.
The Conservation of the fabric of the House is at the heart of the Project but restoring the garden, conserving the collection and interiors, interpretation, research and providing the best visitor experience are all key to success.  Fundraising will be required and outreach and engagement will be vital pillars of the Project, as will engaging with the many and varied stakeholder groups will be essential to success.
Closing date: Wednesday 7 September 2022

NTS Conservation Maintenance Surveyor
Salary: £36,523-£40,238
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: North East Scotland 
The National Trust for Scotland is looking for strong team players who are committed to conserving and sharing Scotland’s heritage.  Join the NTS Building Surveying Team and you will work with Scotland’s largest and most diverse portfolio of historic buildings and structures. This is a new role and you will be instrumental in shaping the way the Trust manages the conservation maintenance of its buildings, helping to build maintenance plans for each building and dealing with backlog maintenance projects.  
Closing date: 10am, Friday 9 September 2022

SPAB Head of Operations
Salary: £45,000-50,000
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: SPAB HQ, London, E1, with scope for flexible working
The Head of Operations will bring senior-level support for financial management and operational resilience, so as to enable the SPAB to fulfil its charitable purpose effectively. While the role will incorporate oversight of existing financial and related operational work, it is a newly created post and will take on business oversight of new income-generating ventures resulting from recent significant bequests to the charity.  The post holder will be a key member of the Society’s leadership team and will manage a small team of staff.  One of the principal duties will be to review and expand performance targets within the charity – both as business KPIs and for staff and teams – and to establish with the Director and Trustees new processes for monitoring, reporting on and improving outcomes.
Closing date: Sunday 11 September 2022

Arts & Business Scotland Chair
Salary: Non-remunerated
A&B Scotland are seeking a dynamic business leader to be their new Chair to build on legacy, drive forward strategy and lead on strengthening visibility and impact within the business community. ?This is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional individual who has previous experience as a Trustee or Board member and a passion for the culture sector.
Closing date: Wednesday 14 September 2022

CABN – Catalyst for Sustainability & Catalyst for Engagement
Salary: £26,400 (£33,000 at 0.8FTE pro rata)
Status: 12 months contract, freelance
Location: Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders Place Partnership are seeking to recruit two exceptional individuals to act as Catalysts and guide the transition of CABN (Creative Arts Business Network) from its current position in Live Borders to a sustainable, independent sector led model over the course of a 12 month period. The two Catalysts will work collaboratively, with the Catalyst for Sustainability focused on the development of the new model, and the Catalyst for Engagement focused on network engagement and communications. Both will be a point of contact and will provide support and advice for creative individuals and organisations in the Scottish Borders.
CABN are looking for two people with experience and knowledge of working in the creative sector, who may have their own creative business or practice and who understand the dynamics, challenges and opportunities of working in a rural context.  Ideally they will be based in the Scottish Borders or with experience of living and working in the region.
Closing date: 9am, Monday 19 September 2022

Salary: £27,300
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: Auchindrain Historic Township, Argyll
As a result of the retirement of a long-serving member of staff, the Trust are seeking to recruit a suitably-skilled and experienced person as Conservation & Maintenance Supervisor for the museum at Auchindrain Historic Township in Argyll. The post represents a rare opportunity for someone who would like to develop a career in the care, conservation and management of Scotland’s historic environment, with a strong emphasis on the use of traditional building skills in the modern world. Over time, the post-holder could expect to develop into being one of the quite small group of specialists and experts who give a lead to the traditional building skills sector in Scotland.
Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 7 October 2022 

BEFS News

The second Heritage Pulse survey is now open. This is a collaborative data and insight project for the UK’s heritage sector, enabling the sector to inform policy, recovery, and reinvention post-Covid. BEFS, NatureScot and HES are supporting NLHF with this initiative within Scotland, and are keen to raise the levels of engagement from Scottish organisations. Heritage Pulse Wave 2 closes Friday 9 September. 
 
The National Lottery Heritage Fund are also seeking views on their own strategy. They want feedback on issues including: place-based investment, approaches to funding, partnerships, and their approach to environmental sustainability. Survey closes 5 September. 
 
BEFS are pleased to see Members PAS release news of their new Chief Executive, and we look forward to working Johanna Boyd in due course.

Tenements are never far from BEFS minds, and we note that there is a webinar series from the Scottish Law Commission in September 2022 as part of their project relating to Tenement law: compulsory owners’ associations. Sign up to hear about the law relating to flat maintenance and management in different countries, from experts in the field and ask: what can we learn from this? (It’s also encouraging to read more about the potential Comprehensive Tenement Improvement Scheme in Paisley.) 
 
Continuing from the articles and news brought to you in the last BEFS Bulletin around the Properties in Care: here Andrew Burnet from HES’ Interpretation Team takes a behind-the-scenes look at their work adding interpretation to the sites affected by the high-level masonry inspections.
 
HES has also published Planning for the future – their response to the next National Planning Framework. HES’ Planning, Consents and Advice Service (PCAS) led on co-ordinating HES’ response, talking with colleagues from across the organisation to inform the response, as well as engaging with external bodies including the heritage sector, planning authorities and other Key Agencies.

Last year BEFS Director was invited to Chair a session in relation to a review of a specific battlefield site. A completed report on battlefield planning best practice undertaken by Lichfields UK has now been published.
There is also an open consultation seeking comments on the recommendations made in the report. The consultation is open for comment until 3 November 2022.
 
August is an exceptionally busy time for the BEFS team this year due to our series of sector wide Our Place in Time (OPiT) engagement events. We hope that those from across many parts of the sector have had the opportunity to be involved and we look forward to representing what we’ve heard during the refreshed OPiT drafting process, as well as highlighting the full public consultation in the Autumn when it is released. We’re sure more workshops (and stickynotes!) will follow. Thanks to all those currently sharing their views and expertise. 
 
And finally, BEFS Director was pleased to attend the launch of the Green Home Festival, hosted by RICS, where the emphasis was on the need to re-use and maintain existing building stock to support reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. Patrick Harvie’s opening address didn’t shy away from the scale of the task! 

Consultations 

Views on the impact of budgetary decisions including the Resource Spending Review on the culture sector in Scotland
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Closes 19 August 2022

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August 2022

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: A Route Map to 2025 and beyond
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August 2022

TEG Survey on Scottish Apprenticeships: Design & Contracting in Construction
Skills Development Scotland
*new* Closes 2 September 2022

Heritage Fund Strategy Refresh
National Lottery Heritage Fund
*new* Closes 5 September 2022

Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
Closes 25 September 2022

New Build Heat Standard: consultation – part two
Scottish Government
Closes 20 October 2022

Battlefields: Planning Best Practice 
Historic Environment Scotland
*new* Closes 3 November 2022

Publications

Main report for the Participation Survey (Department for Media, Culture and Sport, UK Government July 2022)
Estimates on participation in the digital, culture, media, and sport sectors (DCMS) reported during the period of October 2021 to March 2022. The Participation Survey is a nationally representative annual survey of adults (16+) in England that aims to track the latest trends in engagement in DCMS sectors.

Green Building Passports: a review for Scotland (Climate Exchange July 2022)
This report aims to provide policy makers with an understanding of the purpose, structure and use of Green Building Passports, along with the main barriers and opportunities when considering their possible introduction in Scotland.

Skills needs in selected occupations over the next 5 to 10 years (Department for Education, UK Government August 2022)
Report on the changing skills needs within a select group of occupations over the next 5 to 10 years.

Responsible Natural Capital and Carbon Management (Scottish Land Commission August 2022)
Protocol setting out practical expectations to ensure that approaches to natural capital and carbon management recognise responsibilities, as well as rights, in relation to land.

A Look Back at 2021-22 (Museums Galleries Scotland August 2022)
Museums Galleries Scotland’s Year in Review.

Understanding the Sustainable Development Goals and targets (Curating Tomorrow August 2022)
A guide on the UN Sustainable Development Goals for galleries, libraries, archives and museums.

Law project promotes climate-aligned contracts (RICS Construction Journal August 2022)
Article describing a legal initiative which is drafting open-access clauses to make progress towards net-zero carbon at the contractual level.

Levelling the playing field, not Scotland’s built environment: A case for retrofit over demolition? (CIOB August 2022)
This report considers the question of VAT on retrofit, making a case for the positive impact a demolition levy could have in reprioritising retrofit projects, which proffer wide benefits such as local job creation, reduced construction and development waste, and lowered carbon emissions.

Scottish Retail Sales Monitor July 2022 (Scottish Retail Consortium August 2022)
Scottish Retail Consortium reveals footfall fell by 16.5 per cent in July compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.

Scottish Government Publications

Energy Efficient Scotland Transition Programme Survey Evaluation (08/08/22)
This report presents the social evaluation of the Energy Efficient Scotland Transition Programme, which aimed to support local authorities’ engagement with households and businesses expected to self-fund energy efficiency improvements.

Building Standards National Annual Verification Performance Report 2021-22 (08/08/22)
This report provides aggregated information on the national level of performance of verifiers on the Key Performance Outcomes of the Building Standards Performance Framework for Verifiers Publication 2021

Delivering a Greener, Fairer, Independent Scotland – One Year On (17/08/22)
Delivering a Greener, Fairer, Independent Scotland – One Year On provides an update on the progress made since the Bute House Agreement was reached between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party.

News Releases

Scottish Government urged to protect built environment from unnecessary and ‘cheap’ demolition 
Summary of the CIOB report ‘Levelling the playing field, not Scotland’s built environment: A case for retrofit over demolition?’

Scotland facing ‘monumental task’ on eco housing, Patrick Harvie tells Green Home Festival
Overview of speech at the launch of the Green Home Festival 2022.

Glasgow continues trend in reduction of vacant and derelict land
A Glasgow City Council committee has learned about the continued fall in the amount of Vacant and Derelict Land in the city and approved the acceptance of the 2022/23 Vacant and Derelict Land Fund award to the city from the Scottish Government.

Future of closed historic castle to be discussed
A public meeting is to be held on the future of Barra’s Kisimul Castle.

Glasgow trails ‘People First Zone’ to put city on the front foot
Glasgow City Council, supported by Sustrans, has launched plans to re-engineer the city centre from the Clyde to Cowcaddens to favour pedestrians.

Major step forward for regeneration of Paisley town centre tenements
A multi-million-pound project to transform a row of historic Paisley town centre tenements into new modern energy-efficient homes for social rent is set to move forward.

Opinion & Comment

Key historic buildings remain closed with safety checks to take a ‘couple of years’ (The Scotsman 07/08/22)

Don’t rebuild, retrofit to meet net zero goals (The Scotsman 08/08/22)

Historic 200-year-old Scots kirk faces closure over ‘falling number of ministers’ (Daily Record 09/08/22)

More than 30 historic church buildings could be closed under plans (STV 09/08/22)

Heritage Fund moots investment in ‘places of need’ (Arts Professional 10/08/22)

Highlands and Moray churches at risk of closure (BBC 10/08/22)

Top six modern archaeological sites and discoveries in Scotland (DigIt Scotland 11/08/22)

Scottish Government urged to protect built environment from unnecessary and ‘cheap’ demolition (Scottish Housing News 11/08/22)

Déjà brew: Review of planning decision highlights gulf between policy and ambition (Brodies 12/08/22)

Katie Graham: Helping our elected members to support our communities (RTPI 12/08/22)

Mace CEO demands national retrofit strategy (Construction News 12/08/22)

RICS calls for industry and government to futureproof UK construction (RICS 15/08/22)

Parliamentary Questions

Scottish Parliament is in recess until 4th September.
 
Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.  
 
S6W-10119: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 1 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have benefitted from the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund as of 30 July 2022, and what the average cost per property is. Answer expected 29 August 2022

S6W-10165:  Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 3 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, whether it will prepare a medium-rise inventory, in light of the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022, which ban combustible cladding on buildings with any storey at a height of more than 11 metres above the ground.
Answer expected 31 August 2022

Parliamentary Questions and Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.   

S6W-09620: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 5 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many times and (b) on what dates it has met with stakeholders that are concerned with cladding remediation, including (i) insurers, (ii) mortgage lenders, (iii) the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and (iv) homeowners, regarding the cladding remediation programme, since the Single Building Assessment pilot began.
Answered on 4 August 2022

S6W-09959: Monica Lennon, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 25 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to support the introduction of planning apprenticeship schemes in order to encourage people into town planning careers.
Answered on 11 August 2022

S6W-09932: Donald Cameron, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 25 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many projects have (a) applied for and (b) received funding from the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme since it was created, broken down by (i) local authority area and (ii) the value of each project award.
Answered on 22 August 2022

S6W-10001: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 26 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what skills strategy it has in place to ensure that Scotland has sufficient professionals to advise homeowners on their transition to clean energy and carry out installation and maintenance.
Answered on 2 August 2022

S6W-10164: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 4 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the draft Bill regarding tenement maintenance will not be introduced until 2026, and whether it will ask the Scottish Law Commission to review its timetable.
Answered on 16 August 2022  

Events

For the full list of BEFS Members’ upcoming events see our events calendar.
 
STBF – Festival of Traditional Buildings
Date & Time: Monday 22 to Friday 26 August 2022
Location: Edinburgh
Immerse yourself in the beauty and romance of Scotland’s old buildings as we celebrate the Festival of Traditional Buildings! To mark our landmark 10th year, we’re bringing you a week long series of immersive, hands on, and interesting events for building enthusiasts of all backgrounds and ages. Located at the Education Centre at Holyrood Park, there is something for everyone including hands-on activities, talks, workshops, and historic building inspired mini golf and a family day as well! All events are free, but ticketing is required.

Scotland’s Community Heritage Conversations – Youth Action
Date & Time: Wednesday 24 August 2022 5.30-7.30pm
Location: Online
This event will explore how we might develop our youth audience and participation further and discuss the visible and invisible barriers that block participation and engagement for young people in the Culture, Heritage and the Arts. We will invite our younger audience to lead in the development of our presentations and overall themes for the event. Community Heritage Conversations are being delivered through a partnership of Archaeology Scotland, The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, Historic Environment Scotland, Northlight Heritage, the Scottish Community Heritage Alliance and the Scottish Council on Archives.

Scotland’s Towns Partnership – TCAP2 Roadshows
Date & Time: 24 August to 17 September 2022
Location: Various across Scotland
The TCAP2 Roadshow Series will illustrate how a place-based holistic approach can help revitalise towns across Scotland. Ambition, collaboration and leadership are key to aligning and delivering on TCAP2.  The series aims to encourage stakeholders to embrace and commit to the place agenda and to understand their roles in the approach to regenerating places. The events share policy context and exemplars based around TCAP2 themes, including planning, town centre first principle, town centre living, digital, enterprising communities and vibrant local economies and climate action.

SURF – From Slogans to Sound Strategy? The 2022 SURF Annual Conference
Date & Time: Thursday 25 August 2022 10am-3pm
Location: COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Anyone involved with the regeneration of Scottish places, is very likely to have heard repeated references to Community Wealth Building and Levelling Up in recent times. SURF’s 2022 Annual Conference will critically examine policy and practice developments associated with both concepts, with particular reference to the Argyll & Bute town of Dunoon.

Archaeology Scotland – Camas nan Geall Archaeological Excavation
Date & Time: 26 August to 7 September 2022 10am-4pm
Location: Camas nan Geall, Ardnamurchan
Archaeology Scotland and the Ardnamurchan History and Heritage Association are about to commence another season of archaeological investigations at Camas nan Geall, as part of the European Regional Development Fund and Historic Environment supported Adopt-a-Monument programme on Ardnamurchan. Over the course of two weeks, from the 26th of August until the 7th of September, volunteers and members of the local community will investigate some of the prehistoric remains of this beautiful bay.

Doors Open Days 2022
Date & Time: Weekends in September 2022
Location: Various across Scotland
Doors Open Days, the popular festival that sees hundreds of sites across Scotland offer free access to buildings and events, will return in September! The full programme of events will be released in mid-August, but in the meantime be sure to head to the Doors Open Days website to mark your diary for the 2022 weekends, and subscribe to the Doors Open Days e-newsletter to be notified when the programme goes live!

Heritage Trust Network – Growing Your Community – Carluke High Mill
Date & Time: Tuesday 6 September 2022 9.30am-2.30pm
Location: Carluke High Mill, Carluke
Hear from a fantastic team who have made huge progress in connecting with their community, whilst progressing towards a major heritage regeneration project. There will also be plenty of time to get to know other attendees, hear from projects across the country and chat with funders.

GCHT – Architecture and Health in Historic Buildings
Date & Time: Thursday 8 September 2022 12.30-1.30pm
Location: Online
Dr Richard Hobday will discuss what historic buildings can teach us about managing airborne infections through a mix of passive ventilation, material characteristics, and quality of internal space. He will also look at how retaining these characteristics is key when refurbishing historic buildings, and demonstrate how past approaches to combatting infection in buildings remain relevant for creating healthy internal environments.

AHSS – Miller, Marbles and MacRae: Walking Tour of Craigentinny and Restalrig
Date & Time: Thursday 8 September 2022 6pm
Location: Craigentinny and Restalrig
On this walk, Steven Robb, Deputy Head of Historic Buildings at Historic Environment Scotland, explores the early history of two of Edinburgh’s north-eastern suburbs, represented by Restalrig Parish Church, Craigentinny House and the Miller family. Along the way he looks at the considerable interventions made by the City Council in the area in the 1930s, including schools, the Craigentinny housing estate, and the use of Craigentinny House as, arguably, Scotland’s first community centre.

Nesta – Future gazing: homes in 2050
Date & Time: Thursday 8 September 2022 12-1pm
Location: Online
Dr Rosenow will share his expert insights on how we can decarbonise homes, drawing from extensive experience in the energy sector, his research at the Environmental Change Institute and his role advising the House of Commons. We’ll be discussing the flexibility of our energy systems and alternative methods for better heating homes; from heat pumps, to retrofitting and hydrogen.

A&BS – The power of creative partnerships in Edinburgh and the Lothians: sharing and networking event
Date & Time: 15 September 2022 6.30-8pm
Location: Edinburgh, Princes Exchange
Arts & Business Scotland are hosting a reception for business/public sector professionals in Edinburgh and the Lothians to share some exciting news, as we present a new service we’re developing: the Culture & Business Marketplace. The Marketplace is the result of research, looking at the changing needs of the business and public sectors. It will be a unique online platform, providing creative solutions to challenges. This event is ideal if you’re looking for opportunities relating to:

• Staff retention, wellbeing & productivity
• creative development
• community engagement
• meeting ESG targets

We’ll share exciting local examples of businesses who have worked with the culture sector to address the above needs.

SoAoS – Summer Excursion: Dunfermline Abbey & Palace and Broomhall House
Date & Time: Saturday 17 September 2022 8:30am-6pm
Location: Dunfermline, Fife
Join SocAntScot for an exciting day excursion in and around Dunfermline, Fife, visiting two important sites of interest. In the morning we will visit Dunfermline Abbey and Palace with a private tour by expert guides. Dunfermline Abbey is one of the oldest in Scotland and the history of the Abbey is entwined with that of Scotland itself. We will then visit Broomhall House after lunch, complete with a private group tour in the company of Lord Bruce. Broomhall House, built over 300 years ago, is recognised for its unique place at the heart of Scotland’s history as the home of the Family of Bruce.

Training

Scottish Lime Centre Trust: The Structural Repair of Historic Buildings
Date & Time: Friday 26 August 2022
Location: Charlestown Workshops, Charlestown, Fife
This masterclass led by Ian Hume, aims to provide professionals with a sound understanding of the philosophy of conservation.
Participants will gain a better understanding of the relationship between structural engineering and conservation, of safety issues and of the aesthetics of conservation based structural repairs.

Heritage Trust Network: Dealing with Rising Energy Costs
Date & Time: Wednesday 14 September 2022 10.30-11.30am
Location: Online
Is your historic building or site being affected by rising energy costs? Are you worried about the predicted rises in Winter? Join Paul Clark from Heritage Trust Network partner member Citrus Energy for insight and advice on this worrying topic.

Heritage Trust Network: Saving buildings, while saving the climate
Date & Time: Wednesday 14 September 2022 2-3.30pm
Location: Online
Hear from speakers on how to environmentally manage old and listed buildings and learn how to make them more self-sustainable and eco. Also, you will hear new facts and figures on why reusing buildings are more environmentally and sustainability friendly.

PAS: SP=EED Community Engagement Skills training
Date & Time: Thursday 15 September 2022 10am-3pm
Location: Online
Want to brush up on your community engagement skills? Join PAS next live ‘SP=EED’ training. SP=EED is a unique development programme designed to develop your skills and confidence in designing, delivering and evaluating effective community engagement.  
 
HES/AHSS/BEFS: Conservation Areas Seminar
Date & Time: Thursday 29 September 2022 10am-4:30pm
Location: Engine Shed, Stirling
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and BEFS will host a day of discussions focussing on Conservation Areas, their management, designation, and exploring their role in creating good places. This event is aimed at anyone with a role in decision making within a Conservation Area, Local Authority officers and policy makers.
 
STBA and SPAB: Annual Conference – Sustaining Buildings 2022
Date & Time: 12 October 2022 9.30am-5pm
Location: Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
The popular STBA / SPAB annual conference returns in-person this autumn for a full day of presentations and Q&A sessions by UK experts in the field. With retrofit and the green agenda firmly in the eye of the public, SPAB Scotland and STBA bring you a selection of speakers who will dive deeper into these topics and provide expert analysis of WUFI, embodied carbon analysis, training opportunities, and much more. 

SPAB: Repair of Old Buildings Course
Date & Time: 17 to 21 October 2022
Location: Online
The Repair of Old Buildings course delivers an extensive programme of lectures and recorded site visits demonstrating building repair projects, accompanied by a series of live online Q&A sessions with speakers and site hosts. Presented by leading building conservation professionals, the Repair Course considers British and international approaches to the conservation of old buildings.  The SPAB philosophy of repair and maintenance – established by William Morris in 1877 – underpins the course programme of case studies, presentations and site visits.
The SPAB has a small fund to allow it to award bursaries to individuals who might not otherwise be able to afford a place on the Repair Course.

Vacancies

 NTS Project Director: Hill House Conservation Project
Salary: £43,050-£47,667
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: Flexible within South & West Region
The National Trust for Scotland is now seeking an exceptional individual to lead the Hill House Conservation Project on behalf of the Trust.  The Hill House Conservation Project will embrace all heritage assets contained by the Hill House site in Helensburgh.  You will have a relevant degree and experience of managing similar multi-heritage projects at large scale.  You will be a confident leader with the highest of standards.  A collaborator and a consummate communicator able to take on a wide-ranging challenge and deliver excellence.
The Conservation of the fabric of the House is at the heart of the Project but restoring the garden, conserving the collection and interiors, interpretation, research and providing the best visitor experience are all key to success.  Fundraising will be required and outreach and engagement will be vital pillars of the Project, as will engaging with the many and varied stakeholder groups will be essential to success.
Closing date: Wednesday 7 September 2022

NTS Conservation Maintenance Surveyor
Salary: £36,523-£40,238
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: North East Scotland 
The National Trust for Scotland is looking for strong team players who are committed to conserving and sharing Scotland’s heritage.  Join the NTS Building Surveying Team and you will work with Scotland’s largest and most diverse portfolio of historic buildings and structures. This is a new role and you will be instrumental in shaping the way the Trust manages the conservation maintenance of its buildings, helping to build maintenance plans for each building and dealing with backlog maintenance projects.  
Closing date: 10am, Friday 9 September 2022

The Auchindrain Trust Conservation and Maintenance Supervisor/ Urras Achadh an Droighinn
Salary: £27,300
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: Auchindrain Historic Township, Argyll
As a result of the retirement of a long-serving member of staff, we are seeking to recruit a suitably-skilled and experienced person as Conservation & Maintenance Supervisor for the museum at Auchindrain Historic Township in Argyll. The post represents a rare opportunity for someone who would like to develop a career in the care, conservation and management of Scotland’s historic environment, with a strong emphasis on the use of traditional building skills in the modern world. Over time, the post-holder could expect to develop into being one of the quite small group of specialists and experts who give a lead to the traditional building skills sector in Scotland.
Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 7 October 2022
 

BEFS News

The high-level masonry assessments and work ongoing across many HES sites is a topic that’s received a lot of attention from the sector and general public. BEFS were pleased to see both a detailed blog piece from HES Director of Operations, Craig Mearns; and a short film addressing the actions being taken, and the challenges faced in this process. (Craig has also welcomed the invitation to BEFS Members’ Historic Environment Working Group (HEWG) meeting at the end of August.)

BEFS, along Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) are really looking forward to hosting a seminar day in September, focussing on Conservation Areas, their management, designation, and exploring their role in creating good places. This event is aimed at anyone with a role in decision making within a Conservation Area, Local Authority officers and policy makers. We would love to see you there!
Thinking of Conservation, Edinburgh World Heritage are looking for a Conservation Programmes Officer. Do have a look at the Vacancies section below for more information.

RIAS have announced their shortlist for the prestigious Andrew Doolan Prize for Best Scottish Building. We’d never pick favourites, but we are pleased to see a restoration project included – High Sunderland – a 1957 Category A-listed modernist icon whose future was uncertain following a fire in 2017.

Six organisations, including a number of BEFS members, have recently signed up to a three year, 45 point action plan to jointly improve Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) across the sector. These actions could have a positive impact on over 350,000 members across the sector organisations in question. BEFS look forward to seeing the outcomes of this plan.

BEFS would also like to congratulate Scotland’s new Chief Reporter, Scott Ferrie, whose appointment was confirmed last Thursday.

Next month (September) will bring us Doors Open Day, the popular festival that sees hundreds of sites across Scotland offer free access to buildings and events. The full programme of events will be released in mid-August, but in the meantime be sure to head to the Doors Open Days website to mark your diary for the 2022 weekends, and subscribe to the Doors Open Days newsletter to be notified when the programme goes live.

And finally:
BEFS, working closely with HES and the Scottish Government, will be holding a series of engagement events (online and in person) across August in relation to refreshing Our Place in Time, the national strategy for the historic environment. Invitations were sent out last week, and places are limited, so do please book via the related Eventbrite links should you wish to attend. As soon as the report from the Scottish Historic Environment Forum (SHEF) event is available we’ll be sharing the links via the Bulletin and our twitter feed.

Thinking of future OPiT – whilst the KPIs may change, the good work being done across the sector always needs to be captured. Due to Covid we haven’t been actively seeking new case studies for a wee while, but it’s essential we can illustrate a refreshed OPiT with excellent examples. The current case studies can all be found here – and you can submit new ones via this online form.  We look forward to seeing the fantastic activity taking place over the last few years.

Consultations 

Buildings at Risk Register (BARR)
Historic Environment Scotland
Closes 5 August 2022

Views on the impact of budgetary decisions including the Resource Spending Review on the culture sector in Scotland
Scottish Parliament Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Closes 19 August 2022

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August 2022

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: A Route Map to 2025 and beyond
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August 2022

Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
Closes 25 September 2022

New Build Heat Standard: consultation – part two
Scottish Government
**new** Closes 20 October 2022

Consultation Responses

Onshore wind policy statement refresh – draft: consultation analysis
Scottish Government

Local development planning – regulations and guidance: consultation responses
Scottish Government

Publications

A Wellbeing and Heritage Strategy for Historic England (Historic England May 2022)
Strategy document showing how HE aims to improve delivery, enhance the social impact of programmes, highlight inequities that heritage can challenge, and communicate the value of heritage. 

National Lottery Heritage Fund Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22
The 2021-22 Annual Report and Accounts for the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Toolkit for recording archaeological materials (CIfA July 2022)
Toolkit intended for use by anyone engaged in organising, managing or monitoring the records created during initial processing of archaeological materials recovered during an archaeological project.

Levelling Up and Sustainable Place Making (RICS July 2022)
RICS 10-point plan, ‘Levelling Up and Sustainable Placemaking’ sets out the overarching policy recommendations for the UK Government.

RIBA Construction Contacts and Law Report (RIBA July 2022)
The RIBA Construction Contracts and Law Report 2022 report details the findings of a survey of 950+ construction professionals on their experience of legal and contractual practice over the past twelve months, complemented by a series of articles from cross-sector experts.

Making a house a home: Why policy must focus on the ownership and distribution of housing (JRF July 2022)
Briefing setting out the argument underpinning a new area of work at JRF, around ownership and distribution of homes in the English housing market. It suggests proposals for reform, and highlights areas JRF want to explore.

A population-based retrospective study of the modifying effect of urban blue space on the impact of socioeconomic deprivation on mental health (Nature July 2022)
Findings from a study using population primary care health data in the North of Glasgow exploring whether living near blue space modifies the negative effect of socio-economic deprivation on mental health during the regeneration of an urban blue space (canal) from complete dereliction and closure.

Scottish Government Publications

Letter to Convener, Local Government, Housing & Planning Committee (11/07/22)
Correspondence from Tom Arthur, Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth, to Ariane Burgess on the estimated timescale for the final version of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) being laid before the Parliament, and for the Committee’s scrutiny.

Controlling short-term lets (01/08/2022)
Statement outlining how Edinburgh will become Scotland’s first designated Short-Term Let Control Area after the Scottish Government approved the City of Edinburgh Council’s proposed change to planning requirements.

New Releases

Celebrating a growing relationship with the Council for British Archaeology
Elia McQueen celebrates a strengthening relationship between Archaeology Scotland and the Council for British Archaeology.
 
New Bill proposed to prevent local planning decisions being overruled
Conservative MSP Miles Briggs is to bring forward new legislation that will ensure no planning decisions made locally would be overturned after highlighting new figures local authorities were overruled on almost half of all planning appeals in the last year.

Celebrating excellence in retrofit and reuse in the built environment
The 2023 AJ Retrofit Awards, brought to you by The Architects’ Journal, are looking for entrants. The awards recognise and celebrate the design expertise behind the vital renewal and repurposing of existing buildings, setting a precedent for ways to slash the industry’s carbon footprint in the process. 
 
New partnership to help tackle empty homes in Scotland’s rural and island communities
Tighean Innse Gall (TIG) and the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) have launched a joint project to tackle the issue of empty homes in Outer Hebrides.

Creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive built environment sector – Action plan
Six built environment bodies jointly commit to a three-year action plan to improve equity, diversity and inclusion. 

A subterranean secret
Forestry and Land Scotland blog on surveying the remote Iron Age souterrain (or cellar) of Cracknie in Borgie Forest in Sutherland using laser scanning techniques.  

Funding for 57 New Projects Across England That Will Tell the Untold Stories of Our Nation’s Working-Class Heritage
These new projects will reveal and celebrate untold stories from across England: from the distinct history of the Dunston Staiths – a coal drop for ships in Gateshead, to the stories of the colliers, iron workers, and traveller communities that used tin chapels in the Forest of Dean. 

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside! Funding awarded to revitalise historic Scottish harbour buildings
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is delighted to have awarded two new grants to projects aiming to revitalise historic harbour buildings in both Portsoy and Annan.

Opinion & Comment

Scots Gov is accused of ignoring experts after overturning almost half of all appealed planning decisions (The Herald 24/07/22)
 
Reducing embodied carbon in building products for a sustainable future (PBC today 26/07/22)

Homes for Scotland questions quality of local planning decisions (Scottish Housing News 27/07/22)

Architects and designers must embrace the circular economy (Project Scotland 27/07/22)

Climate change: Huge public demand for eco-friendly homes means council planning departments need proper funding (Edinburgh Evening News 28/07/22)

Why urban design needs to integrate nature (RICS Built Environment Journal 28/07/22)

Why the mysterious Scottish broch is making a return (BBC 28/07/2022)
 
Dereliction threat to Scotland’s canals from financial restrictions hampering regeneration (The Scotsman 31/07/22)

Behind the scenes: a monumental challenge (HES Blog 01/08/2022)

Catherine Cartmell: Scotland’s built heritage highlights why it’s so important to invest in skills (Press & Journal 02/08/2022)

Parliamentary Questions 

Scottish Parliament is in recess until 4th September.
 
Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.  
 
S6W-09932: Donald Cameron, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 25 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many projects have (a) applied for and (b) received funding from the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme since it was created, broken down by (i) local authority area and (ii) the value of each project award. Answer expected on 22 August 2022

S6W-10002: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 26 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its strategy is to deliver public advice and messaging regarding a transition to renewable heat sources in order to ensure that homeowners can access comprehensive advice in relation to the decarbonisation of homes. Answer expected on 23 August 2022

S6W-10119: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 1 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have benefitted from the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund as of 30 July 2022, and what the average cost per property is. Answer expected on 29 August 2022

Parliamentary Questions and Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.   
 
S6W-09251: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the average day rate is of the contractors in its Cladding Remediation Unit.
Answered on 21 July 2022

S6W-09252: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many contractors have worked and (b) what the expenditure has been on contractors, in its Cladding Remediation Unit in each of the last 12 months.
Answered on 21 July 2022

S6W-09628: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 5 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many community-run retrofit organisations does it fund.
Answered on 27 July 2022

S6W-10001: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 26 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what skills strategy it has in place to ensure that Scotland has sufficient professionals to advise homeowners on their transition to clean energy and carry out installation and maintenance.
Answered on 2 August 2022

Events

For the full list of BEFS Members’ upcoming events see our events calendar.
 
Green Home Festival 2022
Date & Time: 8-12 August 2022
Location: Online and in person 
Running from 8-12 August, the Green Home Festival will feature 12 shows, which are all free to attend. Some will be in-person and hosted at the offices of RICS in Edinburgh, others will be delivered online via webinar or on-site at other locations around the city. The climate emergency, net zero and soaring energy prices are the driving factors behind the Green Home Festival. Explore events such as, Retrofitting a Traditional Tenement or Transforming a Listed Museum.
 
Whose Town Is It Anyway? (Part of Festival of Politics)
Date & Time: Thursday 11 August 2022 12.30-1.30pm
Location: Online 
Who holds the power in town centres – is it the developer, the chain stores, or the investors? Do they really have the town centre interest at heart or does the profit margin supersede community? How can the community and independent retailers take control and does free parking at out-of- town centres trump local community any day? Join the debate on how we build in climate, social inclusion and health and well-being to every town centre in Scotland.
Supported by the Cross-Party Group on Towns and Town Centres.
 
Understanding Ghost Signs: Ghost Signs of Glasgow Tour and Sign Writing Workshop with Women’s Type Foundry
Date & Time:  Saturday 20 August 2022 10.30am-5pm
Location: George Square, Glasgow and GCHT office, Bell Street
Ghost Signs of Glasgow is a project which unearths the stories behind old signs and shopfronts of the city by researching and documenting them. These ghost signs, the fading remains of old painted signs on buildings, provide an invaluable insight into Glasgow’s architectural, social and cultural history. Many ghost signs hide in plain sight in the urban landscape around them, leaving a tangible part of Glasgow’s heritage vulnerable to being lost forever. In the afternoon you’ll get to participate in a sign painting workshop with Women’s Type Foundry, a female-led design, research and typography studio based in Glasgow.
 
Live podcast recording: “Preserving historic hospitals: the Royal Infirmary”- Friends of Glasgow Royal Infirmary in conversation with Niall Murphy
Date & Time: Wednesday 24th August 2022 7-8.30pm
Join us for an exclusive live recording event of a new episode of GCHT’s very own podcast. ‘If Glasgow’s Walls Could Talk’ explores the relationships between the city’s historic buildings and places and its communities. Each episode focuses on a specific area or type of building, not only from a historical and architectural point of view, but also from the perspective of the community. Here you will have the chance to listen to GCHT Deputy Director Niall Murphy interviewing Dr Hilary Wilson and Dr Kate Stevens, both Trustees of Friends of Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
 
STBF – Festival of Traditional Buildings
Date & Time: Monday 22 – Friday 26 August 2022
Location: Edinburgh and online (hybrid)
This will be the 10th Festival of Traditional Buildings, with a rebranding from Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival. In the last two years the event has been hosted online due to the pandemic, creating a truly global audience. Whilst the team are delighted to be back delivering the festival in-person, this will be a hybrid event so those unable to attend in person are still able to participate in the events.
 
From Slogans to Sound Strategy? The 2022 SURF Annual Conference
Date & Time: Thursday 25 August 2022 10am-3pm
Location: COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Anyone involved with the regeneration of Scottish places, is very likely to have heard repeated references to Community Wealth Building and Levelling Up in recent times. SURF’s 2022 Annual Conference will critically examine policy and practice developments associated with both concepts, with particular reference to the Argyll & Bute town of Dunoon.
 
Broomhall House, Charlestown and the Lime Kilns
Date & Time: Saturday 27 August 2022 9am-6pm
Join AHSS on a tour of Broomhall House, the home of the Bruce family for more than 300 years. It continues to be lived in, and cared for, by the descendants of King Robert the Bruce. This will be followed by a visit to the historic “planned” village of Charlestown, which pre-dates New Lanark, and sits on the Broomhall Estate. The tour of Broomhall will end with a visit to the Charlestown Lime Kilns, which are regarded as one of the most important Industrial Revolution remains in the UK.
 
Doors Open Days
Date & Time: Weekends in September
Location: Various across Scotland
Doors Open Days, the popular festival that sees hundreds of sites across Scotland offer free access to buildings and events, will return in September! The full programme of events will be released in mid-August, but in the meantime be sure to head to the Doors Open Days website to mark your diary for the 2022 weekends, and subscribe to the Doors Open Days e-newsletter to be notified when the programme goes live!
 
Scottish Archaeology Fair 2022
Date & Time: Sunday 4 September 2022
Location: Castle Douglas Town Hall and the Carlingwark Park and Activity Centre
Archaeology Scotland and Galloway Glens are bringing the Scottish Archaeology Fair back this year after a two-year pause following Covid restrictions. The event will officially launch this year’s Scottish Archaeology Month and the celebration of the conclusion of the outstanding Can You Dig It? community archaeology project.  Archaeology Scotland and Galloway Glens aim to raise the profile of Scottish Archaeology and provide a space for everyone to connect with, learn from and enjoy their local heritage and archaeology.  

Training

Practising ethical competence in archaeology
Date & Time: Wednesday, 24 August 2022
Location: Online
Ethical behaviour is not innate: it is learned and practiced in the real world – or in a safe environment like this workshop. Using case studies developed from real-life experiences in archaeological practice, scenarios in this workshop allow participants to explore what happens when different roles in commercial fieldwork have conflicting motivations and the ethical dimensions of going beyond the contract when that happens.
 
The Structural Repair of Historic Buildings
Date & Time: Friday 26 August 2022
Location: Charlestown Workshops, Charlestown, Fife
This masterclass led by Ian Hume, aims to provide professionals with a sound understanding of the philosophy of conservation.
Participants will gain a better understanding of the relationship between structural engineering and conservation, of safety issues and of the aesthetics of conservation based structural repairs.
 
PAS, SP=EED Community Engagement Skills training
Date & Time: Thursday 15 September 2022 10am-3pm
Location: Online
Want to brush up on your community engagement skills? Join PAS next live ‘SP=EED’ training. SP=EED is a unique development programme designed to develop your skills and confidence in designing, delivering and evaluating effective community engagement.  
 
Conservation Areas Seminar
Date & Time: Thursday 29 September 2022 10am-4:30pm
Location: Engine Shed, Stirling
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and BEFS will host a day of discussions focussing on Conservation Areas, their management, designation, and exploring their role in creating good places. This event is aimed at anyone with a role in decision making within a Conservation Area, Local Authority officers and policy makers.
 
STBA and SPAB Annual Conference – Sustaining Buildings 20222
Date & Time: 12 October 2022 9.30am-5pm
Location: Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
The popular STBA / SPAB annual conference returns in-person this autumn for a full day of presentations and Q&A sessions by UK experts in the field. With retrofit and the green agenda firmly in the eye of the public, SPAB Scotland and STBA bring you a selection of speakers who will dive deeper into these topics and provide expert analysis of WUFI, embodied carbon analysis, training opportunities, and much more. 

Vacancies

Development Officer
Salary: £29,500 pro rata
Status: 0.8FTE (with potential for full-time if preferred)
Location: Glasgow or home-based
This is an exciting opportunity to join a small but busy team – supporting aspiring and post-purchase community landowners, building networks and raising awareness of community landownership. The postholder will provide support to communities in South, Central and Eastern Scotland.
Closing date: 5pm, Monday 8 August 2022

Edinburgh World Heritage – Conservation Programmes Officer
Salary: £28,840-£30,900
Status: Full time, permanent 
Location: Edinburgh
EWH are looking for a Conservation Programmes Officer to support the conservation and enhancement of the built heritage and public spaces across the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site, working with stakeholders and communities to deliver meaningful projects. Experienced in the delivery of best practice conservation repair and maintenance projects and bringing exceptional organisational and planning skills, you will help to conserve the city through the investment of approximately £1.75m per year from Historic Environment Scotland.
Closing date: 10am, Monday 15 August 2022
 
NTS Conservation Maintenance Surveyor
Salary: £36,523-£40,238
Status: Full time, permanent
Location: North East Scotland 
The National Trust for Scotland is looking for strong team players who are committed to conserving and sharing Scotland’s heritage.  Join the NTS Building Surveying Team and you will work with Scotland’s largest and most diverse portfolio of historic buildings and structures. This is a new role and you will be instrumental in shaping the way the Trust manages the conservation maintenance of its buildings, helping to build maintenance plans for each building and dealing with backlog maintenance projects.  
Closing date: 10am, Friday 9 September 2022 

BEFS News

BEFS are delighted to welcome our new Communications Manager, Kelda McLean. Kelda joins us from (and continues with) Glasgow Centre for Population Health. Her experience and interests, as well as considerable skill, are a fantastic addition to the team.

As we consider flicking through the various Edinburgh Festivals programmes for August, BEFS would like to champion the multiple events for the 10^th Anniversary of Festival of Traditional Buildings. This festival is coordinated by the Scottish Traditional Buildings Forum, free to attend, and features an amazing variety of traditional skills, hands-on demonstrations, fascinating talks, and supports maintaining our traditionally built homes and buildings for a sustainable future.

With traditional buildings in mind, BEFS are also delighted to see the expansion of the Traditional Building Health Check scheme into Dunblane and Blairlogie.

BEFS congratulates all three winners of the IHBC Marsh Awards. We’re enormously proud that Jess Burrows (recently ‘of this parish’ – as Communications Manager) was one of the recipients for her insightful and considered work on Conservation Area Regeneration Schemes.

HES need your views:
There are surveys out in relation to the reimagining of the Buildings at Risk Register (BARR) where HES need to know what would be most useful for its future – closing 5th August. And, views are sought on MyCanmore, and how the restrictions of Covid19 changed the use of this site, this closes 31st July.

The annual SURF Awards are now open and full details on how to nominate, and the categories, can be found here. These Awards celebrate the best of community regeneration across Scotland. SPAB have also opened the Philip Webb Award, this is for early-stage career architects. The brief is to devise a scheme which sympathetically revitalises a historic building for reuse through careful repair of existing fabric and a significant element of new construction in a contemporary design. (Closing date 12^th September). For those who can’t wait on seeing the shortlists for those awards, announced today (21st July) the shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize has just been released.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has launched a new heritage Innovation fund. The initiative is intended to involve three phases: Explore: defining the problem and developing potential solutions; Test: putting promising prototypes into practice and gathering evidence of what works; and Grow: implementing findings more widely within organisations and across the sector. Applications are now open for the initial Explore phase with grants of up to £25,000.

Following from a recent survey of local civic and heritage across Scotland, the Scottish Civic Trust have begun to develop a suite of inclusive heritage resources to support local groups in reaching new and more diverse audiences.

And finally, there’s a great opportunity to see heritage from around Europe through the series of short films of this year’s winners of the European Heritage Awards from Europa Nostra – congratulations to all winners and nominees.

Consultations 

Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill: Consultation by Alex Rowley MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Region
Closes 27 July 

Review of permitted development rights – phase 2 consultation
Scottish Government
Closes 3 August

Buildings at Risk Register (BARR): HES
Survey focusing on the reimagining of the BARR
**NEW Closes 5 August**

Views on the impact of budgetary decisions including the Resource Spending Review on the culture sector in Scotland
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Closes 19 August

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August 

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: A Route Map to 2025 and beyond
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August

Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
Closes 25 September

Publications

Cultural Policy Tracker (Encatc April 2022)
Five new articles from the European network on cultural management and policy, Encatc, Cultural Policy Tracker, which is a quarterly publication gathering contributions from the members of their Culture Post Covid-19 Think Tank.

Scottish Third Sector Tracker Wave 3 Findings (SCVO Spring 2022)
Update on the health of the sector, and issues being faced, based on a survey of 457 third sector organisations based or operating in Scotland.

The facade of power and the power of the facade: memory and meaning in Victorian cities (Richard Rodger, Urban History Journal June 2022)
This article is a contribution the buildings bring to the sense of making places. It seeks to bring the social history of urban spaces into sharper focus by exploring what memory does to places and what places do to memory.  Leicester and Edinburgh provide the two detailed, comparative studies.

Future Planners Project Report (RTPI July 2022)
Key findings on the promotion, recruitment retention of Planners in Scotland with recommendations, including the need to introduce new initiatives to increase the number of planners working in Scotland.

Scotland’s Colleges 2022 (Audit Scotland July 2022)
An assessment on the performance of Scotland’s colleges during the period 2020-21.

Why EPCs need to accommodate measured input (Luke Smith, RICS Built Environment Journal 2022)
Regulatory reliance on energy performance certification fails to acknowledge that the process itself depends on a range of assumptions that skew our understanding of building performance.

Managing sustainable impact: A tool for calculating carbon (Built Environment – Smarter Transformation July 2022)
BE-ST resource for calculating carbon for industry on its journey to zero carbon.

How to scale a highly skilled heat pump industry (Nesta July 2022)
The current state of the heat pump market from a skills, training and productivity perspective and ways of increasing the supply chain’s capacity to install heat pumps.

Historic Environment (Wales) Bill (Senedd Cymru July 2022)
The Bill includes provision to consolidate legislation relating to the historic environment in Wales. It provides for the protection of monuments, buildings and conservation areas by bringing together and restating already-existing legislation (both primary and secondary) in one place.

Happy Homes: Cooperation, Community and the Edinburgh Colonies (Richard Rodger July 2022)
An exploration of the history of Edinburgh’s ‘Colonies’ housing – what they are, their enduring appeal and the role of women in their construction through the Edinburgh Cooperative Building Company.

Leading the Change Together – A National Impact Agenda for the Preservation Movement (US National Trust for Historic Preservation July 2022)
Contains seven goals that aspire to represent end-state positive outcomes for the preservation field.

SAIR 99: Two Iron Age duns in western Scotland: excavations at Barnluasgan and Balure, North Knapdale, Argyll (Roddy Regan and Ewan Campbell, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland July 2022)
This report discusses the excavation of two stone-walled duns situated in North Knapdale, Argyll and Bute, led by Kilmartin Museum.

Scottish Government Publications

How is Scotland Performing? (11/07/22)
This blog provides a snapshot of the current performance of the National Performance Framework (NPF) 81 National Indicators.

Edinburgh Declaration on post-2020 global biodiversity framework (15/07/22)
Setting out the aspirations and commitments of the Scottish Government, Edinburgh Process partners, and the wider subnational constituency of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in delivering for nature over the coming decade.

News Releases

Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy recognised with listing status
Significant examples of Modernist post-war hospital design celebrated for architectural and historic interest.

Peter Reekie: Help us transform Scotland’s construction sector
Peter Reekie, CEO of the Scottish Futures Trust and chair of the executive group of the Scottish Construction Leadership Forum (CLF), calls on the construction sector to embrace transformation.

TBHC Scheme now open to properties in Dunblane and Blairlogie
After the successful trial expansion to Bridge of Allan, the Traditional Buildings Health Check scheme is extending the expansion trial to Dunblane and Blairlogie.

RIBA unveils shortlist for 2022 Stirling Prize
Mæ and Panter Hudspith join veterans Hopkins, Reiach and Hall, Niall McLaughlin and Henley Halebrown in final fray for UK’s highest architecture accolade.

Opinion & Comment

Edinburgh council’s tenement repairs app is copied by other Scottish councils (Edinburgh News 19/07/22)

‘It’s like an oven’: Life in Britain’s hottest neighbourhoods (BBC 18/07/22)

Climate-wrecking air conditioning units aren’t the only way to survive a heatwave (The Guardian 15/07/22)

Uncovering the Secrets of Scotland’s Only Industrial Ghost Town in Galloway (Dumfries and Galloway What’s Going On 13/07/22)

Housebuilder goes to court over planning refusal (Inverclyde Now 13/07/22)

Former hospital in Dumfries to become £15m cultural site (Arts Professional 12/07/22)

New sketches released of how a redesigned George Square in Glasgow could look (Evening Times 11/07/22)

Big Read: Is Edinburgh beating Glasgow in race to save built heritage? (The Herald 09/07/22)

St Andrews Cathedral reopens graves of world famous golfers to the public (The National 08/07/22)

What Is the Environmental Impact of Each Building Material? (Arch Daily 07/07/22)

Clandon Park: National Trust reveals ‘laid-bare’ design for fire-hit house (BBC 06/07/22)

National Lottery: DCMS predicts £65m boost for good causes (Arts Professional 05/07/22)

Parliamentary Questions and Answers

Scottish Parliament is in recess until 4^th September 
Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-08710: Maurice Golden, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 26 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown, by local authority area, of the area of green space currently being created and/or restored through projects funded by (a) the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme and (b) the Nature Restoration Fund. Answered on 14/06/2022

S6W-09404: Brian Whittle, South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 28 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it will submit the final draft of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) to the Parliament. Answered on 06/07/2022

S6W-09368: Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 27 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the updated draft fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), and whether it will consult on the updated draft NPF4 once it is published. Answered on 06/07/2022

S6W-09579: Pauline McNeill, Glasgow, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 4 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-01292 by Patrick Harvie on 29 June 2022, whether it will publish the referenced data on heat pumps. Answered on 08/07/2022

S6W-09263: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether the estimated £33 billion required to decarbonise heating in Scotland’s homes, as set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, is still currently an accurate assessment of the cost, and, if not, what the revised estimate is.
Answered on 08/07/2022

S6W-09262: Liam Kerr, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of homes available for social rent it estimates currently have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of band C or above. Answered on 08/07/2022

S6W-09298: Sharon Dowey, South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) encourage applications and (b) make an application itself for Scottish sites to feature on a new tentative list of natural, cultural and mixed sites for potential nomination for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Answered on 08/07/22

S6W-09270: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the NESTA report, Estimating the willingness to pay for a heat pump, in determining the level of financial support that it will provide to householders, and the contribution of heat pumps, to meet its target for the rate of zero carbon heating system installations in new and existing homes and buildings to double every year from the current baseline to at least 64,000 installations in 2025. Answered on 12/07/2022

S6W-09621: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 5 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to enable digital surveys to take place on buildings suspected of having combustible cladding. Answered on 19/07/2022

S6W-09643: Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 6 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many empty homes there have been in each local authority area in each year since 1999. Answered on 19/07/2022

S6W-09618: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 5 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what the value is of tenders for the Single Building Assessment service that have been placed through Public Contract Scotland (i) to date and (ii) are expected in the next year of the programme. Answered on 19/07/2022

S6W-09722: Stephen Kerr, Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 12 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment, including calculations, it undertakes to understand any additional cost burden that is expected to fall on local authorities when new policy requirements that are to be delivered at local authority level are introduced. Answered on 19/07/2022 

S6W-09723: Stephen Kerr, Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 12 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of new policies introduced for roll-out by local authorities in the last two years have had additional local authority capacity resource attached to them to ensure delivery. Answered on 19/07/2022

S6W-09593: Craig Hoy, South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 5 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00751 by Tom Arthur on 5 July 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many empty commercial properties there have been in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each year since 2007. Answered on 19/07/2022

S6W-09619: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 5 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what data and information it collects on (a) remediation and (b) removal of combustible cladding from affected householders and property factors outside of the Single Building Assessment programme. Answered on 19/07/2022

S6W-09248: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many surveyors and fire engineers it has procured to carry out single building assessments. Answered on 20/07/2022

S6W-09249: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many single building assessments it has offered directly to date. Answered on 20/07/2022

S6W-09250: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 80 unique blocks that submitted an expression of interest in the single building assessment it has written to. Answered on 20/07/2022

Events

For the full list of BEFS Members’ upcoming events see our events calendar.

STBF – Festival of Traditional Buildings
Date & Time: Monday 22 – Friday 26 August
Location: Edinburgh and online (hybrid)
This will be the 10th Scottish Traditional Buildings Forum Festival of Traditional Buildings, with a rebranding from Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival. In the last two years the event has been hosted online due to the pandemic, creating a truly global audience. Whilst the team are delighted to be back delivering the festival in-person, this will be a hybrid event so those unable to attend in person are still able to participate in the events.
Full details also available here.

From Slogans to Sound Strategy? The 2022 SURF Annual Conference
Date & Time: Thursday 25 August 10am-3pm
Location: COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Anyone involved with the regeneration of Scottish places, is very likely to have heard repeated references to Community Wealth Building and Levelling Up in recent times. SURF’s 2022 Annual Conference will critically examine policy and practice developments associated with both concepts, with particular reference to the Argyll & Bute town of Dunoon.
Participants will learn about national policy developments associated with the new regeneration context from the Scottish and UK Governments, and hear emerging lessons on the ground from Dunoon and elsewhere in Scotland.

Growing Your Community – Carluke High Mill
Date & Time: Tuesday 6 September 9.30am-2.30pm
Location: Carluke High Mill, Carluke
Join Heritage Trust Network on 6^th September for a visit to Carluke High Mill.
Hear from a fantastic team who have made huge progress in connecting with their community, whilst progressing towards a major heritage regeneration project. There will also be plenty of time to get to know other attendees, hear from projects across the country and chat with funders.

Study Day: The Hill House and Hermitage Park, Helensburgh
Date & Time: Saturday 10 September
Location: Hill House and Heritage Park, Helensburgh
Scotland’s Garden and Landscape Heritage are hosting a study day at Mackintosh’s Hill House and nearby Heritage Park. It will start with a walk along the Hill House Box gantries, with an opportunity to meet the NTS gardener and lunch provided at The Hill House on the roof-top cafe comprising soup, sandwich, tea, coffee and a sweet treat.  After lunch there is a guided tour of the town’s recently restored Hermitage Park led by project landscape architect Jon Simmons, CMLI between 1.30-2.30pm

Walk & Talk: Maintenance in Edinburgh’s Old Town (Part of Doors Open Day 2022)
Date & Time: Sunday 25 September 10.30am
This tour will be presented by Estelle Meyer, architectural historian and tour guide from Cobbletales.  She will be joined by Nic Boyes, SPAB Scotland Guardian and stone conservation expert. Between them, you will hear some history of the buildings, but also be encouraged to look up, so spot the maintenance issues, to discuss past and possible future repairs.  We hope this will be a lively and interesting roving debate!

Training

Arts & Business Scotland Heritage Chairs Knowledge Exchange
Date & Time: Various sessions from Tuesday 26 July onwards
Location:  Both online and at Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh
Arts & Business Scotland’s Building Capacity: Developing Skills programme is providing a limited number of fantastic opportunities for Chairs of heritage organisations or mixed arts/heritage organisations to network and learn from governance experts and peers.

Finzean Watermills Working Party
Date & Time: 14-18 September
Location: Finzean, Aberdeenshire
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) Scotland Working Party is at Finzean, Aberdeenshire this year. The work you will be undertaking will be to repair various parts of these largely timber mill buildings.  We will be repairing wooden guttering, mending broken or missing sections of the timber lade which brings water to the mill, creating a stock of paddles for the water wheels, doing a small amount of masonry / lime mortar work, and other small repair works. No prior experience in any aspect is necessary.  All we ask is an enthusiasm to learn, and a willingness to try your hand at new skills under instruction!

The Point by Dandara – Site Visit
Date & Time: 15 September 5:30-6:30pm
Location: Schoolhill, Aberdeen
The Point by Dandara is a Built to Rent development of 342 fully furnished studios, 1-bedroom apartments and co-living suites which are designed to offer a fuss-free way to live and rent. Its development has transformed a vacant derelict brownfield site in the heart of Aberdeen and brought housing back into the city centre. In addition to this, its development has also enabled refurbishment of the Category C listed Spire that sits in the heart of the site. Please join the RTPI for a fascinating tour of this development led by Dandara’s Austin McGuire.

Planning Aid Scotland, SP=EED Community Engagement Skills training
Date & Time: Thursday 15 September, 10am-3pm
Location: Online
Want to brush up on your community engagement skills? Join our next live ‘SP=EED’ training, Thursday 15 September 2022. SP=EED is a unique development programme designed to develop your skills and confidence in designing, delivering and evaluating effective community engagement.  Web link for booking/more information.

Conservation Areas Seminar
Date & Time: Thursday 29 September 10am-4:30pm
Location: Engine Shed, Stirling
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and BEFS will host a day of discussions focussing on Conservation Areas, their management, designation, and exploring their role in creating good places. This event is aimed at anyone with a role in decision making within a Conservation Area, Local Authority officers and policy makers.

STBA and SPAB Annual Conference – Sustaining Buildings 2022
Date & Time: 12 October 9.30am-5pm
Location: Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
This is an in-person only event.
The popular STBA / SPAB annual conference returns in-person this autumn for a full day of presentations and Q&A sessions by UK experts in the field. With retrofit and the green agenda firmly in the eye of the public, SPAB Scotland and STBA bring you a selection of speakers who will dive deeper into these topics and provide expert analysis of WUFI, embodied carbon analysis, training opportunities, and much more.

Vacancies

Glasgow City Heritage Trust Heritage Officer – Activities
Salary: £21,000
Status: Temp (Maternity cover)
Location: Glasgow
An exciting opportunity has become available for an Activities Officer to support the implementation of the Trust’s new Historic Built Environment Activities programme for the benefit of all people living, working in and visiting Glasgow. As part of our Activities Team, this will involve the planning and co-ordination of a range of events, including talks and debates, tours, practical workshops and training opportunities for both a professional audience and the general public. You will also assist with a number of other projects designed to achieve our strategic objectives, such as community engagement workshops.
Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 29 July 2022

Stirling City Heritage Trust Part-time Office Manager
Salary: £28,000 – £30,000 (FTE)
Status: Fixed Term until 31 March 2023 (with possibility of extension subject to funding)
Stirling City Heritage Trust are seeking an enthusiastic Office Manager to join their small team in Stirling.  Set up in 2004, it is one of 7 City Heritage Trusts operating in Scotland.
We are seeking an enthusiastic Office Manager to join our small team based at The Barracks in Stirling.
Closing date: 12 noon, Thursday 4 August 2022 

BEFS News

Professor Douglas Robertson, and BEFS Director briefly gave comment within Why Buildings Collapse highlighting the importance of building maintenance, and robust building data. Further information on activity within Scotland on this topic can be found here.

BEFS Director was also asked to contribute to a panel session on shaping the future direction of Scotland’s heritage sector, at the recent Scottish Historic Environment Forum (SHEF) conference. BEFS will be working with HES on engagement across the sector to inform the updated Our Place in Time national strategy, helping ensure it is fit for the future.

Looking to the future, Scottish Civic Trust have just released their findings from a survey of local civic and heritage groups. They recently discussed the initial findings, and highlighted a range of inclusive resources on their website.

In strategic news, leading heritage organisations have partnered to create a UK-wide Climate Hazards Group. And, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland has announced £2million funding to help the heritage sector build back after the pandemic.

In awards news, Europa Nostra have announced the 2022 winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, funded by the EU Creative Europe programme. The winners of the inaugural RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence have been announced. And, two buildings, selected from the Scotland regional heat, have been shortlisted for the national RIBA awards.

Congratulations to Chris Stewart who has been elected RIAS president. And a warm welcome to: Samantha McCabe and Dr Georgiana Varna who have been appointed to the board of Architecture and Design Scotland (AD&S).

BEFS are pleased to welcome Under One Roof as our latest member. They undertake vital work providing impartial advice on repairs and maintenance for flat owners across Scotland.

And finally: BEFS Member SPAB have the following offer this month – 20% off membership throughout July. From cottages to castles and from churches to cathedrals, SPAB help buildings and the people who care for them. For a limited time only get 20% off your first year of membership using discount code JULY20.

Consultations

Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill:
Consultation by Alex Rowley MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Region
Closes 27 July

Review of permitted development rights – phase 2 consultation
Scottish Government
Closes 3 August

Views on the impact of budgetary decisions including the Resource Spending Review on the culture sector in Scotland
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
*new* Closes 19 August

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: A Route Map to 2025 and beyond
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August

Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
*new* Closes 25 Sep 2022

Consultation Responses

The Architects Registration Board: Report on Consultation regarding Draft Guidance for Professional Indemnity Insurance.
RIAS

Analysis of responses to 2021 public consultation on a review of building standards relating to energy standards and associated topics, including ventilation, overheating and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Scottish Government

Publications

Rural Planning in the 2020s (RTPI July 2022)
A report detailing the changing face of rural areas across the UK and Ireland.

How to combine action on housing retrofit with tackling health inequalities and other injustices (CaCHE June 2022)
A briefing paper on the interconnected policy priorities that retrofitting homes can contribute to, whilst taking a Whole Systems Approach to retrofitting as a public health issue

Heritage Sector Resilience Plan 2022-24 (Historic Environment Forum June 2022)
Plan to provide a clear roadmap to a robust and resilient heritage sector, via a collaborative approach in which everyone with an interest plays their part.

Historic Environment Overview (HE, June 2022)
The Historic Environment Overview forms part of Heritage Counts, the annual audit of England’s heritage since 2002.

Culture Budget Tracker – Comparing 10 Years of Scottish Government Budgets (Culture Counts June 2022)
An interactive data visualisation to explore past Scottish Government culture budgets

Rethinking Heritage for Sustainable Development (Sophia Labadi June 2022)
A substantial and original assessment of whether and how heritage has contributed to three key dimensions of sustainable development

Scottish Government Publications

Stakeholders Update (01/07/22)
Planning Minister Tom Arthur and Chief Planner Fiona Simpson’s letter to update stakeholders on aspects of the work programme, heading into the summer recess period.

Building Standards Workforce Data Analysis Report 2021 (24/06/22)
Report providing a national-level view of the challenges facing the building standards profession in relation to resourcing, development of competencies and levels of turnover.

Planning Circular (30/06/22)
Providing guidance on the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022

Wellbeing Economy Monitor (24/06/22)
Monitor of a range of indicators providing a baseline for assessing progress towards the development of a wellbeing economy in Scotland.

Resource Spending Review and Pre-Budget Scrutiny (22/06/22)
Summary analysis of some of the key issues arising from the recent Scottish Government Resource Spending Review (RSR)

NPF4 (22/06/22)
Response to Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on an update on final version of NPF4

Building a Net Zero Future (15/06/22)
New regulations to cut emissions of all new-build homes by nearly a third.

News Releases

Launch of the first National Survey for Scotland’s museums and galleries in 20 years.
The survey will help to capture where the strengths are in the sector, and the areas where Scotland’s museums and galleries most need support.

Hands on Experience of Traditional Building Skills for young people in Paisley
Pupils in Renfrewshire get to grips with traditional building skills at a career-building event

Glencoe turf house keeps heritage building skills alive
The recreation 17th-century turf house was created using traditional materials, tools and techniques.

Successful Heritage Regeneration Programme Has Revived Historic Towns Across England
From Weston-super-Mare to Sunderland, 10 Historic England-funded Heritage Action Zones have been a powerful catalyst for regeneration.

Designing Buildings celebrates 10 years offering a free, open access wiki site for the construction industry
Practitioners share knowledge about things they know and find knowledge about things they don’t.

Spotlight on Britain’s rich heritage of traditional crafts
A new series from Sky Arts, The Prince’s Master Crafters: The Next Generation, will be airing later this year.

Opinion & Comment

Eiffel Tower riddled with rust and in need of repair (Guardian 04/02/22)

Over 100,000 homes in Scotland have nobody living in them – with some lying empty for decades (Daily Record 03/07/22)

Staffing crisis hits top Scottish tourist attractions (The Herald 01/07/22)

Who’s betting on Lottery funding? (Arts Professional 30/06/22)

Data provides opportunity for tourism and environment (The Scotsman 30/06/22)

Call to re-open Fife’s historic buildings as soon as possible after inspections (Fife Today 30/06/22)

Challenges on every front, but tourism will deliver for Scotland this summer (The Herald 28/06/22)

Andy Wightman: In modern Scotland, power is becoming more centralised (Holyrood Magazine 23/06/22)

The Greenest Building is the One Already Built (IHBC 19/06/22)

Departing Stores and Place Vandalism (Leigh Sparks 15/06/22)

Emma Dickson: Why the construction industry needs to investigate alternative paths to entry to address ongoing pain of skills shortages (Scottish Construction Now 14/06/22)

Parliamentary Questions

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-09248: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many surveyors and fire engineers it has procured to carry out single building assessments.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022

S6W-09249: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many single building assessments it has offered directly to date.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022

S6W-09250: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 80 unique blocks that submitted an expression of interest in the single building assessment it has written to.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022

S6W-09251: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the average day rate is of the contractors in its Cladding Remediation Unit.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022

S6W-09252: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many contractors have worked and (b) what the expenditure has been on contractors, in its Cladding Remediation Unit in each of the last 12 months.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022

S6W-09298: Sharon Dowey, South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) encourage applications and (b) make an application itself for Scottish sites to feature on a new tentative list of natural, cultural and mixed sites for potential nomination for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Answer expected on 21 July 2022

Parliamentary Questions & Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.

S6O-01231: Annabelle Ewing, Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party Date Lodged: 8 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Historic Environment Scotland about the reopening of assets in the Cowdenbeath constituency.
Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2022.

S6O-01292: Pauline McNeill, Glasgow, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 22 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what range of heating systems it anticipates will replace gas boilers in the near future.
Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2022

S6O-01295: Edward Mountain, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 22 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what level of grant per property will be made available to assist homeowners to achieve an EPC rating of band C or better by 2025.
Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2022

S6W-08961: Fulton MacGregor, Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party Date lodged: 9 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to (a) review legislation that allows property factor companies to own 50% or more of residential buildings and (b) introduce legislation to ensure that residents retain decision-making rights for their homes rather than property factor companies.
Answered on 21 June 2022

S6W-08983: Dean Lockhart, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 9 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government by which date in Autumn 2022 it will publish its previously delayed, updated Energy Strategy.
Answered on 23 June 2022

S6W-09092: Kaukab Stewart, Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party Date lodged: 10 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to respond to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report, Achieving net zero in social housing, in order to provide registered social landlords with as much certainty as possible as they plan to retrofit their stock of tenement accommodation to meet its climate targets, including in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency where the stock is reportedly extensive.
Answered on 21 June 2022

Events

For the latest information about BEFS Members’ events see our events calendar.

Discovering Dumfries – Walking tour of Dumfries
Date & Time: Thursday 21 July 5-7pm
Location: Armstrong Watson, Dumfries
An on-foot, after-work blend of learning, competition and refreshment with the opportunity to seek out nationally and locally important places and people, facts and features with colleagues and friends in the planning world. Members from other Scottish chapters, and wider, would be welcome.
Dumfries is on the train line between Newcastle and Glasgow, via Kilmarnock.
 
Scottish Young Planners’ Network Summer Social
Date & Time: Thursday 28 July, 5:30-10pm
Location: 3 Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh
Come and join the RTPI for the Scottish Young Planners’ Network summer social. Back in Edinburgh and soaking up the city atmosphere.

STBF – Festival of Traditional Buildings
Date & Time: Monday 22 – Friday 26 August
Location: Edinburgh and online (hybrid)
This will be the 10th Festival of Traditional Buildings, with a rebranding from Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival. In the last two years the event has been hosted online due to the pandemic, creating a truly global audience. Whilst the team are delighted to be back delivering the festival in-person, this will be a hybrid event so those unable to attend in person are still able to participate in the events. Full details also available here.

From Slogans to Sound Strategy? The 2022 SURF Annual Conference
Date & Time: Thursday 25 August 10am-3pm
Location: COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Anyone involved with the regeneration of Scottish places, is very likely to have heard repeated references to Community Wealth Building and Levelling Up in recent times. SURF’s 2022 Annual Conference will critically examine policy and practice developments associated with both concepts, with particular reference to the Argyll & Bute town of Dunoon.
Participants will learn about national policy developments associated with the new regeneration context from the Scottish and UK Governments, and hear emerging lessons on the ground from Dunoon and elsewhere in Scotland. Those attending will also have the opportunity to share their local experiences, and question leading practitioners, policy-makers and academics in interactive panel sessions.

Training

Online CPD: Upgrading a Traditional Tenement Building
Date & Time: Thursday 14 July 12:30-1:30pm
Location: Online
In this CPD, Chris Morgan of John Gilbert Architects will be discussing the current works being done to upgrade a traditional Glaswegian tenement building on Niddrie Road to meet the EnerPHit standard. The project, commissioned by Southside Housing Association, aims to demonstrate an approach that rigorously tackles energy efficiency and fuel poverty whilst also addressing issues related to health and well-being as well as heritage, building maintenance and management.
Attendees will get to learn about the works being undertaken, explore the innovative monitoring and 3D scans the team has been doing, and hear what the project means for helping Scotland’s historic housing stock tackle the climate crisis.

Vacancies

Historic Environment Scotland: Grants Managers
Salary: £26,341-£32,669
Status: Full time; one permanent role and one fixed term to 31 March 2023
Location: Edinburgh and the Lothians
Successful candidates will provide advice to potential grant applicants, assess grant applications and make recommendations to decision makers. They will also manage a caseload of grants in delivery, processing grant payment requests in a timely manner and effectively monitoring any risks to HES investment. They will have knowledge of grants management, experience of managing multiple projects and excellent communication skills.
Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 11 July 2022

BEFS News

Released yesterday (14/06/2022) Independence in the Modern World  is the first in what is promised to be a suite of documents in relation to the proposed referendum on Scottish Independence. As one would expect, the initial focus is on economics and comparative assessments.  At first glance, we can see that Heritage does get a reference: “Our natural heritage and capital – providing exceptional opportunities for tourism and underpinning a unique and recognised brand;” (p25), as does Culture, (more obliquely in relation to the factors from the National Performance Framework which have not been the focus of this paper) “Scotland has unique and widely recognised potential, such as culture and the environment.”  (p27) And, whilst Net Zero is mentioned, the prominence is less than might be expected. The document stating, there is; “A strong commitment to building a wellbeing economy and a world-leading approach to Net Zero – no longer seen as barriers to sustainable economic growth, these are increasingly regarded as markers of any nation serious about long-term economic development.” (p26) Further developments will undoubtedly follow in coming months.

HES has awarded £140,000 of funding to 11 heritage projects as part of the Historic Environment Support Fund. In addition, the newly formed Partnership Fund will also be open for expressions of interest at the end of this month. Full details can be found here.

The Residency artists for 2022 have been announced in the partnership between Craft Scotland and HES, bringing makers in residence to some of Scotland’s finest historical buildings.

Glasgow City Heritage Trust welcomes the announcement of £250,000 of funding from Glasgow City Council for repairs to some of the city’s heritage buildings.

BEFS appreciates the conclusions of the recent CaCHE Publication ‘Policy choices for Glasgow traditional tenements retrofitting for sustainable and affordable carbon reduction’.

Congratulations to the winners of the Scottish Civic Trust 2022 My Place Awards and My Place Photography Competition. The awards demonstrate the determination of Scotland’s communities and the passion of young people for the future of our built environment. The Scottish Civic Trust is also welcoming the return of Doors Open Days, Scotland’s largest free festival celebrating heritage and the built environment. The Festival returns to Edinburgh and East Lothian on 24 and 25 September with an in-person and online programme. For the first time, the programme will be guest-curated by Under One Roof, Scotland’s charity for supporting tenement owners.

In other Awards news, 2022 SURF Awards for Best Practice in Community Regeneration launched at a special event marking the Year of Stories in the Britannia Panopticon in Glasgow. You can download Award application materials or find out more about the Awards here: SURF Awards.

RIAS have announced the winners of Scotland’s Best Building of the Year 2022. The winners will now form the ‘longlist’ for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award, to be announced in November.

BEFS are delighted to note that, Under One Roof founder and consultant, Annie Flint, has been named as one of those made an Honorary Fellow by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).  Honorary Fellowships are awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to Scotland’s cultural, academic, business or political life and Annie’s dedication to keeping Scottish tenement buildings standing strong is unparalleled.

Congratulations also go to Nicholas Groves-Raines, co-director of Edinburgh’s Groves-Raines Architects Studios, who was recognised for services to architecture, heritage and conservation with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours – and has used his platform to urge changes to VAT in relation to retrofit.

The Scottish Law Commission work on Tenement Maintenance legislation continues and interested parties can sign-up to follow their progress. Further details can be found here.

And finally, BEFS would like to wish Petra Biberbach all the best with her new ventures as she departs BEFS Members, PAS, and we applaud her 17 years of service to people and planning.

Consultations

Built Environment Carbon Database
Phase 1 consultation, looking at the data structure of the entity-level section
Closes 24 June

Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill: Consultation by Alex Rowley MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Region
Closes 27 July

Review of permitted development rights – phase 2 consultation
Scottish Government
Closes 3 August

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August 

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: A Route Map to 2025 and beyond
Closes 22 August

Publications

Empire, Slavery & Scotland’s Museums (Museums Galleries Scotland, June 2022)
A set of recommendations for the Scottish Government from the Project Steering Group. In developing the recommendations, the Steering Group looked broadly at potential mechanisms for addressing the legacies of empire, colonialism, and historic slavery in museum spaces and through collections.
 
Technical Paper 36: Architecture and Health in Traditional Buildings (HES, May 2022)
Details how different building features were designed to enable the proper ventilation of buildings and considers how good ventilation can help to prevent airborne diseases, build-up of chemical compounds and CO2 and overheating.

Policy Choices for Glasgow Traditional Tenements Retrofitting for Sustainable and Affordable Carbon Reduction (People Place and Policy, 24 May 2022)
Addressing the sustainability of Scotland’s older tenemental housing stock.

Value Toolkit (Construction Innovation Hub, May 2022)
The Value Toolkit enables value-based decision making focused on driving better social, environmental and economic outcomes, improving industry’s impact on current and future generations.

Culture in Crisis: Recommendations for Policy Makers (Culture Commons & the Centre for Cultural Value, May 2022)
New policy recommendations, to support the creative and cultural sector recover and rebuild in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sustaining Historic Churches: what does recent research tell us? (Historic Buildings Alliance, April 2022)
Charlotte Dodgeon summaries nine recent reports bearing on the future of historic churches, and puts the reports in context in a short introduction.

A Practical Guide to Permitted Changes of Use (4th ed)
A definitive, comprehensive practical guide to permitted changes of use within the The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015

The Environment Act: A Guide for Planners & Developers
A Guide for Planners on the Environment Act, England’s new framework of environmental protection since December 2021.

BRE Report 209 Guidance: Fundamental Changes to Daylight and Sunlight Assessments
Advice on site layout planning in England & NI to achieve good sunlighting and daylighting, both within buildings and in the open spaces between them and can be used to support right to light planning.

Scottish Government Publications

NPF4 (08/06/22)
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee request an update on final version of NPF4

Investing in Scotland’s Future: Resource Spending Review Framework (08/06/22)
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee responds to the Resource Spending Review

National Transport Strategy (NTS2) – Second Delivery Plan – 2022-2023 (08/06/22)
The second NTS2 Delivery Plan to embed the Sustainable Transport Hierarchy and guide decision making and investment priorities.

UK Government Publications

How to Improve Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings in Wales: Technical Guidance (CADW, April 2022)
Guidance from the Welsh Government on improving the energy efficiency of a traditional or historic building.

News Releases

Now in its 10^th year, Europa Nostra’s 7 Most Endangered Programme is a civil society campaign to save Europe’s endangered heritage. Nominations are welcomed for sites, one of which will be eligible for an EIB Heritage Grant of up to €10,000 to start the implementation of actions, studies or assistance measures for the threatened site.

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has warned that third sector groups have been let down by a lack of multi-year funding commitments in the Scottish Government’s Spending Review.

RICS was delighted to open its new Scotland office, situated at 10 Charlotte Square, on 9 June. It will act as a hub for members and cross-industry collaboration, with remote working capabilities, member support, and in-person events and CPD.

Opinion & Comment

Sir Geoff Palmer: Scotland’s economy was built on the British Empire and slavery. Now our museums are facing up to that (Herald 13/06/22)

Scottish Housing News: Dangerous cladding costs expected to top £1bn in Scotland (13/06/22)

Stephen Norris: Remains of Dumfries and Galloway port designated a national monument (Daily Record 09/06/22)

Kirsteen Paterson: Home from Home: The housing tensions in Scotland’s tourist hotspots (Holyrood Magazine 08/06/22)

Francesca Osowska: The Age of Crises: The Nature-Climate Emergency in Scotland (Holyrood Magazine 08/06/22)

Andrew Yule: Adaptive reuse breathing new life into Scotland’s forgotten buildings (The Scotsman 07/06/22)

Charlotte Mullins: Ukraine’s heritage is under direct attack: why Russia is looting the country’s museums (The Guardian 27/05/22)

Parliamentary Questions

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-08983: Dean Lockhart, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 9 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government by which date in Autumn 2022 it will publish its previously delayed, updated Energy Strategy.
Answer expected on 23 June 2022

S6W-08961: Fulton MacGregor, Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: 9 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to (a) review legislation that allows property factor companies to own 50% or more of residential buildings and (b) introduce legislation to ensure that residents retain decision-making rights for their homes rather than property factor companies.
Answer expected on 23 June 2022

S6W-09092: Kaukab Stewart, Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: 10/06/2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to respond to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report, Achieving net zero in social housing, in order to provide registered social landlords with as much certainty as possible as they plan to retrofit their stock of tenement accommodation to meet its climate targets, including in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency where the stock is reportedly extensive. Answer expected on 24/06/2022

Parliamentary Questions & Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.

S6O-01168: Jackie Dunbar, Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date Lodged: 25/05/2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the condition of school buildings.
Answered in the Chamber on 1 June 2022

Events

For the latest information about BEFS Members’ events see our events calendar.

IHBC Annual School 2022 – Aberdeen
Date & Time: 15-18 June
Location: Variety of in person and online events.
The IHBC’s 2022 Aberdeen School explores how practitioners in the 21st Century can and should manage conservation and heritage that is, in different ways, ‘on the edge’.

RIAS Bookshop Lates – 20th Century Japan in 20 Buildings
Date & Time: Wednesday 22 June 6-7pm
Location: 15 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2BE
RIAS Fellow John Barr and host Kieran Gaffney, director of recent RIAS award-winning studio Konishi Gaffney, will be discussing the book ’20th Century Japan in 20 Buildings’.
 
RICS: Land Use & Community Wealth Building with the Scottish Land Commission
Date & Time: Thursday 23 June, 1-2pm
Location: RICS Online Learning Academy – Open to all
The ways we own and use land and buildings shape the kind of economy, climate and communities we live in. The Scottish Land Commission’s guidance sets out actions that can be taken in the short and long term to support an inclusive, sustainable, and empowered local economy. Gemma Campbell, Land Rights and Responsibilities Manager, and Kathie Pollard, Policy and Practice Lead, will provide an overview of the guidance and share examples of good practice from across Scotland, followed by a Q&A session.

RSA Fellows’ – MCICH Network
Date & Time: Thursday 23 June (moved from 14^th) 6pm-7.30pm
Location: St Vincent’s Chapel, Edinburgh
Fellow-led NETWORKS brainstorm and debate, with non-Fellow participation welcome re culture and heritage and other topical issues.  This is an informal event designed to allow face to face discussion over light refreshments. Booking essential.

A&BS Business Briefing: Fair Work
Date & Time: Wednesday 29 June 12-1pm
Location: Online via Zoom
In response to the employment implications of the pandemic, the Scottish Government and other funders are urging all sectors to invest in a future of work that is fairer, more inclusive, ethical and sustainable. Change can only happen when all sectors are involved. In this session, experts from Anderson Strathern will explore the Fair Work Program, what it involves and what it means for your organisation.

Heritage Trust Network – Network Day
Date & Time: Thursday 30 June 10:15am-3:45pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Join us online for our bi-monthly Network Day. A day of networking and learning exclusively for Heritage Trust Network members.
You can book a ticket for the day and attend those sessions that are important to you or share a ticket with a colleague. Members have free entry and should book using the discount code which has been emailed to you. If you have not received your discount code, please contact Beverley.

STBF – Festival of Traditional Buildings
Date & Time: Monday 22 – Friday 26 August
Location: Edinburgh and online (hybrid)
This will be the 10th Festival of Traditional Buildings, with a rebranding from Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival. In the last two years the event has been hosted online due to the pandemic, creating a truly global audience. Whilst the team are delighted to be back delivering the festival in-person, this will be a hybrid event so those unable to attend in person are still able to participate in the events. Full details also available here.

Training

A&BS Course: Legacy giving. Now is the time – if you do it right. Learn how to!
Date &Time: Thursday 23 June 9:30am-1:30pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Want to know how to effectively talk about legacies to trigger interest & action? Or are you looking for ways to integrate it into your current fundraising at little or no cost? Backed up by data and practical advice, this course will cover market growth, Will-making patterns and changes during Covid. It will explore how to talk and write about legacies in an upbeat but sensitive way, cultivate and steward prospects as well as convince the board to take action.

Heritage Digital Academy
Date & Time: 23 June, 28 June, 5 July
Location: Online
Heritage Digital Academy are offering free online training events on all things digital for heritage organisations across the UK. These workshop sessions are design to help individuals develop new digital practices and build key skills that can be brought back to their organisation. Topics include: Copyright, growing your Digital Audience and Data Protection.

Vacancies

Edinburgh World Heritage – Energy Efficiency (Retrofit) Specialist 
Salary: £28,840-£30,900
Status: Full time to 31 March 2025 (part time may be considered)
Location: Edinburgh
Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 27 June 2022 
Edinburgh World Heritage are looking for an enthusiastic Energy Efficiency (Retrofit) Specialist to deliver innovative energy efficiency projects, carry out targeted research and produce guidance aiming to reduce carbon emissions of historic buildings – while preserving their historical and architectural significance. Key themes comprise energy improvements to the building fabric, low carbon heating systems and combination of both.

Arts & Business Scotland – Member: Board of Trustees
Salary: Not remunerated
Closing date: Monday, 27 June 2022 
Arts & Business Scotland is the only agency in Scotland enabling creative partnerships between the business and culture sectors. There are now a number of opportunities for talented and passionate individuals to join the Board, responsible for setting and shaping the strategic vision in conjunction with the Senior Management Team.

COTAC – ‘Virtual School’ Project Officer 
Salary: £12 per hour (£3,600 total); 12.5 hrs per week on average
Status: Part time; temporary (June – November 2022, 24 weeks total)
Location: remote (with occasional meetings in person)
Closing date: Thursday, 30 June 2022 
The Council on Training in Architectural Conservation (COTAC) is seeking a Project Officer to help deliver the Heritage Lottery funded COTAC Virtual School, an entry-level heritage and historic environment conservation education unit delivered entirely digitally.

BEFS News

On Tuesday 31st May the Scottish Government published a Resource Spending Review, the first since 2011. In this Bulletin’s blog, BEFS Director has given a brief overview of the potential places to look for resource change which may impact the sector most broadly. There are big changes across the public sector landscape mentioned in the Review, and first glance shows significant reductions to some finance pots. We may not have the full extent of the picture until the next Budget, and there may well be more detail to come.

Historic Environment Scotland have launched new Talking About Heritage guides, designed to empower people and communities to explore their heritage, to understand it, to celebrate it, and to ensure it’s recognised.

Having attended a recent roundtable on stonemasonry skills, and traditional skills shortages more generally, BEFS notes with interest the launch of a new skills portal for careers in the built environment.  Over the past few months BEFS has explored the access and availability of data relating to our existing built environment with David Hume Institute, and notes some similar and related challenges highlighted in this new report commissioned by the DCMS.

Culture Counts have written to Neil Gray MSP Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development with recommendations on the Culture Strategy, reflecting the reports formed through sector wide discussions at the National Partnership for Culture Fora. 

The 2022 SURF Awards will launch on 9th June, with categories in Supporting Youth Employability, Creative Regeneration, Community Led Regeneration, Housing & Regeneration and Improving Scotland’s Places. We also pass on congratulations to SURF’s new Chair, Brian MacDonald. Congratulations also go to the winners of the Scottish Civic Trust 2022 My Place Awards and My Place Photography Competition.

Historic England’s newly published Wellbeing and Heritage Strategy sets out approaches aimed at improving delivery, enhancing the social impact of programmes, highlighting inequities that heritage can challenge, and communicating the value of heritage. The Heritage Alliance has published their UK Shared Prosperity Fund Prospectus – Briefing for Heritage.

On 20 May 2022, the General Assembly of Europa Nostra – the European Voice of Civil Society Committed to Cultural and Natural Heritage – has enthusiastically appointed Cecilia Bartoli, the world-renowned opera star, as the new President of the organisation, for an initial mandate of five years.

Consultations

Improving access to the heritage sector
Historic Environment Scotland
Opened 11 May
Closes 10 June

Share Your Views On Cumbernauld Town Centre
Historic Environment Scotland
Opened 12 May
Closes 12 June

Built Environment Carbon Database
Phase 1 consultation, looking at the data structure of the entity-level section
*new* Closes 24 June 2022

Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill: Consultation by Alex Rowley MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Region
Closing date: 27 July

Review of permitted development rights – phase 2 consultation
Scottish Government
Opened 11 May
Closes 3 August

Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill
Scottish Government
*new* Closes 22 August

Publications

Talking About Heritage (Historic Environment Scotland, 30/4/22)
The new guidance from HES is available in four parts: Investigate Heritage; Understand Heritage; Celebrate Heritage; Care for Heritage.

Exposed: The Collapse Of Green Space Provision In England And Wales (New Economic Foundation, 3/5/22)
Neighbourhood green space provision has declined by one third in 21st-century developments, resulting in 9m fewer trips to green space every year.

Major study calls for tax powers to be devolved to Scotland’s biggest cities (23/5/22)
‘Scotland’s Urban AGE 2022’ is a sequel to a 2018 report and outlines what has changed (and what has not) in light of the pandemic and the accelerating net zero carbon agenda. The report calls for retrofitting to the built environment ‘on an industrial scale’.

Action for Climate Empowerment: A guide for galleries, libraries, archives and museums (Curating Tomorrow)
This short guide aims to help cultural and educational institutions, community organisations and others to understand how they can contribute to and support the new Glasgow Work Programme on Action for Climate Empowerment.

Understanding Scotland: A New Survey For Scotland (Diffley Partnership, 05/2022)
Understanding Scotland is a new quarterly survey tool measuring the most important facets of our lives and decision-making in Scotland: our society, economy, and environment.

Local government in Scotland: Overview 2022 (Accounts Commission, 05/2022)

Wellbeing and Heritage Strategy (Historic England, 19/5/22)

Rural Land Market Insights Report: A report to the Scottish Land Commission (April 2022)

Carbon Markets, Public Interest and Landownership in Scotland: A discussion paper (May 2022)

Circular Economy Bill Policy Paper Circular Communities Scotland (May 2022)

Scottish Government Publications

Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2021 (24/5/22)
The Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (SVDLS) is a data collection undertaken to establish the extent and state of vacant and derelict land in Scotland.

Resource Spending Review (31/05/22)

UK Government Publications

Better data on the cultural economy, scoping study (DCMS May 2022)

News Releases

RICS Governing Council establishes strategic oversight group for DEI (23/5/22)
The Governing Council of RICS has established a strategic oversight group to steer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives focused on building a culture of accountability and belonging, and ensuring the membership and profession better reflect the societies they serve.

Young Scot card holders get access to 600 historic sites for only £1 (Press & Journal, 24/5/22)
The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and Historic Houses Scotland are all offering their properties for the scheme.

Historic Argyll township attraction to re-open after earthquake damage (The Scotsman, 23/5/22)
Following emergency repairs and ongoing conservation work, Auchindrain will re-open for the summer after an earthquake caused damage last November.

New skills portal launched to boost career opportunities in Scotland’s built environment (Project Scotland, 24/5/22)
Officially known as the Built Environment Workforce Development Portal, the resource will provide a breakdown of re-skilling and up-skilling courses by theme, occupation and region.

Archaeologists begin dig to recover remnants of Glasgow Garden Festival (STV News 25/5/22)
A team from the University of Glasgow started work on the project on Monday, using a geophysical survey to identify what remains of the much-loved event.

Opinion & Comment

David Cole: Bolder steps are needed if Scotland’s infrastructure is to be decarbonised (The Scotsman, 10/5/22)
Chair of ICE Scotland, David Cole, summaries five key recommendations from a recent report, which concluded that more leadership and funding and an improved planning and regulatory system are required.

Emily Tracey: Scotland’s historic environment can be the keystone of our green recovery (Holyrood, 24/5/22)
Historic Environment Scotland’s Head of Estates Strategy, Emily Tracey, argues our historic places should be seen as a solution, not a problem.

Luing, a second chance for Scottish slate (HES 26/05/2022)

Susan Mansfield: What if…?/Dundee – what happened next? (Scotland + Venice, 24/5/22)
Hosted by the V&A’s learning team, ‘What if… Dundee’ focussed on the North East and East End wards of the city, where a major new campus, which would include two secondary schools and a community hub, was being planned.

Matthew Adams: Neighbourhood green space is in rapid decline, deepening both the climate and mental health crises (The Conversation, 18/5/22)
Routine access to nature has become an equality and justice issue.

Is hybrid working here to stay? (Office for National Statistics, 23/5/22)
Almost half of working adults were working from home at times during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but what will business as usual look like with restrictions lifted?

Elgin Marbles Row Deepens (Herald 30/05/2022)

Parliamentary Questions

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6O-01168: Jackie Dunbar, Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 25/05/2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the condition of school buildings.
Due in Chamber on 01/06/2022

Parliamentary Questions and Answers

Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.

S6W-08458: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date lodged: 11 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on making it possible for communities to take ownership of unproductive land for projects that contribute to climate action, in light of the recommendation by Scotland’s Climate Assembly.
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 May 2022

Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 12/05/2022
S6W-08482: Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS)
S6W-08487: reform of EPC ratings for fabric efficiency standard R
S6W-08488: new minimum energy efficiency standards R
S6W-08489: whether fabric efficiency regulations will require compliance at specified points in the building lifecycle R
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 23 May 2022
S6W-08508: Housing to 2040 – review of adaptations.
Answered by Shona Robison on 25 May 2022

S6W-08514: Monica Lennon, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 12/05/2022
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that the decarbonisation of infrastructure will be complete ahead of the 2045 net zero target.
Answered by Michael Matheson (24/05/2022)

Other Parliamentary Activity

Motions

Community Wealth Building – Delivering Transformation in Scotland’s Local and Regional Economies
Motion For Debate
S6M-04580 Tom Arthur
Due in Chamber 25/5/22

Debates

Listed Buildings (Consultation)
Scottish Parliament on 26th May 2022
(S6O-01135) Gillian Mackay (Green)
To ask the Scottish Government how Historic Environment Scotland ensures that communities are adequately consulted when considering whether a building should be listed.
Answered by Neil Gray, Culture Minister

Events

For the full list of BEFS Members’ upcoming events see our events calendar.

HES: Community Heritage Conversations: Your Voice and Place-Making
Date & Time: 8 June, 10:00
Online
Learn about how to promote and celebrate your heritage in decisions about place. During this ‘Community Heritage Conversations’ event, speakers from Historic Environment Scotland (HES), Planning Aid Scotland (PAS) and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust will explain the different ways of exploring and recognising your most valued places.

Icon Scotland: Conservation at the Rosslyn Chapel
Date & Time: 10 June, 10.30 – 12:30
Location: Rosslyn Chapel, Chapel Loan, Roslin, EH25 9PU
Join Icon Scotland for a visit to the Rosslyn Chapel including an introduction by Ian Gardner, Director of the Rosslyn Chapel Trust, and talks by expert conservators. Alex Kelly of Eden Conservation will explore ongoing stone conservation at the chapel. Rob Thomson, Preventive Conservator, will discuss relative humidity control in the chapel.
Tickets are £4 for Icon members, £3 for Student Icon members, and £6 for non-members.

SoAoS Rhind Lectures: Unearthing the African Diaspora
Date & Time: 10 – 12 June, various times
Augustine United Church, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL and Online
African Diaspora Archaeology studies people of African descent in the Americas and elsewhere. This research began in mid-20th century on the sites of enslaved and liberated communities. Today it is one of the fastest growing study areas in the archaeology of the modern world. In this lecture series, Professor Theresa Singleton discusses this developing archaeological discipline using her own projects as case studies beginning with her introduction to diaspora studies as a graduate student, to her current research on self-liberated and other free communities.

SHBT: Technology and the Country House – Understanding Design and Materiality with Drones, LiDAR and 3D Scanning
Date & Time: 15 June, 18:00
Online
Part of SHBT’s spring lecture series, New Perspectives on the Country House. Dan Bochman explores the use of drones, LiDAR and 3D Scanning to better understand the design and materiality of country houses.

Archaeology Scotland’s Field School – Investigating Cathkin Park 
Date & Time: 15 June – 26 June
Join Archaeology Scotland this summer to excavate one of Scotland’s most iconic sporting sites – Cathkin Park. You will be part of a team of archaeologists and will gain experience in a range of archaeology techniques and skills including community archaeology, excavation, creative interpretation, and digital recording.

GCHT: A Bird’s-Eye View of the Development of Glasgow University: The Gilbert Scott Building
Date & Time: 22 June, 19:30
Online
Taking Thomas Sulman’s 1864 bird’s-eye view of Glasgow as a starting point, this talk will explore a pivotal period in the history of development of both the city and the University. Using contemporary 19th-century photographs, engravings and paintings, Nick Haynes will guide us around the extraordinary complex of 17th-, 18th- and 19th- century buildings in the Old College, and set the scene for the construction of Scotland’s largest Gothic building on Gilmorehill.

RICS: Land Use and Community Wealth Building with the Scottish Land Commission
Date & Time: 23 June, 13:00
Online
SLC’s guidance makes the link between the Scottish Government’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement and the land property pillar of community wealth building, and sets out actions that can be taken in the short and long term to support an inclusive, sustainable, and empowered local economy. Gemma Campbell, Land Rights and Responsibilities Manager, and Kathie Pollard, Policy and Practice Lead, will provide an overview of the guidance and share examples of good practice from across Scotland, followed by a Q&A session.

Training and Conferences

Heritage Digital Academy
Heritage Digital Academy are offering free online training events on all things digital for heritage organisations across the UK. These sessions are design to help individuals develop new digital practices and build key skills that can be brought back to their organisation.

• 8^th June – Webinar: What is a data protection officer, and why does your organisation need one?
• 9^th June – Webinar: Copyright and creative commons
• 23^rd June – Workshop: Copyright considerations for digital services
• 28^th June – Workshop: Building and growing your audience with digital
• 5^th July – Workshop: Understanding Data Protection and making a plan to stay compliant

IHBC Annual School 2022 – Aberdeen
15-18 June
Offering a variety of delegate options:
Heritage MarketPlace virtual: 15 June
Day School hybrid (in-person & virtual): 17 June
Full School includes in-person tours and events: 16-18 June
The IHBC’s 2022 Aberdeen School explores how practitioners in the 21st Century can and should manage conservation and heritage that is, in different ways, ‘on the edge’.

Vacancies

National Trust for Scotland: Conservation Maintenance Surveyor (x4)
Pay Band: £36,523 – £40,238
Contract: Permanent / Full Time
The National Trust for Scotland is seeking 4 Maintenance Surveyors to support their work across the country, embedded in regional teams. As the Regional Building Maintenance Specialist, you will work closely with the Regional Building (conservation) Surveyor to advise and support Operations Teams, putting the Trust’s Conservation Principles into practice through planned and reactive maintenance of all built structures.  This is a new role and you will be instrumental in shaping the way the Trust manages the conservation maintenance of its buildings, helping to build maintenance plans for each building and dealing with backlog maintenance projects.
Closing date: 10:00, Friday 3 June

Assistant Project Officer, Maybole Regeneration Project
28 hours / week, temporary role for 12 months
£26,922 – £29,361 per year
As Maybole’s Town Centre Regeneration gathers pace an exciting opportunity has arisen to join our team for 12 months.  As Assistant Project Officer you will have the opportunity to contribute to an ambitious town centre regeneration scheme which places community at its centre. We are looking for someone with experience in project management and/or interest and experience in community led regeneration, placemaking , development, historic environment and working with communities. This is a fantastic opportunity to develop skills and experience in a complex regeneration project that is set to transform Maybole’s historic town centre while working closely with strategic and local partners.
Closing date: 7 June

Scottish Civic Trust: Doors Open Days Communications Officer
Part-time: 16 hours/ week, £25,000 pro rata
Fixed term to 31 March 2023, with the possibility of extension
Doors Open Days welcomes almost 100,000 visitors each September from across the world. For many of our visitors, our online and print presence will be their first introduction to the festival. This role will play an important role within the Doors Open Days team and the continuing development of the festival. Acting as a liaison between Doors Open Days, our visitors and the media, the Doors Open Days Communications Officer will ensure that our public image,  brand and messaging remain strong and consistent.
Closing date: 10 June

Edinburgh World Heritage: Energy Efficiency (Retrofit) Specialist
Full time to 31 March 2025 (part time may be considered)
Salary: £28,840-£30,900
EWH are looking for an enthusiastic Energy Efficiency (Retrofit) Specialist to deliver innovative energy efficiency projects, carry out targeted research and produce guidance aiming to reduce carbon emissions of historic buildings – while preserving their historical and architectural significance.
Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 27 June 2022

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