BEFS, Author at Built Environment Forum Scotland

15 Oct 2020

Applications now open to the NLHF funded Business Support Programme, ‘Surviving to Thriving’.

The Business Support Programme ‘Surviving to Thriving: Supporting Sustainable Scottish Heritage Businesses’ was developed by Built Environment Forum Scotland, Museums Galleries Scotland and greenspace scotland to support heritage organisations in Scotland to develop sustainable business models.

The programme will deliver a comprehensive resilience and leadership training programme free of charge to approximately 40 heritage organisations across Scotland.

Training will be tailored to the needs of participants, focusing on four main themes of leadership, governance, business planning and local community engagement, and will be delivered through leadership cohorts, training courses, organisational interventions, and bespoke facilitated sessions.

Designed to build resilience across Scotland’s heritage sector, StT will invest in individual and organisational capacity through a focus on building confidence and knowledge in business practice.

This project is designed to upskill and support the work of the heritage workforce across Scotland, including representatives from at-risk organisations in all fields, but with a specific focus on those organisations with tangible assets.

Training will directly engage with the heritage workforce at vulnerable organisations and will seek to address the skills gaps identified as required for a thriving heritage sector.

The programme delivery will commence April 2021 and run for 18 months, with the expectation that participating organisations participate in between 20-30 days training within that time period across the four strands.

Eligible organisations will be awarded a community grant to enable them to fully participate in the skills programme.

To have a chat about the programme and application join us at surgeries throughout November. Book a place at .

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8 Oct 2020

Get The Latest Built Environment News, Policy Developments, Publications, Consultations And More.

BEFS News

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has launched a new £2.6 million fund to support the recovery of Scotland’s historic environment sector from the impacts of COVID-19, with applications opening on Monday 12 October. The Historic Environment Recovery Fund has two funding streams available which organisations can apply to for grants from £10,000 – £100,000.

The Scottish Government has published its £24bn draft Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021 22 to 2025 26. The plan sets out a vision for future infrastructure to support Scotland’s resilience and enable an inclusive, net-zero emissions society. The plan focuses on adopting and building on the recommendations of the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland’s phase 1 report and includes more than £8bn for environmental sustainability and the transition to net-zero emissions, including £250m for forestry and peatlands; almost £5bn to boost inclusive economic growth, including £30m for the National Islands Plan; and more than £11bn for cities, towns, villages and rural areas, including £275m for town centres and nearly £2bn on health infrastructure and equipment. BEFS Director, Euan Leitch, explores how the draft Infrastructure Investment Plan impacts on Scotland’s built heritage here.

The Vacant & Derelict Land Taskforce has made a series of recommendations to the Scottish Government which aim to prevent land falling into long-term disrepair. Recommendations include the introduction of legislation for compulsory sales orders, a review of existing land assembly mechanisms and reform of the current approach to public sector land disposals to lower barriers to land reuse.

Architecture and Design Scotland launched the report Designing for a Changing Climate: Creating Carbon Conscious Places this week. It sets out proposals on how the planning and design of our towns, cities and landscapes can help combat the climate emergency. Heather Claridge, Principle Design Officer, Architecture and Design Scotland, introduces the research and outlines the key findings here.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is looking for your views on Talking About Heritage. Talking About Heritage is guidance HES are producing to help to investigate, to share and celebrate, and to achieve recognition for the heritage that matters to you. It is intended to be used as a tool by anyone with an interest in exploring and talking about the heritage that is important to them. You might use it if you are creating a Local Place Plan or researching places that are important to you.

In the Autumn 2020 AHSS Magazine, BEFS Director Euan Leitch explores the links between historic attitudes to slavery and contemporary action on climate crisis in an article called Climate Culpability.

Consultations

Talking About Heritage
Opened 22 Sep 2020 and closes 15 Dec 2020.

Emerging from lockdown survey – Museums Galleries Scotland

H2020 SHERPA project welcomes your opinions on the challenges, opportunities and vision for rural areas of Scotland to 2040

Coronavirus (COVID-19): supporting people and communities – call for ideas
Responses should be submitted no later than 23 October 2020.

Programme for Reviewing and Extending Permitted Development Rights (PDR) in Scotland – Consultation on Phase 1 Proposals
Opened 1 Oct 2020 and closes 12 Nov 2020.

Draft Infrastructure Investment Plan – 2021-22 to 2025-26
Opened 24 Sep 2020 and closes 19 Nov 2020.

Scottish Planning Policy and Housing: Technical Consultation on Proposed Policy Amendments
Closes 9 Oct 2020.

Short Term Lets: Consultation on a licensing scheme and planning control areas in Scotland
Closes 16 Oct 2020.

A consultation on the future of the Land Court and the Lands Tribunal
Closes 19 Oct 2020.

External wall systems – advice note: background, consultation questions and response form
This targeted consultation will be completed on 25 October 2020.

Planning for the future (England)
Closes 29 October 2020.

Proposed Changes to Pre-Application Consultation Requirements in Planning
Closes 6 Nov 2020.

Publications

Building standards verification service: workforce strategy (SG 01/10/20)

Transforming Scotland’s Approach to Vacant and Derelict Land – Recommendations from the Vacant and Derelict Land Taskforce (SLC 01/10/20)

Strategic Plan for 2020-23 (SLC 29/09/20)

Help to Buy (Scotland) monitoring: characteristics of households report: 2019-2020 (SG 29/09/20)

A New Economic Case for Social Housing (Shelter Scotland 29/09/20)

Heritage, Health and Wellbeing (THA 28/09/20)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): tourism and hospitality sector guidance (SG 25/09/20)

Further evidence on the impact of Covid-19 on Scotland’s heritage sector (NLHF 24/09/20)

Green Recovery: Low Carbon Energy Project Capital Funding: form and guidance (SG 24/09/20)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Phase 3: guidance for the safe use of places of worship (SG 18/09/20)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): impact on communities and priorities for recovery – research (SG 17/09/20)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): impact on wellbeing – research (SG 17/09/20)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for the performing arts and venues sector (SG 17/09/20)

Engaging with our communities to support recovery and renewal (NSfCE 09/20)

Creating Communities: places beyond the pandemic – How can place-based policy and regeneration enhance communities and prosperity? (Create Streets 09/20)

Position Statement on Landscape and Resilience to Environmental Challenges (SLA 09/20)

Position Statement on Landscape and Health and Wellbeing (SLA 09/20)

Position Statement on Landscape, Land Use and Economy (SLA 09/20)

Landscape and Place for Success – Call for Action (SLA 09/20)

Scottish Government News Releases

Construction Recovery (SG 06/10/20)
The Construction Leadership Forum (CLF) has published a plan for the sector’s recovery from the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).

11% rise in number of new build homes completed in 2019 (SG 29/09/20)
In the year to end December 2019, 22,386 new build homes were completed across all sectors. This was a 2,291 (11%) increase on the previous year and the highest number of homes built since 2007.

Delivering housing (SG 29/09/20)
The annual number of affordable homes approved and started has increased, despite the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

Rebuilding a fairer Scotland after COVID-19 (SG 28/09/20)
Organisations and community groups are being asked to share ideas and evidence based on their experiences of responding to the pandemic, and their engagement with people with lived experience of poverty and inequality.

Recovery and renewal on the Clyde (SG 27/06/20)
The mission to make the area around the River Clyde an engine of sustainable and inclusive growth and kick-start its economic recovery has been bolstered by the launch of a new fund.

Protecting Scotland’s marine environment (SG 25/09/20)
Europe’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) has been announced by Natural Environment Minister Mairi Gougeon.

£24bn infrastructure plan will boost jobs (SG 24/10/20)
Tens of thousands of jobs will be supported by the Scottish Government’s new £24 billion Draft Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP).

Driving international climate action (SG 24/09/20)
Scotland has been formally confirmed as European Co-Chair of the Under2 Coalition, a network of more than 200 governments set up to drive climate action across the world.

Helping communities through the pandemic (SG 24/09/20)
The Scottish Government has now committed more than £350 million to support communities during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

News Releases

COVID-19 Museum Development Fund opens today (MGS 08/10/20)
We are pleased to announce that our COVID-19 Museum Development Fund opens today for organisations that manage Accredited museums and are not eligible for the Recovery and Resilience Fund.

HES launches £2.6 million recovery fund for Scotland’s historic environment sector (HES 06/10/20)
The Historic Environment Recovery Fund will support organisations and safeguard jobs following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scottish Government Emergency Funds Update (NL 01/10/20)
With so many announcements of late, we want to provide you with a status update on the Scottish Government’s emergency funds for creativity and culture being delivered through Creative Scotland, to keep you informed through these times.

Re-use derelict land to support economic growth and wellbeing, says Taskforce (SLC 01/10/20)
Derelict land is a wasted resource that should help to deliver national ambitions for a fair and green recovery, a national taskforce said today.

Historic Environment Scotland celebrates its 5th Birthday (HES 01/10/20)
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is marking a special milestone today (Thursday 1 October) as the organisation turns five years old.

RIAS Showcase 2020 (RIAS 10/20)
The RIAS Awards 2020 showcase is now live! This celebrates the eighteen shortlisted projects for the 2020 RIAS Awards.

IHBC’s CPD Circular (IHBC 29/10/20)
Sign up for a digest of webinars, lectures, conferences, training, and other events focused on the historic built environment, taken from IHBC Branches, Recognised CPD Providers, and our wider network. Anyone can sign up to the free monthly CPD Circular, or browse our Events Calendar.

2020 SURF Awards Shortlist Revealed (SURF 25/09/20)
In what has been an unprecedented year for everyone SURF is pleased to announce the 2020 shortlist for our prestigious national awards scheme, which showcases success in responding to regeneration challenges in communities across Scotland.

Scotland’s Landscape Alliance Launches Landscape And Place For Success (SLA 09/20)
Scotland’s Landscape Alliance Launches Call for Action – Landscape and Place for Success and the Working Groups established at the SLA launch have developed 3 detailed Position Statements.

Scottish Lime Centre Trust’s Traditional Building Skills Bursary Scheme (SLC 09/20)
We wouldn’t want you to miss out if the cost of our courses is an issue! That’s why we are always trying to find ways of helping you cover the cost of attending our courses.

Community Building Grants (TRT 09/20)
Capital funding for a building to support the work of charities with an annual income of between £25,000 and £2 million.

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”.

Question S5W-32140: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its short-term let consultation document makes no reference to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector.

Question S5W-32142: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered piloting its proposed short-term let regulations before implementation.

Question S5W-32143: Oliver Mundell, Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 29/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its Programme for Government advising that plans for the Transient Visitor Levy have been put on hold due to COVID-19, and that “future consideration of the levy will take account of the changed context the industry is operating in”, for what reason a similar approach was not extended to its proposals on short-term let regulation.

Question S5W-31963: Edward Mountain, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 22/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Tourism Recovery Task Force will publish its report on the recovery of the industry.

Question S5W-31866: Alex Cole-Hamilton, Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Date Lodged: 17/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government what lessons it can learn from the roll-out of Spaces for People regarding the need for effective and accessible community consultation, which can be applied to other initiatives.

Parliamentary Questions & Answers

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

Question S5W-31595: Jackson Carlaw, Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 04/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in determining how best to involve religious groups in formulating the Places of Worship fund, and to help with the development of it.
Answered by Humza Yousaf (16/09/2020)

Question S5W-31594: Jackson Carlaw, Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 04/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether its Places of Worship fund will still have a value of £500,000.
Answered by Humza Yousaf (16/09/2020)

Question S5W-31593: Jackson Carlaw, Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 04/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government what recent work has taken place on establishing a Places of Worship fund, and whether this will be available at some point in 2020, as was planned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Humza Yousaf (16/09/2020)

Question S5W-31610: Colin Smyth, South Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 07/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects all Spaces for People schemes to be completed.
Answered by Michael Matheson (22/09/2020)

Question S5W-31609: Colin Smyth, South Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 07/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken against councils and other public bodies that have delayed the implementation of Spaces for People schemes.
Answered by Michael Matheson (22/09/2020)

Question S5W-31608: Colin Smyth, South Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 07/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government which (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies have not yet completed the implementation of Spaces for People schemes.
Answered by Michael Matheson (22/09/2020)

Question S5W-31607: Colin Smyth, South Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 07/09/2020
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been given to local authorities for monitoring Spaces for People schemes and the criteria for assessing whether measures can be made permanent.
Answered by Michael Matheson (22/09/2020)

Events

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

COVID19 – A Tax Update for the Culture Sector
Date & time: Tuesday, 13 October 2020; 12:30 to 13:30.
Online
Fees: Free for Arts & Business Scotland members and £20 + VAT for non-members.
This hour-long Business Briefing will bring you up-to-date with the fast-moving changes to tax in this pandemic world, as well as to possible savings and opportunities available for your business. Scott Craig and Kirsty Murray from Azets (formerly Scott Moncrieff) will be sharing some vital updates on changes to tax that have taken place over the last few months, and a summary of the current tax issues that cultural organisations must be aware of.

Legacy Giving. Now is the Time – If You Do It Right. Learn How To!
Date & time: Wednesday, 21 October 2020; 11:00 – 15:00.
Online
Fees: £60 + VAT for Arts & Business Scotland members and £80 + VAT for non-members.
As the virus continues this is the most crucial moment in recent times to give every stakeholder the option of giving a gift in their Will. This course is focused on how to integrate legacies into your current fundraising at little or no cost at a time when more people are making Wills than we have witnessed in decades.

Local and Community Resilience 2020 Creating Self-Sufficient, Crisis-Proof Communities
Date & time: 27th October 2020; 10 – 12:30.
Webinar
The current situation with the covid pandemic and it’s social, economic and environmental impacts has brought to the fore the importance of communities and the impact of the ability to deliver services, employment, health care, wellbeing, economic services and more at a local level while dealing with the issues that previous economic, infrastructure and social structures left us vulnerable to.

What Value Culture?
Dates: 2-13 November 2020.
How do people define culture and its value to them, and how does that impact on our society; the way we learn, play, grow, live and interact? In this uncertain climate, does our engagement with arts, heritage, culture and screen have more value than ever before? These are just some of the questions we will be posing this November, as we launch the Centre for Cultural Value’s free online festival of ideas from 2–13 November.

Heritage Trust Network Conference 2020 – Grassroots Heritage: Empowering recovery
Dates: Friday 20th November, with lead up events on the 17th, 18th and 19th.
Online
Join HTN members and friends from across the UK, to find out how to drive your heritage project through recovery. Our expert speakers will offer guidance, knowledge and inspiration on a range of topics aimed to help you adapt and succeed in the most difficult of times. We will have sessions on fundraising, environmental sustainability, strategy and innovation, along with workshops from our key partners. Any queries, please contact admin@heritagetrustnetwork.org.uk.

Training

Test and Protect: What Data Protection Lessons Can We Learn From COVID-19
Date & time: Wednesday, 4 November 2020; 13:00 – 16:00.
Online.
Fees: £50 + VAT for Arts & Business Scotland members and £70 + VAT for non-members.
Test and Protect is the name of the scheme that the Scottish Government is using to try to ensure that anyone who has been in contact with someone diagnosed with Covid-19, can be traced and provided with information about isolating and getting tested. Certain organisations are required to collect this information and some are choosing to follow the guidance which recommends collecting this information. Both provide data protection challenges and Laura Irvine, a lawyer and data protection specialist, will work through the issues thrown up by Test and Protect to demonstrate best practice in relation to all forms of personal data processing.

Telling It Like It Is – Effective Copywriting
Date & time: Wednesday, 10 November 2020; 10:00 – 12:30.
Online
Fees: £50 + VAT for Arts & Business Scotland members and £70 + VAT for non-members.
This training session is aimed at anyone looking to improve their copywriting skills to support their fund-raising activities. Offering a combination of project-based, hands-on writing exercises with tips, techniques and critical theory, the session explores the five stages of the copywriting process. While the training provides a specific focus on writing a case for support, the resulting learning can be applied to all kinds of fundraising communications.

Planning Law for Heritage and the Arts – A Survival Guide
Date & time: Thursday, 12 November 2020; 13:00 – 15:30.
Online
Fees: £50 + VAT for Arts & Business Scotland members and £70 + VAT for non-members.
Operations and development managers in the Arts and Heritage sector work within increasingly complex regulations, including the planning regime. Planning law governs how land and buildings are used and can be crucial to delivering cultural objectives and securing funding. Planning is also undergoing significant reform, with emergency Covid-19 measures in place while wider reform continues apace. This session aims to identify potential planning pitfalls and how to deal with them. It will give you an understanding of the key concepts underpinning the Scottish planning system. This training and knowledge sharing event will illustrate how an Arts and Heritage development is regulated in practice and review the consequences of breaching planning controls. Topical issues and upcoming reforms will also be covered, alongside questions and comments from delegates throughout the session.

Vacancies

Policy & Practice Officer
Do you want to help the profession influence the National Planning Framework 4 and the implementation of the Planning Act? RTPI Scotland are looking to appoint a full time Policy and Practice Officer.
Closing date: 9am on Monday 12th October 2020.

Grants Officer
Historic Environment Scotland is seeking a Grants Officer. This is a temporary post to provide backfill while existing staff members help to deliver the refresh of our grants programme. The successful applicant will support grants management staff with the administration of live and complete projects and liaise with internal and external contacts to contribute to the smooth running of grants programmes.
Closing Date: 14 October 2020 at midnight.

Project Manager
Museums Galleries Scotland are looking for a Project Manager to lead on the effective delivery of Empire, Slavery & Scotland’s Museums: Addressing Our Colonial Legacy. This project will explore how Scotland’s existing and future museum collections can better recognise and represent a more accurate portrayal of Scotland’s historic involvement in colonialism and the trans-Atlantic trade in enslaved African people.
Closing date: Monday 26th October at 9am.

Trustees
An opportunity has arisen for three Trustees to join the Glasgow City Heritage Trust’s Board. The roles are unremunerated and will require a commitment to attend quarterly Board meetings and additional sub-committee(s). Applications are sought from enthusiastic and innovative individuals with business expertise at a senior level and a passion for Glasgow’s historic environment.
Closing date is Friday, 30th October 2020.

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7 Oct 2020

BEFS Director, Euan Leitch, outlines how the Draft Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland impacts on built heritage.

The Scottish Government published the Draft Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021/22 to 2025/26 on 24^th September and while it may not immediately seem to have news for Scotland’s built heritage the principles it is proposing are worth attention.

The Government’s draft plan is responding to the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland’s recommendations, which were published in two parts, Key Findings in January and Delivery Findings in July. The Key Findings are noteworthy to many both for its wide definition of infrastructure and the attention it pays to the maintenance and reuse of Scotland’s existing infrastructure and certainly raised expectations – it is no longer about great big shiny new pieces of national kit.

The Draft Plan is framed by three priorities:

Enabling the transition to net zero emissions and environmental sustainability
Driving inclusive economic growth
Building resilient and sustainable places

While some of us might feel uneasy about “growth” there can be no denying that these are imperative.

The Scottish Government has taken on board the Commission’s recommendations, the definition of infrastructure being as follows (italics mine):

“The physical and technical facilities and other fundamental systems necessary for the economy to function and to enable, sustain or enhance societal living conditions. These include the networks, connections and storage relating to the enabling infrastructure of transport, energy, water, telecoms, digital and internet, to permit the ready movement of people, goods and services. They include the built environment of housing; public infrastructure such as education, health, justice and cultural facilities; safety enhancement such as waste management or flood prevention; and public services such as emergency services and resilience.”

But more interestingly is the proposal of a shift in investment priorities with a “new common investment hierarchy – enhancing and maintaining existing assets ahead of new build”. This is something that the heritage sector, conservation movement and environmental sector have been recommending for… a long time. BEFS and others have submitted evidence to the work of the Commission at the consultation stage and in a workshop, banging the maintenance drum. It is therefore good news to see the Scottish Government finally adopting this approach. The hierarchy of investment structure proposed:

The Scottish Futures Trust has been tasked with preparing guidance for public organisations when developing asset management strategies, considering whole-life approach including cost and build resources alongside the new investment hierarchy. In looking at the above it is interesting to ponder, were this hierarchy to have been applied 10 years ago would the same decisions on replacing schools, healthcare facilities and housing have been made?

Annex B, Capital Maintenance: The Economic Benefits of the document is worth reading as it makes many of the points BEFS repeats on the benefits of maintenance, including the wider spread of employment to SMEs but notes the lack of “quantitative evidence on the relative economic impact of capital maintenance as compared to building new infrastructure but evidence suggests that capital maintenance does have as high a rate of return.” There is research currently being undertaken by the Fraser of Allander Institute on this and we hope to see a report in November.

The draft plan is also making the right connections with the forthcoming National Planning Framework and National Housing Delivery Framework as well as other relevant strategies addressing climate targets, and following the Place Principle.

There are a host of financial commitments to be delivered in the draft 5 year strategy, some highlighted below, and while the sums appear large, they will not go far as we would like once applied across 32 local authority areas.

Word searching the draft Infrastructure Investment Plan may not reveal words we hope to see but the investment hierarchy proposed, if implemented and delivered, would make a substantive difference to Scotland’s existing built environment.

BEFS will be working with its Members on the consultation which closes on the 19^th November.

The following commitments outlines in the draft plan may also be of interest:

Investing £1.6 billion over the next five years to decarbonise heat in buildings, including £55 million new investment in energy efficiency and £95 million programme to decarbonise the public sector estate.
Doubling investment in bridge and roads maintenance, enhancing safety with a programme of around £1.5 billion over 5 years
Investing £525 million to deliver the next five years of £5 billion city region and regional growth deals.
£30 million in delivering the National Islands Plan, supporting a range of areas, including tourism, infrastructure, innovation, energy transition and skills.
Investing £275 million to support community-led regeneration and town centre revitalisation as part of a new Place Based Investment Programme
Invest over £2.8 billion in direct capital grant funding, over 5 years, to deliver more affordable and social homes, continuing to ensure the right types of homes in the right places reflecting and supporting Local Housing Strategies and regional development priorities.
Together with Councils, fund an ambitious £2 billion Learning Estate Improvement Programme, using an outcomes based revenue finance approach.

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7 Oct 2020

Heather Claridge, A&DS, introduces a new report on how the design of our towns, cities and landscapes can help combat the climate emergency.

©Richard Carman/A&DS

One of the most important drivers for change of our time is undoubtedly the climate emergency. It impacts almost every aspect of our lives. We are already experiencing this through increased rainfall events, warmer seasons and rising sea levels. This is both a challenge and opportunity to rethink how our places are planned, delivered, adapted and used. If we do this well and at pace, we help to futureproof our villages, towns, cities and regions from the more extreme and costly impacts of climate change. In turn, we can help to support places to be healthier, happier, just and thriving.

In 2019, the Energy and Climate Change Directorate of the Scottish Government asked Architecture and Design Scotland to help implement Scotland’s Climate Change Plan and Act at a local level. Over the last decade, A&DS has collected intelligence on sustainable design. However, with the introduction of a target to be a net zero carbon society by 2045, we recognised we could both support and gain more understanding of the practical and creative ways places can help achieve this ambition. We established a pilot phase of the project which was underpinned by a ‘learning by doing’ approach.

Pilot Phase

During this phase we supported 4 Local Authorities to progress spatial plans prioritising decarbonisation. This included the redevelopment of Knab in Lerwick, Shetland; Elgin Town Centre Masterplan; Strathard Land Use and Rural Development Framework; and Glasgow South Central Local Development Framework. These Authorities were selected due to their variation in geography, project scale and stage. However, each of them shared an aspiration to explore how to position climate change as a key driver for change.

In addition to the work with the Authorities, we collected a series of blogs ranging in aspects from energy, food growing, brownfield reuse, mobility to behaviour change. We curated a public sector client forum online on the theme of climate, health and place. The learning from the combination of these activities helped to shape the content of a Carbon Conscious Report, launched on the 6^th of October 2020.

©Richard Carman/A&DS

Eight Principles of Carbon Conscious Places

The report offers examples, principles and illustrations to help guide and inspire people to support a whole place approach to reduce, repurpose and absorb carbon and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The eight principles identified are interconnected and are not intended to be used as a definitive set of solutions instead they outline important concepts to consider when shaping places.

Principle 1 is a ‘place-led approach’. This involves understanding, appreciating and working with existing assets, the surrounding landscape and the place identity. Using the right type of intervention, at the right stage, scale and location.
Principle 2 is a ‘place of small distances’. This encourages the creation of complete and self-sufficient neighbourhoods with everyday services and facilities within a short walking or cycling distance.
Principle 3 leads on from the previous and is a ‘network of small distance places’. This involves connecting complete neighbourhoods to provide a network of places that support greater self-sufficiency and low carbon living. Enabling people to live, work and play without generating unnecessary carbon emissions.
Principle 4 is a ‘place designed for and with local people’. This involves placing people’s needs at the centre of decision-making, service provision and investment in our places and ensuring they are actively involved in key stages of the design process.
Principle 5 is a ‘place that reuses, repurposes and considers whole life costs’. This supports the retrofitting of existing structures and brownfield sites first, giving consideration to embodied carbon in place. This principle supports viewing structures as ‘material banks’ with components which are demountable, rebuildable and reusable and considering the cost of the entire lifecycle of a structure rather than only its initial capital costs.
Principle 6 is a ‘place with whole and circular systems’. This involves enhancing, repairing and joining up the different systems which support a healthy, carbon conscious place.
Principle 7 is a ‘place that supports sharing’. This encourages the sharing of assets and services in places to enable lower carbon living and connects people to their neighbourhoods. This can range from sharing tools, bikes, electric vehicles to accommodation and education facilities.
Finally, Principle 8 is a ‘place designed in time.’ This involves ensuring the place planning and delivery process considers the dimension of time from long term visions to short-term approaches to test ideas.

Different Scales

Within the report, we have considered how these principles can apply at four settlement scales – an urban neighbourhood, a city centre, a town and a rural community. Through this we are able to consider different ways to address all scopes of carbon emissions and impacts of climate change. This will help to deliver on a Carbon Conscious Scotland by 2050 and deliver on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Shifting Scotland’s reliance on carbon intensive developments, services and modes of transport, requires a whole place approach on a national scale. The Carbon Conscious Places report is a resource which can be used by different places across Scotland to work across sectors to design for a changing climate.

The report is available here.

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24 Sep 2020

BEFS Director explores the links between historic attitudes to slavery and contemporary action on climate crisis for the AHSS Magazine.

This blog was first published in the AHSS Magazine Autumn 2020.

Of all the many to arrive in 2020 the intense engagement with heritage was just another thing for which many were unprepared.

The killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesotan police reanimated the Black Lives Matter movement and protests against systemic racism spread rapidly around the world, with statues often acting as lightning rods. The late nineteenth century statue of Edward Colston, a seventeenth century slave trader, being toppled and pitched in to Bristol Harbour was perhaps the most spectacular British manifestation of the protests.

In Glasgow there is concurrent commentary on street names, many honouring individuals whose wealth came from products made by slaves in the Americas, a fact often glossed over by referring to them merely as ‘merchants’. Edinburgh’s long running debate on amending the interpretation panel for the Melville Monument, to include the detail that Henry Dundas advocated the gradual ending of the slave trade, was brought to a swift decision but the merits of the statue continue to be discussed.

Reaction, online and in print, is interesting. Some defended the artistic worth of sculptures over and above the deeds of whom they elevate, more interested in the aesthetics than the subjects, and others curiously argued that you cannot erase history. There were also statements that we should not hold figures from the past to the standards of today, which is even more curious given it is the standards of their eighteenth century abolitionist peers that they are being held up against.

History is complex but our heritage, and how we interpret it, has tended to smooth out the creases and reify selective parts of the historical record and we now find ourselves in the perfect opportunity to engage with wider audiences on matters that challenge us all. But is it also an opportunity to also ponder on what our descendants will judge us on?

The trade that Scotland richly benefited from in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did much more than brutalise individuals, peoples, and lands. It accelerated a system of production and consumption that has led us to today where the standard of living we enjoy in the United Kingdom would require three times the earth’s resources were it to be applied globally. Scotland’s Enlightenment discoveries, the production efficiencies, the coal we burned, cast a shadow that is not as attractive as castles, shortbread and John Logie Baird. Twenty first century land degradation and dreadful working conditions mainly happen offshore, but our high levels of consumption mean we have more in common with our ancestors than we want to acknowledge. Or are we as trapped within the system as the herring fishers and linen workers?

It has been a year of weather patterns that may once have been described as ‘freak’ but are the new normal, collapsing ice shelves, forest fires and floods, evidence of the climate emergency that has not arrived without warning. We know that the climate emergency is anthropogenic.

The change in weather pattern is undoubtedly a threat to Scotland’s heritage, from coastal erosion, to increased flooding making settlements non-viable, to building details incapable of dealing with the change. But there is also an opportunity for Scotland’s historic environment to make explicit the role it should play in mitigating climate change.

We often speak of heritage in terms of its historical, architectural, aesthetic and social values, in fact, these are how we legally designate buildings and places. Yet it is now a more fundamental value that is of more importance, their embodied energy: carbon. Our entire existing built environment holds this value, not just the listed buildings, conservation areas and scheduled monuments. To meet ambitious carbon reduction targets, it is reusing all our existing building stock to reduce the demand for new materials that is imperative.

The Scottish Government have an understandable focus on fuel poverty which intersects with climate emergency as it seeks to reduce the demand for energy to heat our homes, but the means of addressing this through retrofitting insulation are blunt and often without the sufficient nuance required for traditionally built dwellings. The focus on the operational costs of buildings, without looking at the full life costs and taking into account the embodied energy, could result in prejudice towards older stock and it is a policy area the Built Environment Forum continually engages with.

Historical, architectural, aesthetic and social values are important but it is unarguable that life on the planet is more important and therefore failing to substantively engage with the climate emergency will make us appear to our descendants as slavers to us. Just as slave trade has a terrible legacy, climate inaction today will have a catastrophic legacy in a far shorter period. And we cannot plead ignorance.

Inevitably, discussion on the climate descends to questions on whether an individual drives, flies or scrupulously recycles and while individual behavior is important, it is the systems and structures we work within that bare the greatest responsibility. As a member of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland you are undoubtedly an environmentally enlightened consumer and traveler, but you also have an opportunity to effect systemic change.

There is an election coming which will bring in a new Holyrood Parliament and who knows what hue the Government will be. The COVID 19 Pandemic and Brexit are certainly setting a volatile context and it could be in such contexts that radical directions are taken. What will you be asking of your candidates standing for election? Jobs, health, education will be at the forefront of their campaigns, but it is likely all will make environmental claims too. This is an opportunity to influence structural change to address the climate emergency and value Scotland’s built heritage and in the next AHSS magazine we will suggest what you should be asking of those parliamentary candidates.

It should look like conservation on steroids.

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17 Sep 2020

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