BEFS News

As the current BEFS Chair, Dr Graeme Purves, is stepping down at the next AGM in December, we are inviting expressions of interest from potential candidates for the role.

The Scottish Government’s cabinet reshuffle saw the importance of planning acknowledged with its inclusion in Kevin Stewart’s MSP new ministerial title, as Minister for Local Government, Housing & Planning.

The Local Government and Communities Committee has started to publish amendments to the Planning Bill that have been tabled for Stage 2, due to commence on 12 September. For all further information relating to the Bill, please visit the Committee page and the current Bills pages on the Scottish Parliament website.

Following a commitment to develop A Culture Strategy for Scotland, the Scottish Government is now consulting on a drat strategy.

BEFS is delighted to be involved in HES’ consultation process on their corporate plan, and features in the short #HelloHES film, along with some of our members.

Baillie Baillie Architects have kindly provided the beautiful accompaniment to their exhibition, Landscape & (Re)settlement / Cruth-tìre & (Ath)tuineachadh, exhibited at the Architecture Fringe 2018, for our blog this week: Traces.

As we enter into the summer festival season, check out BEFS suggestions for the Edinburgh International Book Festival. From early history to high rise, urban landscapes to bogs, there’s something for everyone!

Finally, we welcome our newest Associate Members, Groves-Raines Architects.

Consultations

Building Standards Compliance and Fire Safety – a consultation on making Scotland’s buildings safer for people
Opened 4 Jul 2018 and closes 26 Sep 2018.

The Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform Committee has launched an inquiry into the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 (Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 and a call for written evidence
The Committee will host a call for views from 29 June to 17 August 2018.

A Culture Strategy for Scotland
Opened 27 Jun 2018 and closes 19 Sep 2018.

Scottish Building Regulations: Review of Energy Standards: ‘Call for Evidence’
Opened 25 Jun 2018 and closes 14 Sep 2018. 

Barclay Implementation: A consultation on non-domestic rates reform
Opened 25 Jun 2018 and closes 17 Sep 2018.

Consultation Responses

Consultation on a draft revised code of conduct for registered property factors: Analysis of Responses (SG 29/06/18)

Publications

The Grimsey Review 2 – reshaping our town centres (Matthew Hopkinson 07/18)

Report of the Review Panel on Building Standards Compliance and Enforcement (SG 29/06/18)

Report of the Review Panel on Building Standards (Fire Safety) in Scotland (SG 29/06/18)

Transient Visitor Tax (COLSA 27/06/18)

Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland Delivery Report 2016/17 (SG 27/06/18)

Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2017 (SG 26/06/18)

Green, pleasant and affordable (Onwards 25/06/18)

Independent Review of Build Out Rates – Draft Analysis (Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin MP 06/18)

Public attitudes to house building: Findings from the 2017 British Social Attitudes survey (MHCLG 06/18)

Scottish Government News Releases

Support for first-time buyers (SG 30/06/18)
New tax relief to help people buy their first home. First-time buyers will be helped to purchase their first home through a new tax relief which comes into force today (30 June).

Ending homelessness (SG 27/06/18)
People who are living in temporary accommodation or at risk of homelessness are to be supported quickly into permanent homes through new investment of up to £21 million.

Decrease in derelict and urban vacant land (SG 26/06/18)
The total amount of derelict and urban vacant land in Scotland decreased by 844 hectares (seven per cent) from the previous year, to 11,649 hectares in 2017.

News Releases

Annual A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2018 results (RIAS 04/07/18)
A project outlining ideas for a new public library in Leith and an approach to providing fresh water in Havana, Cuba, win the top prizes at the annual Scottish Student Awards 2018.

Glasgow’s Historic Built Environment: A Snapshot (GCHT 25/06/18)
This page contains facts, figures and data collated between February and April 2018 which gives a snapshot of the current state of Glasgow’s historic built environment. A huge amount of information already exists, collected at different scales and times and kept in different places by different people. This page brings some of that information together into one place, and drills down to give an idea of what’s going on in Glasgow.

FutureTown Design Competition (STP 25/06/18)
Since 2015 members of the public and organisations have been able to enter ideas for their town or city neighbourhood to the FutureTown Design Competition. Organised by national towns agency Scotland’s Towns Partnership, the competition is aimed at stimulating conversations, provoking ideas and encouraging new approaches to highlight what our towns could look like now and in the future.

Statement on the Glasgow School of Art fire (HES 22/06/18)
Read our statement on the Glasgow School of Art fire, from Jane Ryder OBE, Chair of Historic Environment Scotland.

Plácido Domingo and EU Commissioner Navracsics announce Europe’s top heritage award winners 2018 in Berlin (EN 22/06/18)
The winners of the 2018 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, Europe’s top honour in the field, were celebrated this evening during a high-profile awards ceremony in Berlin, in the presence of the Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. They announced and presented the 7 Grand Prix laureates, chosen from among this year’s 29 winning achievements.

Stirling home to Scotland’s ‘Best Building 2018’ (HES 22/06/18)
As well as being named one of the best new buildings in Scotland at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) 2018, The Engine Shed was awarded ‘Best Building 2018’ and ‘Best Use of Stone’ at the Stirling Society of Architects Design Awards 2018.

Planning absent from top table in 94% of councils in Scotland (21/06/18)
The planning function has been relegated to lower positions in the corporate structure of local authorities across Scotland, a new survey by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has revealed.

Oxford University and National Trust announce research partnership (UoO 21/06/18)
Marking the first investment of this kind by the National Trust in a university, the partnership will create new opportunities for interdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange, public engagement and training between the two organisations.

Opinion & Comment

Influencing the Scottish Planning Bill (RTPI Scotland 02/07/18)

Malcolm Fraser: The Mackintosh inferno and the questions it begs (Malcolm Fraser 30/06/18)

Scotland and the New Private Rented Sector (UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence 27/06/18)

How One Man Is Using Hip-Hop to Diversify Architecture (Rolling Stones 21/06/18)

More Than Bricks And Mortar: Why Glasgow Must Save Its Cultural Architecture (Clash Magazine 19/06/18)

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-17320: Ben Macpherson, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 18/06/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the delivery of more affordable housing.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (19/06/2018)

Other Parliamentary Activity

The Scottish Parliament is in recess from 30 June to 2 September 2018 (inclusive).

Events

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

Glorious Georgian Gardens of the New Town
Date: Thursday 13 September 2018, from 6pm.
Meeting Point: To be advised.
The world famous gardens of Edinburgh’s New Town boast an incredible variety of design and planting style, and add colour and harmony to our city’s urban landscape.
Join us for this special chance to access these beautiful gardens and discover their history and features. This tour will finish with a garden party drinks reception.

Vacancies

Head of Conservation
Are you a conservation specialist ready to lead our teams in conserving, presenting and promoting sites of international significance?
You will work within an integrated team of conservation and property professionals caring for, presenting and promoting some of Wales’ finest examples of built heritage. You will also form part of a wider senior team engaged in the protection, promotion and long-term sustainability of this unique division of the Welsh Government.
Closing date: 10 July. 

RIAS Receptionist/ Bookshop Assistant
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is looking for an experienced receptionist to join our front of house team and bookshop. We are looking for someone that will be friendly, approachable, flexible, professional and welcoming.
Closing date 13th July 2018.

Scheme Administrator
The RIAS is looking for an experienced administrator to support the running and the development of the Design Certification Schemes provided by the RIAS. This includes performing day to day administration tasks. The Scheme Administrator is the first point of contact for those interested in joining the scheme, and will maintain an administrative involvement as applicants progress through the scheme to become Approved Certifiers of Design / Energy Assessors. The nature of the Schemes is described at www.RIAS-regs.co.uk The successful applicant will be responsible to the Head of Certification and the Practice Administrator.
Closing date 20th July 2018. 

Dunoon Alliance for Action Facilitator (part-time)
SURF is seeking a part-time Facilitator to support its Alliance for Action programme site of Dunoon. Dunoon is one of five SURF Alliance for Action programme sites. The successful applicant will be responsible for helping to build on local demand for complementary economic, physical and social improvements in the town, following a successful SURF-managed 2017 ‘Think Dunoon’ Community Charrette.
The closing date for applications is Monday 23 July.

Grants Officer Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund
We are recruiting for a Fulltime Grants Officer on a 12 months Fixed term contract in our Scotland country office based in Edinburgh.
The primary purpose of this post is to assess applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund for grants in Scotland with a value up to £1million, and to monitor projects undertaken by successful applicants.
The closing date for applications is Midnight 15 July 2018 and interviews will be held in our Edinburgh office on 27 July 2018.

Building Standards Division (3 posts)
There are currently three vacancies being advertised within Building Standards Division of the Scottish Government: Construction Professional and Technical Author (Environment), Construction Professional and Technical Author (Procedures), S63 Programme Manager.
Application deadline is 3rd August at midnight

Glasgow City Heritage Trust, Projects & Events Officer
An exciting opportunity has become available for a entry-level professional to support the implementation of the Trust’s special projects and corporate events programme for the benefit of all people living and working in and visiting Glasgow. GCHT would like to pilot meanwhile use (“meanwhile use” is a term used to describe the interim temporary use of vacant property or land until such a time as it can be brought back into more permanent use) by taking on one or two buildings-at-risk on Glasgow City Council’s property portfolio over the next two to three years, either through short-term lease agreements or a license to occupy. The Project Officer would be the GCHT’s on-site contact for the scheme. You will also get involved in a series of smaller proactive projects the Trust is planning to run and manage (corporate) events supporting the charitable work of Glasgow City Heritage Trust.
The closing date for applications is Tuesday 31 July at 12 noon

Glasgow City Heritage Trust, Monitoring & Evaluation Officer (part-time – 2 to 3 days per week, to be agreed)
An exciting opportunity has become available for a part-time entry-level professional to develop monitoring and evaluation tools to demonstrate the impact of the Trust’s work for Glasgow’s historic built environment. The Trust wishes to know how change is being created by its grant aided work by measuring social, environmental and economic outcomes and presents these to funders and other stakeholders.
The closing date for applications is Tuesday 31 July at 12 noon

BEFS News

The most recent Scottish House Condition Survey reported that 68% of all dwellings exhibited some degree of disrepair. There remain significant challenges facing the repair and maintenance of residential buildings under shared ownership.

Within this context, BEFS is delighted to announce that the Scottish Parliamentary Working Group on Tenement Maintenance is now firmly established. The working group was first convened by Ben Macpherson MSP in March 2018. The first two meetings saw cross party attendance with representatives from property management, property law, chartered surveying and architecture, with BEFS and the RICS providing the secretariat function. The aims are long term, provisionally making recommendations at the end of this parliament.

The new National Performance Framework has now been launched. The indicator for the historic environment remains the condition of pre1919 dwellings

In our blog this week, BEFS Policy and Advocacy Officer, Ailsa Macfarlane, reflects on how to improve and use existing building stock following a recent Transition Edinburgh event, Carbon Neutral Edinburgh 2050.

In what is hopefully a final mention of the General Data Protection Regulation, you can now find BEFS Privacy Notice and new and improve Data Protection Policy on our website here.

Built Environment Forum Scotland celebrated its 15th birthday on 11th June! We would like to thank you for your continued engagement, support and interest in the work of the forum.

Consultations

Heritage Lottery Fund Policy Directions consultation (DDCMS 15/06/18)
This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 29 July 2018.

Delivering improved transparency in land ownership in Scotland: Consultation on draft regulations
Opened 20 Jun 2018 and closes 8 Nov 2018.

Consultation Responses

Analysis of Responses on Consultation on the Practical Fire Safety Guidance for Existing Premises with Sleeping Accommodation (SG 13/06/18)

Publications

Building More, Building Beautiful (Policy Exchange 20/06/18) 

Places for People (PfP) – Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) Results (SG 19/06/18)

Practical Fire Safety Guidance for Existing Premises with Sleeping Accommodation (SG 13/06/18)

The potential impact of Brexit on the creative industries, tourism and the digital single market: Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report of Session 2017—19 (DCMSC 06/18)

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards and Heritage Properties: Mitigating risks through the procurement and interpretation of Energy Performance Certificates (Better Buildings Partnership 04/06/18)

Scottish Government News Releases

Land ownership (SG 20/06/18)
New register will improve transparency. The first steps are being taken to create a public register of people who ultimately make decisions about how land is used and managed.

Scottish Crown Estate (SG 19/06/18)
The Scottish Parliament has approved in principle a bill that will give local authorities and communities the opportunity to directly manage Scottish Crown Estate assets.

Homelessness and Housing Options Statistics Published (SG 19/06/18)
Scottish local authorities received 34,972 applications for homelessness assistance between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018, 1% higher than the same period during 2016/17.  Comparing the same time periods, 43,900 Housing Options approaches were recorded, a reduction of 16%.

More affordable homes (SG 19/06/18)
Multi-million-pound investment in mid-market rent scheme. One thousand new homes will be delivered across Scotland through the latest affordable housing investment fund.

Energy efficiency funding (SG 17/06/18)
Households and businesses are to benefit from more than £2 million of funding to help use energy more efficiently. The Scottish Government has given the money to 15 councils to fund projects that will support homeowners and businesses installing energy efficiency measures as part of the new Energy Efficient Scotland programme.

Fire at Glasgow School of Art (SG 16/06/18)
Response to major fire in Glasgow.

Building and fire safety (SG 13/06/18)
Consultation on expert group recommendations. Increasing the use of sprinkler systems and mandatory inspections are to be considered to improve building safety following the advice of two expert panels.

Affordable housing approvals up 14% to 11,680 in latest year (SG 12/06/18)
A National Statistics Publication for Scotland. There were 11,677 affordable homes approved in 2017/18, 14% more than the previous year, and the third consecutive annual increase since 2014/15.

A vision for national wellbeing (SG 11/06/18)
New National Performance Framework launched. A new framework for building a more successful and inclusive Scotland, and the way in which progress towards it can be measured, has been launched by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

News Releases

RIAS Announces 12 Winners in RIAS Awards 2018 (RIAS 21/06/18)
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) announced 12 winners for its 2018 Awards, representing the very best of current Scottish architecture. Stewart Henderson, President of the RIAS, commented that when shortlisting this year’s entries for awards the panel were struck by the continuing high standard of submissions.

CARS funding to drive investment in more Scottish communities (HES 15/06/18)
Scottish communities are set to benefit from a £10 million investment under Historic Environment Scotland’s (HES) flagship conservation and regeneration funding programme. Applications are now open for local authorities, national park authorities, voluntary sector organisations and community groups to apply for grants under the eighth round of the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS),

Resource For Heritage Projects Relaunched (HLF 15/06/18)
Many heritage projects struggle to ‘pass go’. This is often as a result of a lack of experience, understanding or support in key project areas.  For those community groups seeking guidance to rescue historic buildings and bring them into sustainable use, look no further! www.brick-work.org created by the Prince’s Regeneration Trust’s BRICK Programme has been updated and relaunched.

Democracy Matters Community Engagement Fund (VAF 06/18)
The Scottish Government Democracy Matters Community Engagement Fund provides grants of up to £300 (in exceptional circumstances up to £500) to small voluntary organisations and community groups in Scotland to help them run an event with a group of five or more people to discuss what matters to them in relation to democracy.

MSP Connector Programme 2018: Connecting MSPs with Scotland’s Towns (STP 06/18)
Now in its fourth year, Scotland’s Towns Partnership and the Cross Party Group on Towns and Town Centres are encouraging MSPs to take a day during Parliamentary Recess to visit towns in their constituency or region as part of the MSP Connector Programme.

20th Anniversary SURF Awards Open for Applications (12/06/18)
The prestigious 2018 ‘20th Anniversary’ SURF Awards for Best Practice in Community Regeneration were launched today. The SURF Awards are widely recognised as the most prestigious in the field of Scottish community regeneration. If you are involved in a project or know of projects who are worthy of recognition, then please do make an entry this year.

IHBC & partners on Design & the NPPF –update on government ‘getting serious on design’ (IHBC 12/06/18)
The IHBC and partners including Civic Voice, Place Alliance and the Urban Design Group, have written to the Secretary of State at England’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) asking government ‘to use the opportunity provided by the revision of the National Planning Policy Framework [NPPF] to more forcefully demonstrate the desire of the Government to see better design everywhere’.

UK World Heritage Sites Review Announced (World Heritage UK 06/18)
It’s all smiles at the Ministry this morning as World Heritage UK President, Chris Blandford, and Chair, Tony Crouch, meet with Michael Ellis, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. World Heritage UK publicly announces that it will undertake the first review of all 31 of the UK’s World Heritage Sites.

DCMS calls for more research on diversity and place-making (Art Professionals 06/18)
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is calling on academics to conduct more research on key topics that it considers important for “good policy and decision making”, including place-making, diversity and digital preparedness.

£20m fund to empowering communities to tackle poverty and inequalities (SHN 07/06/18)
Since 2015 the Empowering Communities Fund (ECF) has supported hundreds of projects, giving communities more control over planning and decisions that affect them locally as well as driving forward regeneration and making changes through training, employment, arts and volunteering opportunities.

Opinion & Comment

A good plan? (Kate Shannon, Holyrood Magazine 12/06/18)

Housing crisis: What went wrong? (RICS 11/06/18) 

Bannockburn House Through Time (Simon Green 08/06/18)

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”.

Alexander Burnett  S5W-17390
To ask the Scottish Government what financial assessment has been made of the cost of converting all buildings in Scotland to net zero emissions by 2050 as set out in the Energy Efficient Scotland: Route Map. (SP 20/06/18)

Graham Simpson S5W-17367
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the Building Standards (Compliance and Enforcement) Review Panel has met; when it will next meet, and by what date it will issue its recommendations. (SP 20/06/18)

Ben Macpherson S5W-17320
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the delivery of more affordable housing. (SP 16/06/18)

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-17210: Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 12/06/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes have been built in each year since 2016, broken down by local authority.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (19/06/2018)

Question S5W-17016: Iain Gray, East Lothian, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 04/06/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to facilitate wider opportunities for self-build housing.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (12/06/2018)

Question S5W-17029: Alex Cole-Hamilton, Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Date Lodged: 04/06/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the figures released under Freedom of Information in January 2018 regarding vacant private sector homes across 23 local authorities, which record (a) 20,027 as being empty for more than six months and (b) 927 being empty for more than 10 years.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (12/06/2018)

Question S5W-16963: Rachael Hamilton, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 30/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that burial grounds are maintained and with the full consent and knowledge of anyone who may be affected by any actions such as the removal of headstones.
Answered by Aileen Campbell (12/06/2018)

Question S5W-16906: Ben Macpherson, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 29/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04448 by Kevin Stewart on 15 November 2016, whether it will outline the average Housing Association Grant (HAG) subsidy levels approved for housing association new development tender approval activity in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the last three years, broken down by type of tenure.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (06/06/2018)

Question S5W-16796: Pauline McNeill, Glasgow, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 24/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes it has built during the current parliamentary session.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (05/06/2018)

Other Parliamentary Activity

The Scottish Parliament is in recess from 30 June to 2 September 2018 (inclusive).

Events

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

Paisley’s Industrial and Cultural Heritage
Date: Wednesday 27 June.
Venue: Paisley Town Hall from 9.30am-4.30pm.
A day conference examining Paisley’s industrial and cultural heritage, jointly presented by The Paisley Centre for Business and Industrial History (UWS), the Business Archives Council of Scotland and Renfrewshire Council.

“Hidden Gardens of the Old Town”
Date: Thursday 5 July 2018, 6pm.
Meeting Point: Netherbow Wellhead, outside John Knox’s House, Royal Mile, Edinburgh.
The dense streets and wynds of Edinburgh’s Old Town may seem an unlikely place to find gardens and greenery. Yet here you can find a wealth of private and community gardens set back from the main thoroughfare, each with its own unique history and design. Let us guide you through the secluded green treasures of the Old Town and share their stories and secrets with you.This tour finishes with a drinks reception in Edinburgh World Heritage’s own hidden garden at Bakehouse Close. Tickets: Tickets are £10.

Vacancies

Communications and Events Assistant (RIAS)
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is looking for a highly motivated individual who is keen to develop their career in events. The position involves supporting the Secretary & Treasurer’s office in the delivery of a wide portfolio of events to RIAS members and the public. This is a multi-tasking role. Flexibility and attention to detail are essential.
Closing date 29 June 2018.

PAS Board now recruiting new volunteer Board members (PAS)
The PAS Board creates a strategic and policy framework for PAS and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the organisation fulfils its statutory requirements. The Board focuses on strategic direction and vision rather than organisational management and service delivery. In achieving this, the Board’s key consideration is how to implement the organisation’s charitable aims and objectives and its Strategy. The PAS Board is now looking to recruit new volunteer Board members with expertise in any of the following areas: Fundraising; Law; Financial Planning.
Closing date 6 July 2018. 

Skills Training Officer
Perth & Kinross Heritage Trust is a charity established in 1988 with the aim of conserving and promoting archaeology and architectural heritage in Perth and Kinross for the benefit of residents, visitors and future generations. Our Strategic Plan 2017-22 identifies ‘supporting the sectoral skills base through delivering skills training’ as a key priority. We wish to appoint a conservation professional on a one-year fixed-term basis to help us deliver our existing skills training projects, including boat building, traditional building skills training and an archaeology field school, and to lead on the development of a project plan and funding package for a 3-year training programme to run from 2020-22.
Closing date for applications: 5pm on Friday 13 July 2018.

BEFS News

HES is consulting on its next corporate plan and to inform that are evaluating the existing HES Corporate Plan 2016-19. To help they are seeking responses to this short survey by Monday 11th June.

Many of you attended BEFS workshop in March on the replacement of the Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement and you can find the report here. HES will be finalising their approach and developing content over the next couple of months with a full public consultation on a draft policy document in August 2018. They are now seeking your views on the approach they are taking in this short survey by Sunday 17th June 2018.

BEFS recent Land Value Capture event held in association with jhplanning, gathered a wide variety of professional perspectives and approaches. There was a clear desire to continue with collaborative approaches, particularly those which take different views into consideration, and an appetite for vital work to continue in this area. You can now download the slides from the event.

BEFS is delighted to be supporting Transition Edinburgh with their upcoming event ‘Carbon Neutral Edinburgh 2050: What will the city look like and how can we manage the journey there?’ Join a round-table conversation with key people from Edinburgh City Council – elected reps & officers – with Cockburn Association, Edinburgh World Heritage, Scottish Ecological Design Association, Scottish Solar Energy Group and Edinburgh Architectural Association.

The Architecture Fringe kicks off tomorrow with a fantastic line-up of events across Scotland. An evening of cross-disciplinary debate on public procurement and how the construction industry can deliver a better quality built environment, next Tuesday in Edinburgh, may be of particular interest.

Doors Open Days’ regional dates are firming up across Scotland’s 32 local authority areas. Further details now accessible on the website.

Have you nominated your Scottish Heritage Angle? The deadline for entries is approaching on 29th June.

Helen Lawrenson, Director of Centre for Stewardship, shares examples of successfully re-purposed historic buildings for sustainable uses, in this week’s blog: Falkland Estate: New Life for Old Buildings.

Consultations

Call for Evidence on Experience of Concentrated Land Ownership (SLC)
The call for evidence will be open until 30 June 2018.

Publications

A Review of Empty and Second Homes in Scotland (Greens 06/06/18)

Temporary Accommodation in Scotland: Interim Report (Social Bite 04/06/18)

Report by the Roundtable on Environment and Climate Change on Environmental Governance in Scotland on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU (SG 01/06/18)

RTPI Scotland briefing for the Planning Bill Stage 1 Debate (RTPI 05/18)

HES INFORM Guide – Thatched Roofs (HES 05/18)

Scottish Government News Releases

Empowering communities (SG 06/06/18)
£20 million to tackle poverty and inequalities. Communities will be able to decide how best they can tackle poverty and inequalities in their own area backed by a £20 million fund.

Improving energy efficiency (SG 04/06/18)
Equity loan scheme for homeowners expands. More homeowners will be able to carry out energy efficiency work and improvements on their properties as a pilot scheme expands.

Cladding removal VAT calls (SG 03/06/18)
Ministers back exemption for removal of combustible building cladding. Companies removing combustible cladding from their buildings in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy should have their VAT waived by the UK Government, Scottish Ministers have said.

£90.2 million City Region Deal for Stirling and Clackmannanshire (SG 31/05/18)
The UK and Scottish Government are investing over £90 million in Stirling and Clackmannanshire through an ambitious City Region Deal, which will drive economic growth across the region.

£5 million additional funding for Stirling and Clackmannanshire (SG 31/05/18)
City Region to receive £50.1 million in total from the Scottish Government. Additional investment of £5 million will be made by the Scottish Government in the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region.

Transforming temporary accommodation (SG 29/05/18)
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group recommendations. Recommendations to transform temporary accommodation, including getting the right support in place from day one and giving more power to front-line workers, have been accepted by the Scottish Government.

News Releases

£90 million Stirling and Clackmannanshire UK City Region Deal launched (BG 31/05/18)
The UK Government is investing more than £45 million in the Stirling and Clackmannanshire UK City Region Deal. That will be matched by funding from the Scottish Government, bringing total funding to more than £90 million.

Tenement maintenance one step closer for Scotland (RICS 29/05/18)
Action on compulsory tenement maintenance in Scotland took a closer step last week as parliament agreed, following a vote on an opposition debate, to review existing legislation and consider the implementation of mandatory tenement health checks.

Ten-year transformation of Scottish village wins top UK planning award (RTPI 25/05/18)
A 10-year plan to regenerate a declining fishing village in Scotland has won the top prize at a prestigious national awards ceremony last night.

Visit Orkney Any Time – From the Comfort of Home! (HES 25/05/18)
Find out how to visit ten ancient cairns and two earth houses from the comfort of home in this post from Georgie about the magic of 3D digital modelling.

Stage 1 Debate on the Planning Bill (PAS 25/05/18)
The Local Government and Communities Committee published its report on the Planning (Scotland) Bill and the Stage 1 Debate will follow on 29 May at 2pm. The debate will be broadcast live on the Scottish Parliament website. Here are some of the key messages we have shared with MSPs in advance of the Stage 1 Debate.

PAS expanding youth team in the Year of Young People (PAS 24/05/18)
Scotland’s leading place charity, PAS, has announced the creation of a new Youth Education Team, to expand on its already thriving programme with young people.

Civic Conservation Area Audit’ toolkit (Civic Voice 05/18)
The Conversation Area Audit is a way for a community to assess the condition of a conservation area. It is your “first steps” to managing the change in your conservation area and has been designed in a way that anyone can use it without requiring a “consultant” to support the delivery.

Opinion & Comment

How can we use design to help create a caring place? (Karen Anderson, A&DS 06/18/)

New Town Child (Archaeological Drift 06/18)

Could a ‘caring town’ housing concept transform our age? (Phil Prentice, STP 31/05/18)

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”.

Alex Cole-Hamilton S5W-17029
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the figures released under Freedom of Information in January 2018 regarding vacant private sector homes across 23 local authorities, which record (a) 20,027 as being empty for more than six months and (b) 927 being empty for more than 10 years. (SP 04/06/18)

Iain Gray S5W-17016
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to facilitate wider opportunities for self-build housing. (SP 04/06/18)

Pauline McNeill S5W-16796
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes it has built during the current parliamentary session. (SP 01/06/18)

Rachael Hamilton S5W-16963
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that burial grounds are maintained and with the full consent and knowledge of anyone who may be affected by any actions such as the removal of headstones. (SP 30/05/18)

Ben Macpherson S5W-16906
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04448 by Kevin Stewart on 15 November 2016, whether it will outline the average Housing Association Grant (HAG) subsidy levels approved for housing association new development tender approval activity in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the last three years, broken down by type of tenure. (SP 29/05/18)

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-16770: Elaine Smith, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 17/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to meet the demand for accessible housing for disabled people.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (29/05/2018)

Question S5W-16769: Elaine Smith, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 17/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages the private sector to modify homes in line with the needs of disabled tenants.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (29/05/2018)

Question S5W-16755: Elaine Smith, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 17/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes in each local authority area have been (a) built and (b) demolished in each year since 2016.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (29/05/2018)

Question S5W-16754: Elaine Smith, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 17/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes there have been in each local authority area in each year since 2016.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (29/05/2018)

Question S5W-16753: Elaine Smith, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 17/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many of its proposed 50,000 affordable homes will be accessible to disabled people.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (29/05/2018)

Question S5W-16603: Graham Simpson, Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 11/05/2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to introduce a Warm Homes Bill.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (22/05/2018)

Other Parliamentary Activity

Summer recess dates: 20 July 2017 – 5 September 2017.

Events

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

Building Conservation Careers Fair
Date: Friday 8 June to Saturday 9 June 2018, 10am – 4pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZFK8 1QZ K8 1QZ.
Interested in a career in conservation, heritage or traditional crafts? Come along to speak to HES Staff and find out how to take the first steps to a new career.
Free. Visit our website or further details or to book a place.

The Politics of Cultural Memory in the Nations of Europe 
Date: Monday 18th June 2018 at 17:45.
Venue: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh EH2 2EL.
You are most warmly invited to a lecture, “The Politics of Cultural Memory in the Nations of Europe”, by Dr Emil Brix. Dr Brix is the Director of the International Academy of Diplomacy in Vienna and is a former Austrian Ambassador to London and Moscow. It is a joint event between the National Galleries of Scotland and the MCICH Network, with registration 1745 for 1800 start, and is one of a series to mark 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage.

Carbon Neutral Edinburgh 2050: What will the city look like & how to manage the journey there?
Date: Wed 20 June, 5.30 for 6.30-8.30pm.
Venue: City Chambers, 253 High St EH1 1YJ.
Join a round-table conversation with key people from the City Council – elected reps & officers – with Cockburn Association, Edinburgh World Heritage, BEFS, SEDA, SSEG and Edinburgh Architectural Association. From first 5,000 responses to 2050 Edinburgh City Vision consultation four aspirations emerged: 1. Edinburgh becoming carbon neutral 2. Eradicating poverty as we understand it today 3. Re-imagining public space in Edinburgh 4. Making Edinburgh more caring. We’ll explore how to achieve the first. The event is being facilitated by Transition Edinburgh. They are holding a short annual general meeting from 5.30-6.15pm – to which all are invited. Registration for the Round-table event with refreshments will be available from 6.15pm.

Carving the Court Capital
Date: Thursday 21 June 2018, 10am – 12pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZ.
Prices: £20.00 Non-member; £18.00 Concession; £18.00 Historic Scotland member.
The Four Courts, Ireland’s main court building was built over 200 years ago by architect James Gandon. 24 carved Corinthian capitals support the main dome, a number of which have become eroded and degraded over time and now need to be replaced. As part of a knowledge sharing agreement between Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the Office of Public Works (OPW) Heritage Service in Ireland, one of the replacement capitols will be carved in Stirling by HES stonemasons and apprentices. Charles Jones who will supervise the training and carving of the capitals here in Scotland will talk about the project background, the work so far and include a visit to see the carving progress.

Industrial Archaeology Conference
Dates: Friday 22 June 2018 to Wednesday 27 June 2018, 9.30am – 5.30pm.
Location: Wick, Caithness
This industrial archaeology conference includes talks, tours and site visits in and around Caithness, with options starting and finishing in Inverness and a day in Orkney. Explore the exciting world of industrial archaeology in a part of Scotland noted for its geology, vernacular buildings, fishing stations and for the transformational presence of Dounreay and modern engineering firms. Book for as many days as you wish and arrange your own accommodation. This conference is a partnership between Historic Environment Scotland, the Scottish Industrial Heritage Society and the Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group and includes speakers from Tekniska museet, National Museum of Science and Technology.

Towns Tea Party 2018
Date: Monday 25 June 2018, 2pm – 4.30pm.
Venue: The Melting Pot, 5 Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PR.
Come along to this annual opportunity to network with STP and other town stakeholders over tea and cake, and hear about the latest developments and opportunities for Scotland’s towns and city neighbourhoods. Taking place in The Melting Pot, Edinburgh, this is an excellent opportunity to gather with colleagues from across the country to network, learn and to be part of the launch of the fourth FutureTown Design Competition. Paisley Trust submitted the winning entry in 2017 and will help us launch the 2018 campaign. The Towns Tea Party will also incorporate the Scotland’s Towns Ltd Annual General Meeting and this is a great chance to be updated on STP’s progress and future activities. Free to STP Members – please RSVP here. Non Members £15+VA – please purchase ticket here.

Training

Technical Conservation Summer School
Date: Monday 11 June 2018 to Friday 15 June 2018, 9am to 5pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZ.
Prices: £450.00 Non-members – full week; £405.00 Historic Scotland members – full week
Our exciting week-long summer school provides a complete introduction to the principles of conservation and traditional building materials and skills. Whether you’re a conservation enthusiast, or just getting started, book a place to brush up on your conservation knowledge and try our hands-on activities. Each day is suitable for people from all experiences and backgrounds. Taught through a mix of lectures, practical sessions and field trips, this is the perfect starting point to develop your knowledge of building conservation. Come along to the full week to learn about everything from digital documentation to stonemasonry, or book individual dates if a particular topic catches your eye. .

Conservation 101: What You Need to Know
Date: Monday 11 June 2018, 9am – 5pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZ FK8 1QZ.
Prices: £90.00 Historic Scotland members – full day; £100.00 Non-members – full day.
Day one of our five-day conservation summer school will take you through conservation ethics and principles, materials used in traditional building construction and the planning and policy landscape we work within. This learning will then be put in context looking at heritage project design and management and a visit to a building at the beginning of its conservation journey.

Building Blocks: Stone and Lime
Date: Tuesday 12 June 2018, 9am to 5pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZFK8 1QZ.
Prices: £100.00 Non-member; £90.00 Historic Scotland member.
Day two of our five-day conservation summer school will be taught through a mix of lectures and practical sessions and focus on stone and lime in traditional buildings. As well as learning how these materials are used, you can try your hand at stone-masonry, lime slaking and scientific stone and mortar analysis.

Conserving the Castle 
Date: Wednesday 13 June 2018, 9am to 5pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZ.
Prices: £100.00 Non-member; £90.00 Historic Scotland member.
Day three of our five-day conservation summer school will explore the various techniques used to monitor and conserve the monuments in our care. Survey and recording workshops will take you through digital documentation, non-invasive testing methods and research techniques.

Sustainable Materials and Practice
Date: Thursday 14 June 2018, 9am to 5pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZ.
Prices: £100.00 Non-members; £90.00 Historic Scotland members.
Day four of our five-day conservation summer school will delve into Scottish architectural traditions and how climate change is affecting our built heritage. The first half of this day will examine vernacular architecture and traditions, and look at fired and unfired earth in more detail. The afternoon will look at the risks to our heritage through climate change and examine what we can do to both protect and adapt buildings and make them more energy efficient.

Conservation in Context
Date: Friday 15 June 2018, 9am to 5pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling FK8 1QZ.
Prices: £100.00 Non-members; £90.00 Historic Scotland members.
The final day of our five-day conservation summer school will be this day-long field trip examining conservation challenges and principles in situ. With guided trips through archaeological sites, active conservation work and examining our streetscapes this will provide a true insight into work undertaken to protect, understand and enhance our historic environment. This trip will include a scaffold tour, PPE can be provided if required.

From quarry to quoin: a conservation guide to stonework
Date: 19 June 2018, 9am-1pm
Venue: Walpole Hall, Chester Street, Edinburgh EH3 7EN
Price: £50/£40 EWH members
Join us for the next instalment of our training series: a comprehensive training session where we will explore all aspects of stonework from the quarry to the workshop and beyond.
Speakers include:
•    Marcus Paine, Hutton Stone: From the quarrier’s perspective
•    Katie Strang, Scottish Lime Centre: The geology of the building stones of Edinburgh
•    Luis Albornoz, British Geological Survey: Stone matching
•    Christa Gerdwilker, Historic Environment Scotland: Stone conservation approaches
•    Maggie Tennant, St Mary’s Cathedral Workshop: Health and safety when working with stone
•    Jordan Kirk, St Mary’s Cathedral Workshop: Practical demonstration
•    Fiona MacDonald, Edinburgh World Heritage: Grants case study
The RIAS is happy to recommend this event to its members, and it is recognised by the IHBC for CPD.

Vacancies

International Project Officer (Edinburgh World Heritage)
We are looking to appoint an International Project Officer to assist with the delivery of the Heritage Skills Build Peace and Capacity (KORU) project, which is funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund. Edinburgh World Heritage and the Istanbul-based Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (KMKD) have formed a partnership to deliver a joint training programme in Turkey.
Closing date for applications: 5pm on Friday 8th June 2018. 

Project Engagement and Monitoring Officer (Edinburgh World Heritage)
Sir Basil Spence’s Canongate Housing development is a category B listed complex of housing blocks located on Canongate in the Old Town of Edinburgh, built between 1967 and 1969. It is characterised by high energy use, low EPC rating, poor maintenance, high running costs and low community engagement. We have a vision to improve the energy efficiency of these buildings and consistently restore or repair features across the development. We are looking to appoint a Project Engagement and Monitoring Officer to assist with the delivery of the project by supporting the residents of the Canongate Housing development, particularly with financial aspects of the project, and by ongoing monitoring of energy use during and after works.Closing date for applications: 5pm on Friday 15th June 2018.

Heritage Consultancy Team Assistant (Simpson & Brown)
Simpson & Brown is looking for an enthusiastic, dynamic and well qualified person to join the Heritage Consultancy Team in Edinburgh. The position is aimed at a recent graduate of a relevant degree, or similar. The post would be full time, for a six-month initial period. Start date would be as soon as possible following successful interview, at the end of w/c 18th or w/c 25th June 2018. Simpson & Brown are leading experts in historic buildings and sites with 40 years of experience working with some of the United Kingdom’s most important built heritage. The Heritage Consultancy Team specialises in conservation plans and statements of significance for all types of heritage asset. Working in this team requires versatility and a willingness to be involved in a variety of work relating to the historic built environment. Further details are on Simpson & Brown’s website. Closing date: Monday 18th June 2018.

PAS Board now recruiting new volunteer Board members (PAS)
The PAS Board creates a strategic and policy framework for PAS and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the organisation fulfils its statutory requirements. The Board focuses on strategic direction and vision rather than organisational management and service delivery. In achieving this, the Board’s key consideration is how to implement the organisation’s charitable aims and objectives and its Strategy. The PAS Board is now looking to recruit new volunteer Board members with expertise in any of the following areas: Fundraising; Law; Financial Planning.
Closing date 6 July 2018

BEFS News

The Local Government and Communities Committee has published its report on the Planning (Scotland) Bill. The Committee calls for the Bill to expressly set out a purpose of planning, reflecting an ambition to create “high quality places”. BEFS welcomes the report and looks at the recommendations in relation to BEFS written and oral evidence. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Stage 1 debate on the Planning (Scotland) Bill will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 29 May.

The issue of tenement maintenance was progressed in a remarkably consensual Scottish Parliament debate yesterday, with agreement on a motion on the inadequacy of existing legislation in dealing with the condition of Scotland’s tenement housing stock. The motion gives further support to the cross party working group, chaired by Ben Macpherson MSP and secretariat provided by BEFS and the RICS (more information here), and it’s good to see the Minister for Local Government and Housing voting in favour of a review of the relevant legislation. The issue of tenement maintenance was recently presented at a meeting chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs who also advised not to shy away from looking at amending legislation. The parliamentary working group meets again next week to look at resourcing for local authorities to utilise powers, standard entity for owners to organise works and building inspections and BEFS hopes to make papers arising available shortly. Full transcript of yesterday’s parliamentary debate is available here, or you can watch it on Parliament TV here.

Can you spare 10 minutes to contribute to new research for the heritage sector? The State of Heritage Funding Now.

The Scottish Land Commission has published a new report and briefing paper on using land value increases to deliver new housing and development. Written by a team from Heriot-Watt University, the report reviews the UK’s historic experience of land value capture and identifies what lessons current policy makers could take from this experience.

Ahead of BEFS event, Land Value Capture – An Exploration of Methods & Views, BEFS Trustee, Bill Pagan summarises his vision of capturing land value for public benefit, in this week’s blog.

Consultations

Consultation on proposals for reviewing the current landlord registration fee structure and expanding the range of prescribed information applicants must provide to local authorities
Closes 7 Jun 2018.

Call for Evidence on Experience of Concentrated Land Ownership (SLC 15/18)
Scotland has an unusually concentrated pattern of land ownership compared to other countries and the pattern has remained largely unchanged for decades. Concern about the effects that this has on rural communities and the wider public interest has long been a central issue in the land reform debate in Scotland. The call for evidence will be open until 30 June 2018.

Environmental Principles and Governance after EU Exit (BG 10/05/18)
Opened 10 May 2018 and closes 2 Aug 2018.

Consultation Responses

National Lottery Strategic Funding Framework 2019-2024 – Consultation Findings (HLF 21/05/18)

Improving Parking in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Report (Transport Scotland 21/05/18)

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax: First-Time Buyer Relief Consultation Analysis and Scottish Government Response (SG 18/05/18)

Publications

Report points way to using land value increases to deliver new housing and development (SLC 23/05/18)

Stage 1 Report on the Planning (Scotland) Bill (LGCC 17/05/18)

Report on the Consultation on the Scottish Government’s Draft National Outcomes (LGCC 15/05/18)

Annual Report on Welfare Reform Follow up Paper: Housing and Social Security (SG 14/05/18)

Housing and disabled people: Scotland’s hidden crisis (Equality and Human Rights Commission 11/05/18)

Affordable Housing Supply Funding – SPICe Briefing (SP 11/05/18)

Scottish Government News Releases

Household numbers continue to rise (SG 22/05/18)
The number of households in Scotland has continued to increase to 2.46 million in 2017, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland (NRS).

Promoting Scotland’s cultural heritage (SG 12/05/18)
The Scottish Government has invited Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to apply for European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) to establish a multi-million pound Challenge Fund to protect and promote the Highlands & Islands natural and cultural heritage assets.

Energy efficiency in social housing (SG 10/05/18)
Social housing landlords will be able to make their properties more energy efficient, with money from a £3.5 million decarbonisation fund. Local authorities and housing associations will be able to use the fund on projects that improve energy efficiency and decarbonise heating, for example when installing solar panels or air source heat pumps.

News Releases

RIAS Response to Hackitt Review (RIAS 22/05/18)
The Hackitt review proposes a new regulatory standard for high rise high risk residential buildings of 10 storeys plus.

£8.6 million for heritage led projects in Scotland’s seven cities (HES 19/05/18)
Scotland’s seven cities are set to benefit from over £8.6 million of investment for heritage-led regeneration projects. The funding is being released through the City Heritage Trust programme, which is administered by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).

CIfA and DGUF to sign memorandum of understanding (CifA 17/05/18)
On 12 May, CIfA’s Board of Directors and the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte e.V (DGUF) signalled their intention to formally sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) designed to permanently regulate the cooperation between the two associations. The MoU recognises that both organisations have a commitment to the promotion of archaeology, care for our cultural heritage and good practice in archaeology.

LIS Launches the Mark Turnbull Travel Award  (LIS 14/05/18)
Using overseas travel to gain an insight into best and innovative landscape practice to address some of the current landscape challenges facing Scotland. This award will benefit future generations of graduate landscape architects in Scotland as well as the practice of landscape architecture by bringing overseas experience and knowledge back to the country.

EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2018: 29 winners from 17 countries announced (EN 15/05/18)
The winners of the 2018 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, Europe’s top honour in the field, were announced today by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage network. The 29 laureates from 17 countries have been recognised for their impressive accomplishments in conservation, research, dedicated service, and education, training and awareness-raising.

2018 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards – Public Choice Award (EN 15/05/18)
You should vote for 3 projects. You cannot vote for the same country more than once. You need to confirm your vote by clicking on the e-mail that you will receive. The winner will be announced at the European Heritage Awards Ceremony on 22 June 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Deadline for voting is 10 June 2018.

Edinburgh Doors Open Day (CA 05/18)
Be part of Edinburgh’s biggest free celebration of architecture, culture and history. The Cockburn Association is currently seeking expressions of interest for new venues and events for Doors Open Days 2018.  Find out more and get involved!

Braw Buildings (Hostelling Scotland 05/18)
Hostelling Scotland have partnered with Scottish Civic Trust’s Doors Open Days and ScotRail on an exciting new project for the Year of Young People 2018. The Braw Buildings Project offers young people in Scotland the chance to stay in one of 6 Youth Hostels across Scotland and take part in Doors Open Days.

Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) –  now open for applications (SG 14/05/18)
The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, delivered in partnership with COSLA and local government, supports locally developed regeneration projects that involve local communities, helping to support and create jobs and build sustainable communities.

Energy efficient buildings: Council adopts revised directive (European Council 14/05/18)
The Council today adopted a revised directive on the energy performance of buildings, so completing the final stage in the legislative procedure. The directive improves energy efficiency in buildings and encourages building renovation. Decarbonising the existing, highly inefficient European building stock is one of its long term goals.

New environment law to deliver a Green Brexit (BG 10/05/18)
Environmental Principles and Governance Bill announced as consultation launches on new body to hold government to account. A new Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will ensure environmental protections will not be weakened as we leave the EU, the government has confirmed.

Opinion & Comment

Back to the Land? (Mark Stephens, Heriot-Watt University for SLC 23/05/18)

Three Thatched Buildings You Need To Know (Rosanne Watts, HES 18/05/18)

RTPI Scotland: Planning Bill must make clear planning will defend public interest (RTPI 17/05/18)

Devolved Taxes: the case of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) group relief and share pledges (SPICe 18/05/18)

Plaque attack! (Kenny Brophy, 15/05/18)

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”.

Graham Simpson S5W-16603
To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to introduce a Warm Homes Bill. (SP 11/05/18)

Elaine Smith S5W-16753
To ask the Scottish Government how many of its proposed 50,000 affordable homes will be accessible to disabled people. (SP 17/05/18)

Elaine Smith S5W-16754
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes there have been in each local authority area in each year since 2016. (SP 17/05/18)

Elaine Smith S5W-16755
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes in each local authority area have been (a) built and (b) demolished in each year since 2016. (SP 17/05/18)

Elaine Smith S5W-16769
To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages the private sector to modify homes in line with the needs of disabled tenants. (SP 17/05/18)

Elaine Smith S5W-16770
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to meet the demand for accessible housing for disabled people. (SP 17/05/18)

Motions

Motion debated on 23/05/18
Graham Simpson: Housing—That the Parliament believes that existing legislation is inadequate in dealing with the condition of Scotland’s tenement housing stock; backs calls for changes to legislation including, for example, having mandatory building health checks; believes that property factors can play a part in a new system; considers that there are property factor companies that perform their duties well, but that there are some that are performing poorly; acknowledges the limited role of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) in improving the performance of property factors and considers that the system for members of the public to make complaints should be improved; believes that there is a need for a more robust process to remove property factors that repeatedly break the property factors code of conduct or duties, and calls on the Scottish Government to review the current system.

• The SNP amendment agreed there should be a review of existing regulation relating to the maintenance of tenements, which would cover mandatory health checks and property factors.
• Labour’s amendment called for a “new system” and a review of the “gaps” in housing legislation, as well as suggesting more robust regulation for factors.
• The Green and Liberal Democrat amendments were not selected for debate.

Read the full transcript.

Events

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

RSA Scotland: MCICH Network – Politics of Cultural Memory in the Nations of Europe
Date: Mon 18 June 2018, from 17:45 – 19:30.
Venue: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh EH2 2EL.
RSA Fellows and guests, IIC Members and NGS Patrons, Friends and Supporters are warmly invited to attend this lecture, the second in an RSA Fellows’ Media, Creative Industries, Culture & Heritage Network (MCICH) Series to mark 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage. The MCICH Network extends its thanks to the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, National Galleries of Scotland RSA Scotland for support of this event. Early booking is advised. Dr. Emil Brix, born in Vienna, is a diplomat and historian. He is the Director of the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. He has served in the Austrian diplomatic service.

Causy Development Trust Annual General Meeting 2018
Date: Tuesday, 19 June, from 7pm.
Venue: Buccleuch & Greyfriars Free Church, 10 West Crosscauseway, EH8 9JP
Causey Development Trust AGM 2018 is on Tuesday 19th June at 7pm. The guest speaker will be Daisy Narayanan, Project Director, Central Edinburgh transformation, CEC, Deputy Director, Sustrans Scotland. All welcome!

RTPI Sir Patrick Geddes Commemorative Lecture: Tessy Britton – The Participatory City (NOT SOLD OUT as website suggests)
Date: 26 June from 6pm.
Venue: Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.
Tessy Britton, Founding CEO of The Participatory City, will give this year’s Geddes Lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. The Participatory City Foundation is an organisation established to create a large citizen-led participation ecosystem in Barking and Dagenham. Book here.

Training

From Quarry to Quoin: A Conservation Guide to Stonework
Date: 19 June 2018, 9am-1pm.
Venue: Walpole Hall, Chester Street, Edinburgh EH3 7EN.
£50/£40 EWH members
Join us for the next instalment of our training series: a comprehensive training session where we will explore all aspects of stonework from the quarry to the workshop and beyond.
Topics covered:

• Quarries
• Geology of the World Heritage Site
• Stone matching, workability and maintenance
• Health and safety
• Practical demonstrations

Speakers include:

• Marcus Paine, Hutton Stone
• Katie Strang, Scottish Lime Centre
• Luis Albornoz, British Geological Survey
• Christa Gerdwilker, Historic Environment Scotland
• Maggie Tennant, St Mary’s Cathedral Workshop
• Jordan Kirk, St Mary’s Cathedral Workshop

The RIAS is happy to recommend this event to its members, and it is recognised by the IHBC for CPD.

Vacancies

Volunteer with us! Architecture Fringe
With the Architecture Fringe 2018 programme released into the world we are now seeking some assistance in helping us to successfully deliver this year’s festival. We are a volunteer-run organisation and we are looking for like-minded people to enter into the spirit of contributing a small amount of their time in helping us to enact positive change on Scotland’s built environment.
Should this be of interest please drop us a line at hello@architecturefringe.com noting ‘Volunteer Help’ in the subject heading by 12 noon on Monday 28th May 2018.

Programme Manager
This is an exciting opportunity to lead the delivery of the North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme, following a successful funding application. The North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme will raise awareness of and conserve and enhance the distinct identities of Orkney’s North Isles through the delivery of a number of projects. In the latest Halifax Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey, Orkney retained the title of Britain’s best rural place to live. The aspiration is to improve the condition of heritage assets, make heritage more accessible, encouraging the involvement of young people and the sharing of heritage between generations. Closing date: Sunday 03 June 2018.

Information in the Bulletin is extracted from a number of websites including the Scottish Government (SG); the Scottish Parliament (SP); Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS); Historic Environment Scotland (HES); Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH); Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO); English Heritage (EH); Design Council (DC); Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG); Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); National Assembly for Wales (NAW); Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS); Scottish Government Building Standards  (SGBS); Europa Nostra (EN); Historic England (HE).

If you have any questions or comments on the above, or would like to submit information to be included, please get in touch with Saskia Smellie or tel: BEFS Office on 0131 220 6241.

BEFS News

Join us for Land Value Capture – An Exploration of Methods & Views, on 31st May in Edinburgh. This event will provide a forum for built environment professionals and others with an interest in land to discuss the potential for land value capture as a means of increasing housing supply across all tenures, funding future infrastructure, and investing in placemaking.

The Local Government and Communities Committee has agreed its Stage 1 report on the Planning (Scotland) Bill. The report will be published on Thursday 17 May at the Committee’s digital reports hub on the Parliament’s website here.

Currently there is no major research into the funding landscape for the heritage sector in Scotland. Evaluation during the four years of Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage (RSH) has made it clear how crucial a report of this kind is for sector understanding and development. You can contribute to ‘The State of Heritage Funding Now’ research, which has been commissioned by the RSH partners (Archaeology Scotland, Arts & Business Scotland, BEFS, greenspace scotland, & Museums Galleries Scotland) by completing this short survey.

The Scottish Heritage Angel Awards 2018 are now open for nominations. Groups and individuals involved in heritage projects across Scotland are encouraged to enter as the scheme returns for a fourth year.

BEFS Trustee, Jocelyn Cunliffe, reflects on the content and discussions at BEFS recent workshop, ‘Keeping Church Buildings Alive’, organised in partnership with Scottish Redundant Churches Trust, Scotland’s Churches Trust and The Prince’s Foundation, in our blog this week.

Special Announcement

Through BEFS bulletin you regularly receive information on our activities and other relevant news on policies, funding and activities related to the built environment. Our bulletin also includes invitations to our events and calls to participate in awards, events and research undertaken by BEFS partners and member organisations.

As you may know, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will take effect on 25 May 2018. This important EU regulation aims primarily to give control back to EU citizens and residents over the use of their personal data.

In compliance with the GDPR, we want to ensure that you are happy to continue receiving BEFS bulletin and the third party jobs, events, publications and news it contains. Subscribers have previously given their consent to receive BEFS bulletin but, we want to make sure that you are aware that you can opt-out from receiving future editions of the bulletin at any time. To opt out simply scroll to the very end of this email and click ‘unsubscribe from this list’.

We process the data you provide when you sign up to BEFS bulletin under the ‘legitimate interest’ legal basis of GDPR. We will shortly have a new Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notice online, providing more details of how we deal with your data. We will share this in a bulletin in due course. However, rest assured that we will never sell or share your data with third parties, or use your contact details for anything other than BEFS bulletin.

Consultations

Consultation on the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing post-2020 (EESSH2)
Opened 2 May 2018 and closes 27 Jul 2018.

Energy Efficient Scotland Consultation: Making our homes and buildings warmer, greener and more efficient
Opened 2 May 2018 and closes 27 Jul 2018.

A Consultation on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax – Property Investment Funds
Opened 3 May 2018 and closes 2 Aug 2018.

Publications

Human Rights and the Work of the Scottish Land Commission: A discussion paper (SLC 08/05/18) 

Energy Efficient Scotland: Route Map (SG 02/05/18)

Energy Efficient Scotland – Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (SG 02/05/18)

Energy Efficient Scotland – Strategic Environmental Assessment: Environmental Report (SG 02/05/18)

Energy Efficient Scotland: Equality Impact Assessment (SG 02/05/18)

The 25-Year Environment Plan: Ensuring it works for both the historic and natural environments (THA 05/18)

Housing and life experiences: policy development (Joseph Roundtree Foundation 30/04/18)

Infrastructure Investment Plan 2015 – Progress Report for 2017 (SG 30/04/18)

Scottish Government News

Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2018 (SG 08/05/18)
The applications are open until Thursday 24th May 2018, information about this year’s Scottish Awards for Quality for Planning can be found on our blog. If you are looking for inspiration for our new #SAQP2018 children and young people category, have a look at these projects from our Making Places event last year.

Funding for fuel poverty and energy efficiency (SG 02/05/18)
Funding of £54.5 million to help tackle fuel poverty and reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

‘Changing Places’ facilities coming to Dundee Station (SG 02/05/18)
Campaigners welcome project approval. Accessibility campaigners in Dundee will welcome the news Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has approved Changing Places facilities at the city’s key rail station.

£3 billion of new infrastructure built (SG 30/04/18)
Investment includes road, rail and hospital. The Queensferry Crossing, a new hospital and major motorway improvements are among £3 billion worth of infrastructure projects completed in Scotland last year.

News Releases

Smell of heritage: a framework for the identification, analysis and archival of historic odours (ICON 05/05/18)
We don’t know much about the smells of the past. Yet, odours play an important role in our daily lives: they affect us emotionally, psychologically and physically, and influence the way we engage with history. Can this lead us to consider certain smells as cultural heritage? And if so, what would be the processes for the identification, protection and conservation of those heritage smells?

The Old Royal High School is under threat!  (CA 04/05/18)
The Cockburn Association together with Edinburgh World Heritage and New Town & Broughton Community Council have launched a Crowd Justice fundraising appeal today. Thomas Hamilton’s Royal High School, built between 1825-9, is one of the most important Greek Revival buildings in Europe and was one of the buildings to inspire the moniker of ‘Athens of the North’. Please help us win the planning appeal by pledging a contribution!

Conservation Conversations (ICON Scotland Group)
Icon Scotland Group’s Blog aims to promote the high standard of heritage conservation activities in Scotland and showcase a range of events, people and projects from all conservation disciplines. If you are involved in a conservation related project or event or in Scotland, or would just like to share your enthusiasm for all things heritage, they would love to hear from you! All disciplines and people are welcome. For submission guidelines, or if you have any questions, please contact Blog Administrator, Emily hickemily@hotmail.com.

Review offers springboard for improving Green Infrastructure across the CSGN (CSGN 04/05/18)
The Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership has today published its much anticipated Report into the quality of Green Infrastructure (GI) policies across the Central Scotland Green Network region.

Are you considering transforming your property? – Sign up to Architect in the Hoose
and speak to an architect for ideas and inspiration! (RIAS 04/18)
The scheme is very simple and all contributions go to charity – architects across Scotland are offering hour-long consultations to the public in return for a £45 donation (a bargain!) to the Architects Benevolent Society (ABS). The ABS helps people of all ages who have experienced redundancy, illness, accident or bereavement. One in six of those cared for is under the age of 35, and half of those helped by the Society are below retirement age.

International Summer Academy on Managing Historic Urban Landscapes – Open Call for early career participants (EN 04/05/18)
Europa Nostra and partners invite early career professionals (‘up to 40 years old’) across Europe to apply to the Open Call for participation in the International Summer Academy ‘Managing Historic Urban Landscapes’, which will take place from 5-12 August 2018, in Petrovaradin, Novi Sad, Serbia, with applications closing 15 May 2018.

CSGN Development Fund Provides Funding Boost of £355,000 to Central Scotland Green Projects (CSGN 03/05/18)
Central Scotland Green Network Trust (CSGNT) today (2 May 2018) announced that 14 environmental projects across Central Scotland have benefitted from a green funding boost totalling over £355,000.

Tram Extension Plans – Cockburn Response (CA 27/04/18)
The Cockburn Association supports the extension of Edinburgh’s current tram line. Trams to Newhaven: community integration and well-being must be centre stage. Approach must be Civic Design led; supporting community vitality and viability.

Opinion & Comment

Cities need to cool down to survive (Milena Ivkovic, RTPI 08/05/18)

Is Airbnb a threat to historic cities and towns? (Cliff Hague, 07/05/18)

Planners are key players in this urban century (Cliff Hague & Christine Platt for RTPI, 18/04/18)

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-15933: Graeme Dey, Angus South, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 17/04/2018
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its guidance regarding engaging communities in decisions relating to land, as required under Part 4 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016.
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham (18/04/2018)

Motions

Motions for debate today
Kevin Stewart: A Route Map to an Energy Efficient Scotland—That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Energy Efficient Scotland Route Map and continued recognition by the Scottish Government of energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority; acknowledges that, by 2040, the Energy Efficient Scotland programme will make the country’s homes and buildings warmer, greener and more efficient, remove poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty, help achieve Scotland’s climate change targets and maximise the local economic benefits across all of Scotland arising from an investment programme that has a ‘whole economy’ value of around £10bn; welcomes Scotland’s ambitions to tackle climate change and fuel poverty as a huge opportunity to transform the energy efficiency of existing domestic and non-domestic buildings, drawing together action at a national and local level that is undertaken by individuals, businesses and the public and third sectors, and notes that this will build on the work of the Scottish Government, Scotland’s 32 local authorities and partners that have improved over one million homes and non-domestic properties since 2008.
– The Conservative amendment suggested an earlier target for all homes to meet the EPC C rating of “no later than 2030”.
– Labour’s amendment suggested the target to reduce fuel poverty levels was not ambitious enough and called for fuel poverty to be eradicated.
– The Green amendment called for public spending to be “substantially accelerated” to achieve these aims.
– The Liberal Democrat amendment criticised the lack of recognition for improving energy efficiency and tackling fuel poverty in remote, rural and island communities.

Events

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

RIAS Convention 2018 – ‘Future Directions’
Date: Fri, 11 May 2018, 09:00 – Sat, 12 May 2018, 14:00.
Venue: Queens Cross Church, 38 Albyn Place, Aberdeen, AB10 1YN.
This year’s RIAS Convention is generously sponsored by Gartcarron Fire Engineering, Kingspan Insulation and Marsh. We are delighted that this year’s RIAS Convention will take place at Queens Cross Church in Aberdeen. The church was put out to competition and won by local architect, John Bridgeford Pirie (Messrs Pirie and Clyne). Completed in 1881, the church is built of grey granite, has a tower and spire rising to a height of 145 feet and cost c. £7000 to build. Both the Friday and Saturday events will take place at the church and we will be able to enjoy its new extension by RIAS Chartered Practice, Lee Boyd Limited. As this is the Scottish Government’s Year of Young People, our Saturday session will focus on architectural education and showcase the work from some of our talented students of architecture. The Convention Dinner will take place at the Aberdeen Douglas Hotel, which has been welcoming guests since 1848.

Dryburgh Abbey – Its Picturesque Landscape Re-assessed
Date: Monday 21 May 2018, 9.45am – 4.45pm.
Location: Dryburgh Abbey, St. Boswells.
This whole day event hosted by Historic Environment Scotland in conjunction with The Gardens Trust focuses on the extensive designed landscape surrounding Dryburgh Abbey in the Scottish Borders. The day will start from the Abbey car park with guided tours of central parts of the designed landscape. This will be followed by morning coffee at Dryburgh Abbey Hotel after which we will learn of the history of the landscape and its development, historical connections and cultural significance by the author of the comprehensive Conservation Management Plan which has been commissioned for the site, landscape architect Peter McGowan. After a light lunch we will go out for the afternoon tour of outer parts of the landscape. We then return to the Hotel for afternoon tea and hear of context of abbeys being used as follies within landscapes, before concluding the day’s events by opening up the discussion on alternative options for how the designed landscape could be managed in the future.

Vernacular Buildings Seminar
Date: Thursday 24 May 2018, from 9.30am – 4.30pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
This one day event will explore the local materials and skills used to make Scotland’s historic rural houses. From earth to thatch, timber to stone, these buildings are the original eco-builds.

Archaeological Research in Progress 2018
Date: Sat 26 May 2018, from 09:15 – 17:30.
Venue: The Engine Shed, Forthside Way, Stirling, FK8 1QZ.
The national conference examining recent and ongoing archaeological projects across Scotland will take place at the Engine Shed in Stirling on Saturday 26th May 2018. This conference is supported by Historic Environment Scotland and is delivered in partnership with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The all-day conference gives the audience the opportunity to hear first-hand about the most recent archaeological projects across Scotland and should not be missed. Offering great value for the full day (lunch and refreshments are included in the ticket price) there are further discounts for Archaeology Scotland and Society of Antiquaries of Scotland members. Book now to ensure your place.

Industrial Riverside Health Walk
Date: Wednesday 30 May 2018, from 2pm – 3pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
Surrounded by the River Forth, the Riverside area had been the port of Stirling for hundreds of years.
From the medieval period till the 1940s, ships and boats carried people and goods from Stirling to ports around the world. During the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries many of these goods, including agriculture, machinery, carriages, barrels and fabric, were manufactured in the Riverside area.
On this Heritage Health Walk join Moses Jenkins from Historic Environment Scotland to learn about the industrial heritage in this area. Free – Booking essential.

Young Surveyors Conservation Day
Date: Friday 1 June 2018, from 9.30am – 4.30pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
A one-day seminar on building conservation basics for surveyors. Learn about the conservation principles for traditional and historic structures, gain an insight into how to use traditional mortars and building components. Suitable for newly qualified and graduate surveyors. Free – but booking essential.

Scotland Branch – MATE session
Date: 7 June.
Location: Glasgow.
IHBC are holding another Membership Application Training Event – the main aim of which is to assist people in upgrading their membership from either Affiliate/Associate to Full membership.
There will be a presentation from Kate Kendall, IHBC Education, Training & Standards Liaison Officer followed by small group discussions. Kate Kendall said: ‘These events are a great way for prospective applicants to find out how to understand their skills, knowledge and experience in the context of IHBC membership criteria and accreditation.  And all this is free too, offered to anyone interested in IHBC membership as part of the IHBC’s charitable support for the care of the built and historic environment.’ To book your FREE place please email Kate at LETS@ihbc.org.uk.

HES’s Building Conservation Summer School
Date: 11th to 15th June 2018.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
We are delighted to announce that the programme for our annual Summer School has now been announced. This five-day day course provides a great introduction to building conservation; it is taught by leading experts in the heritage sector and as well as lectures, the programme includes exclusive site visits and hands-on workshops. You can get a discounted weekly ticket or a day ticket if you are interested in attending a particular day. In support for the Year of Young People, we are offering a limited number of bursary places to those starting their careers in conservation. You must be between 18 and 26 years of age and have a passion for building conservation.

IHBC Annual School 2018, Northern Ireland Branch
Date: 21-23 June.
Location: Belfast.
Our shared Heritage – communication | negotiation | transformation. Secure your place for the next in IHBC’s celebrated series of Schools. Bursaries are still available and low-cost residential options ensure IHBC members and colleagues can explore our Full School tour options, from the global brand of the Titanic quarter or the nationally important country house, to local contested heritage, all offering some of the best value heritage CPD around, and all courtesy of the IHBC. IHBC Director Sean O’Reilly said: ‘This year we’ve substantially upgraded our online CPD support, as a taster for the future, so be sure to make early and full use of the CPD references, links and area guidance, as well as our social media, to make the best of another unique IHBC learning experience.’

Training

Rubble Wall Building
Date: 5 – 6 June 2018.
Venue: Merryhill Training Centre, Fife KY11 3DR.
This practical two day course will equip you to set out, construct and finish a traditional rubble wall using a variety of building stones and traditional lime mortars. The importance of laying the stones correctly and the use of pinning stones will be emphasised so that no more than 30% of the volume of the wall is mortar! The content of this workshop provides part of the underpinning knowledge required for assessment and accreditation of SQA National Unit 3 – ‘Conservation Masonry’.

Intensive Training Week – C1,C2 & National Units
Date: 11 – 15 June 2018.
Venue: Merryhill Training Centre, Fife KY11 3DR.
This intensive week of training and assessment will combine our courses ‘C1 Making and Using Traditional Mortars’ and ‘C2 Traditional Masonry Repair’ with continual assessment to allow you to gain SQA National Units 1, 2 & 3 in Conservation Masonry within five intensive days. You require to have trowel skills to participate and be assessed.

Rendering & Harling with Lime
Date: 21 – 22 June 2018.
Venue: Merryhill Training Centre, Fife KY11 3DR.
This course will enable you to apply a variety of external lime finishes including formal ‘lined out’ work to less formal textured harled finishes to a wide range of background types including matching in to existing finishes. Attendance at this two day workshop will let you get to grips with both hand casting and mechanical application techniques to effect a range of surface finishes and is relevant for the reinstatement of traditional lime finishes and for new build applications.

3-Day Practical Gilding Course
Date: September 3-5.
Location: Glasgow.
This course will familiarise participants with the materials, methods and techniques of both water and oil gilding. It will provide opportunities to learn skills relating to gilding using traditional materials and techniques.   This is a practical course and particularly suited to newly-qualified conservators but it is also suitable for anyone with an interest in gilding.
To quote the Tutor, Tim Ritson, “Gilding skills are very transferable and even as an experienced gilder I’m always interested in picking up new techniques.”
All tools and materials are included in the cost. Lunch, tea and coffee will be provided.  The course will run from 10:00 – 16:00 each day. The course is taught by Tim Ritson, Head of Frames Conservation at the Royal Museums Greenwich and experienced trainer. Tim is passionate about teaching and sharing his knowledge to promote the continuance of traditional craft skill.

Vacancies

Govanhill Baths Capital Project Director
Govanhill Baths Community Trust‘s goal is to re-open the Govanhill Baths as a Wellbeing Centre and at the same time contribute to the wider social, cultural and built regeneration of Govanhill as a community through a range of activities. It is the role of the Capital Project Manager to ensure successful delivery of the above refurbishment and new build programme. This will involve managing the Design Team and other external consultants, developing partnerships with local organisations, and working closely with programming and operational staff to ensure that the capital works are capable of underpinning the delivery of a sustainable programme and business model for Govanhill Baths.
Deadline for applications is 5pm 15th May 2018.

Scottish Civic Trust Project Officer
The purpose of the role is to coordinate the Trust’s Civic Connections project, working closely with the Director. This project involves supporting and developing the Trust’s network of local heritage groups, amenity societies and civic trusts through events, including an annual conference and lecture, and promotional material and resources. The project will recognise that intergenerational activity, particularly at the local level, is very important. The project will set out to encourage all members of the community, and young people (under 25) in particular, to take an active interest in their local heritage.
Closing date for applications: 5pm on Wednesday 16 May 2018

Regional Services Coordinator (part-time)
The post holder will work within the regional RICS team in Scotland to coordinate meetings, events and activities to actively contribute to the organization’s objectives as outlined in the RICS UK business plan.  This is a part-time position, working 21 hours per week, Wednesday to Friday.
Application close date: 1 June 2018.

Information in the Bulletin is extracted from a number of websites including the Scottish Government (SG); the Scottish Parliament (SP); Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS); Historic Environment Scotland (HES); Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH); Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO); English Heritage (EH); Design Council (DC); Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG); Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); National Assembly for Wales (NAW); Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS); Scottish Government Building Standards  (SGBS); Europa Nostra (EN); Historic England (HE).

If you have any questions or comments on the above, or would like to submit information to be included, please get in touch with Saskia Smellie or tel: BEFS Office on 0131 220 6241.

BEFS News

BEFS is keen to continue the momentum for exploration and discussion around land value capture and invites you to Land Value Capture – An Exploration of Methods & Views, on 31st May in Edinburgh. This event will provide a forum for built environment professionals and others with an interest in land to discuss the potential for land value capture as a means of increasing housing supply across all tenures, funding future infrastructure, and investing in placemaking.

On Monday, BEFS hosted a workshop on ‘Keeping Church Buildings Alive’ at Renfield St Stephens Centre in Glasgow. The event provided practical tips and expertise on maintaining local church buildings from the Church of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Architectural Heritage Fund and many more. Download the rich and informative range of presentations from our website. The workshop was organised in partnership with Scottish Redundant Churches Trust, Scotland’s Churches Trust and The Prince’s Foundation.

In March, BEFS held a lively workshop with stakeholders from across the sector to review Historic Environment Scotland’s Policy Statement (HESPS), ahead of the HES consultations and review to be held in 2018. You can now read about the outcomes of the intensive workshop and the report here.

BEFS invited Lucy Casot, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Scotland, to present research on proposed changes to the organisation’s future direction, to the Historic Environment Working Group. The responses to HLF’s wide-ranging questionnaire have been summarised in a report. BEFS supported many aspects of the changes but advised HLF to clearly retain their specific focus on heritage.

Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage (led by Arts & Business Scotland in partnership with Archaeology Scotland, Built Environment Forum Scotland, greenspace Scotland and Museums Galleries Scotland) has commissioned Consilium to map the current funding landscape for the heritage sector in Scotland. This is part of the legacy of the four-year RSH capacity building programme. The resulting report will aim to raise awareness of the current funding landscape for the heritage sector from public, private and charitable sources. You can contribute by completing this short survey.

Historic Environment Scotland, Archaeology Scotland and Northlight Heritage have announced a call for contributions to Scotland’s Community Heritage Conference 2018. More details here.

BEFS Director, Euan Leitch, provides an update on recent developments in the ongoing campaign to improve property maintenance in Scotland, including the establishment of a parliamentary working group on the maintenance of tenement communal property and newly commissioned research.

Wojciech Borowski, Project Coordinator at PAS, reflects on the two-year Heritage Lottery funded youth project, In the Footsteps of Geddes, in the first of our blogs this week.

Team BEFS recently spent a day exploring the history and heritage of Falkland. The visit offered an opportunity to explore the village, the Estate and the Palace; the way in which the three interact, the pressures of tourism, and the opportunities arising from their recent charrette process. More about what we learnt in our second blog this week.

Consultations

A Connected Scotland: Tackling social isolation and loneliness and building stronger social connections
Closes 27 April 2018.

Petition: Permitted development rights in conservation areas
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review the permitted development rights legislation, which we consider impacts unfairly on residents of conservation areas and listed buildings in Scotland.
Closing Date for Online Petition: 08 May 2018 

Call for Evidence on Experience of Concentrated Land Ownership (Scottish Land Commission 22/03/18)
The call for evidence will be open until 23 May 2018.

Publications

HES Annual Operating Plan 2018-19 (HES 23/04/18)

Guidance for Acquiring Authorities: Can I use Compulsory purchase? (SG 26/04/18)

Guidance for Acquiring Authorities: How do I prepare a Compulsory Purchase Order? (SG 26/04/18)

Guidance for Acquiring Authorities: How do Scottish Ministers consider a Compulsory Purchase Order? (SG 26/04/18)

Guidance for Acquiring Authorities: What should I do before developing a Compulsory Purchase Order? (SG 26/04/18)

The Planning (Scotland) Bill: Understanding Planning Jargon (SPICe 25/04/18)

Community Planning Officials Survey: Understanding the everyday work of local participatory governance in Scotland (WWS 24/04/18)

Guidance on Engaging Communities in Decisions Relating to Land (SG 18/04/18)

Glasgow’s Historic Built Environment: A Snapshot (GCHT 04/18)

What is the city but the people? Engineering inclusivity debate (ICE 04/18)

Listen to the Stones (ScARF 04/18)
A popular summary booklet and PDFs of the core text and 39 case studies for Future Thinking in Carved Stones in Scotland: A Research Framework can now be downloaded here. Unusually this Framework is structured around the Heritage Cycle, referencing Our Place in Time (see Section 1.4). A poster summarizing the approach can be found here

National Outcomes Consultation 2018 – SPICe Briefing (SPICe 13/04/18)

Home Improvements – Action to address the housing challenges faced by young people (Resolution Foundation 04/18) 

News Releases

Show your support for EU colleagues (SCVO 24/04/18)
We have launched an online resource dedicated to Brexit and the effect on third sector EU colleagues as part of our #EUareValued campaign. It has background, useful information, links to other resources, case studies of organisations affected and a quick guide to applying for settled status. Find out why Camphill Scotland and the British Heart Foundation Scotland support #EUareValued.

HES Publishes Annual Operating Plan 2018/19 (HES 23/04/18)
The plan outlines the key commitments for HES over the next 12 months to support its work as the lead public body for the historic environment, and details how the work of the organisation will ensure the historic environment thrives and delivers economic and social benefits for all of Scotland. This is underpinned by five strategic themes: Lead, Understand, Protect, Value and Perform.

Neighbours bring life back into redundant churches (Herald 23/04/18)
Experts are gathering in Glasgow today for an event designed to guide communities on how to tackle taking over such historic buildings, with many already being restored for a wider range of uses other than worship including as a concert venue and for attracting tourists.

New Director for the Scottish Civic Trust (SCT 23/04/18)
The Scottish Civic Trust is delighted to announce that its new Director is Dr Susan O’Connor, latterly Senior Projects Advisor for Scotland with the Princes Regeneration Trust.

Search for Best Regeneration Project Begins: Herald Property Awards for Scotland 2018 (STP 23/04/18)
SINCE 2007, The Herald Property Awards for Scotland have been setting the standard for excellence in housebuilding. For more than a decade, developers, industry professionals and sales teams have recognised these awards as the highest accolade achievable in their field.

HEEPS loan scheme now open for applications (SNH 20/04/18)
The Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programme Scotland (HEEPS) loans scheme for Registered Social Landlords 2018/2019 is now open for applications.

Young person’s heritage manifesto launched on World Heritage Day (EWH 18/04/18)
A manifesto was launched today outlining steps necessary to ensure Scotland’s young people feel a stronger connection to the country’s heritage. The manifesto was written by a group of young people living and studying in Edinburgh, and was launched at a World Heritage Day celebration attended by Scottish Minister Maree Todd.

Record-breaking visitor figures at Scotland’s historic sites (HES 17/04/18)
Historic Environment Scotland (HES), who manage over 300 Historic Scotland visitor attractions across the country representing more than 5,000 years of Scottish history, are celebrating a 17% increase in footfall from the previous financial year, recording 5,041,297 visitors throughout the 2017/18 financial year.

2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage #EuropeforCulture
BEFS, with others, supported the 2018 EYCH Launch by Commissioner Phil Hogan on 9th April at the French Cultural Institute. BEFS members are encouraged to seek accreditation for events large and small across Scotland. The European Commission website is http://europa.eu/cultural-heritage and the UK 2018EYCH website is www.2018-eych-uk.eu. The UK Coordinator, Graham Bell of North of England Civic Trust may be reached via 2018eychuk@gmail.com. He is ready to give advice about, and issue completion forms regarding the accreditation process.

How do we create places that deliver healthier lives? (DC 16/04/18)
Design Council and Social Change UK today launched our Healthy Placemaking report which highlighted the outcomes from their survey of over 600 built environment practitioners across the UK including architects, town planners and urban designers. The aim being to gain insight and understanding of their experiences across multiple areas on healthy placemaking, and the possible barriers and challenges found.

3.3 million Available to Support volunteering in Scotland (Voluntary Action Fund 04/18)
This scheme managed by the Voluntary Action Fund (VAF) will enable Scotland’s small to medium-sized third sector organisations to recruit additional volunteers (who will contribute towards delivering a new volunteering project, or extending/expanding an existing one) and improve how volunteers are supported in their role. The deadline for applications is 5pm Friday 4 May 2018.

Creative Industries Sector Deal launched (DDCMS 28/03/18)
Britain’s world-leading creative industries are set to consolidate the country’s position as a global creative powerhouse, following a groundbreaking new Industrial Strategy deal agreed between government and the Creative Industries Council (CIC) on behalf of the sector.

Opinion & Comment

Why existing homes matter just as much as building new ones (CIH Scotland’s policy and practice manager Ashley Campbell in SHN 24/04/18)

What would 300,000 houses per year do to prices? (Ian Mulheirn, Director of Consulting at Oxford Economics 19/04/18)

Guest Blog – The National Performance Framework (Jennifer Wallace, Head of Policy at the Carnegie UK Trust for SPICe 16/04/18)

Regeneration – it’s not rocket science but we still get it wrong (Pete Frost, Senior Urban Advisor at Natural Resources Wales 13/04/18)

5 Key Take-Aways from our New Report on Co-Living (Atif Shafique, RSA 03/18)

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”.

Graeme Dey S5W-15933
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its guidance regarding engaging communities in decisions relating to land, as required under Part 4 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016. (SP 17/04/18)

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-15589: Graham Simpson, Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 23/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the effectiveness of home reports.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (17/04/2018)

Question S5W-15699: Graeme Dey, Angus South, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 28/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Land Commission will lay its revised Programme of Work in the Parliament.
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham (29/03/2018)

Events

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

RIAS Convention 2018 – ‘Future Directions’
Date: Fri, 11 May 2018, 09:00 – Sat, 12 May 2018, 14:00.
Venue: Queens Cross Church, 38 Albyn Place, Aberdeen, AB10 1YN.
This year’s RIAS Convention is generously sponsored by Gartcarron Fire Engineering, Kingspan Insulation and Marsh. We are delighted that this year’s RIAS Convention will take place at Queens Cross Church in Aberdeen. The church was put out to competition and won by local architect, John Bridgeford Pirie (Messrs Pirie and Clyne). Completed in 1881, the church is built of grey granite, has a tower and spire rising to a height of 145 feet and cost c. £7000 to build. Both the Friday and Saturday events will take place at the church and we will be able to enjoy its new extension by RIAS Chartered Practice, Lee Boyd Limited. As this is the Scottish Government’s Year of Young People, our Saturday session will focus on architectural education and showcase the work from some of our talented students of architecture. The Convention Dinner will take place at the Aberdeen Douglas Hotel, which has been welcoming guests since 1848.

A Repton Celebration
Date: Saturday 12 May 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Broomhall House & Valleyfield – the only Scottish landscape designed by Humphry Repton.
We have put together a super celebratory event to mark the death of Humphry Repton, the last great landscape designer of the 18th century. After coffee, Lord Bruce will welcome us and take us on a virtual tour of Broomhall House. Dr. Patrick Eyres, landscape historian and editor, will speak about Repton and his Theatrical Self-promotion through Red Books and Printed Publications. This will be followed by an illustrated talk: The Valleyfield Red Book by Christopher Dingwall. A buffet lunch is included, after which there is an optional guided tour of Valleyfield, about 20 minutes’ drive from Broomhall.

Heritage as Citizenship: The Challenge of the New Urban Agenda
Date: 15th May at 6pm (with registration from 5.45pm).
Venue: National Galleries of Scotland.
On Tuesday 15th May, Dr Francesco Bandarin, a UNESCO Consultant, and until February 2018 Assistant Director-General of Culture at UNESCO, is speaking at the National Galleries of Scotland at a joint RSA Fellows’ MCICH Network and National Galleries Scotland event. From 2000 to 2010 Dr Bandarin was Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Secretary of the World Heritage Convention. From 2010 to 2014 he served as Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture. He was re-appointed in this position for an interim period until February, 2018, and delivered the Keynote Opening Speech at the 2016 Edinburgh International Culture Summit. Dr Bandarin’s publications include: The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century, 2012 and Reconnecting the City. The Historic Urban Landscape Approach and the Future of Urban Heritage, 2015, both published by Wiley-Blackwell.

New Life For Empty Buildings – How Can Do Spaces Can Transform Our High Streets
Date: Tue 22 May 2018 from 10:00 – 15:30.
Location: Strathearn Artspace, 6 Comrie Street, Crieff PH7 4AX.
Crieff is not alone in its efforts to regenerate its town centre. Towns across Scotland face similar challenges and there are other community groups sharing our struggles. Want to find out more? Join us on the 22nd May for Can Do Places’ practical workshop at Strathearn Artspace for anyone that wants to see their local economy and town, city or village thrive. It will be engaging, interesting, useful and most of all – fun!

‘Governance and Power’ – A SURF Debate
Date: Thursday 24th May.
Location: Glasgow.
This debate is part of a progressive programme of work by SURF to promote and inform the current national Review of Local Governance. To help SURF consider the varied possibilities and challenges in this cross sector and multi-level debate, we will hear first from Robin McAlpine, as Director of the Common Weal, and then from Cllr. Alison Evison, President of COSLA who will draw on their respective considerable experience and differing perspectives. The rest of the event will be a platform for constructive and participative open debate.

IHBC Annual School 2018, Northern Ireland Branch 
Dates: 21-23 June 2018.
Location: Belfast.
The IHBC’s Annual School for 2018, with the linked Day School on 22 June, is the national annual conference of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, supporting built and historic environment conservation specialists and their networks and colleagues, and for 2018 it will focus on the principle of ‘Shared heritage’ to promote an inclusive approach to the main themes for the European Year, those of ‘Engagement – Sustainability – Protection – Innovation’. The School will encompass and offer, through talks, visits, tours, networking and presentations, UK-wide examinations of practice issues with a specific Belfast and Northern Ireland context, that include: Heritage challenges and insights; Leading practitioners, policymakers, businesses & advisers; New national and international practices and partnerships; Innovative strategies in the city, region and beyond; On-site case studies, themes and solutions, as well as access to exhibition stalls and stands & IHBC ‘Spotlights’ on current issues.

Training

Developing Appropriate Lime Specifications for Traditional Buildings with Dr William Napier
Date: Wednesday 9th May, 12.3pm – 1.30pm
Venue: Glasgow City Heritage Trust, 54 Bell Street, G1 1LQ
Lime mortar has been used with stone since Roman times for building in Scotland. Many of Scotland’s traditional buildings were constructed and finished using lime mortars, for bedding, pointing, harling and renders. In this lunchtime CPD session Dr William Napier will explore how the characteristics of lime need to be understood when undertaking conservation projects
Dr William Napier is a Chartered Building Surveyor, Accredited in Conservation, with thirty years’ experience in applying, specifying and reporting on lime based finishes. He began his career with a traditional decorative plastering apprenticeship with L. Grandison and Son in Peebles, before training as a building surveyor and completing a two-year post-graduate conservation fellowship with Historic Scotland.  He is now a Director with Adams Napier Partnership, a Chartered Building Surveying Practice specialising in building conservation, research and training.

Architectural Pattern Making for Conservation and Restoration with Ruth Davies
Date: Thursday 14th June, 12.30pm – 1.30pm
Venue: Glasgow City Heritage Trust, 54 Bell Street, Glasgow, G1 1LQ
Ruth Davies is a pattern-maker and woodcarver supplying work to clients including architects and conservation and restoration specialists across the UK. She specialises in traditional wooden patterns for architectural cast iron and has worked on a number of award winning projects over the years. In her lunchtime talk Ruth will give an insight into the production of patterns and moulds with an emphasis on decorative cast iron and share some knowledge about and examples of what can be achieved with this material.

Vacancies

Scotland Community Land Advisor
We are looking for a Community Land Advisor to facilitate access to land for community use in Scotland, primarily through:

• Providing specialist advice, support and training to community groups and landowners, focusing on negotiating for sites, leases and licences, planning and associated matters such as allotments/land law.
• Working with local authorities, other public and private landowners and community groups and networks to identify appropriate sites and help bring under-used land into community use.
• Working with decision makers to influence future policies, funding and legislation (eg planning) that will further support community access to land.

The role of Community Land Advisor is wide-ranging in nature and as such the post-holder is required to be flexible and able to adapt to opportunities as they arise, weighing up evolving demands.  We are seeking someone with a solid understanding of land transfer (leases, negotiation, legal and planning issues etc), knowledge of the community growing sector and experience of working with land owners.
Closing date: Midday Tuesday 1 May 2018.

Policy and Development Officer (x2)
The Carnegie UK Trust works to improve the wellbeing of people throughout the UK and Ireland by influencing policy and demonstrating innovative practice. We are looking to recruit two policy and development staff to join our busy Wellbeing and Towns team. We are looking for people who can work:

• across the UK and Ireland
• with different stakeholders, from practitioners to politicians
• across different themes (the team works on a wide range of topics covering aspects of place-making, public services, and understanding social progress)
• using a variety of methods from research to stakeholder engagement to supporting innovative practice development

Successful candidates will therefore have strong transferable skills on analysis, communications and project management. The Trust is strongly committed to diversity within its workforce and especially welcomes applications from all in the community who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. The closing date for applications is 5pm on 1 May 2018.

Appointment of Chair to the Board (A&DS)
Scottish Ministers are looking to appoint a new Chair of the Board of Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS). The Chair, along with the Company Board, will ensure the A&DS’s strategy and business plan continue to support and promote the value good architecture and sustainable design add to everyone’s lives. The Chair, will be expected to have a keen interest and understanding of the built environment; able to see the bigger picture, and have strong communication and influencing skills. You will be able to lead the Board and uphold good governance.
The closing date for applications is: Friday 4 May 2018.

Project Engagement and Monitoring Officer (Maternity Cover)
Edinburgh World Heritage is an independent charity with the aim of ensuring the city’s World Heritage status is a dynamic force for good that benefits everyone.
Sir Basil Spence’s Canongate Housing development is a category B listed complex of housing blocks located on Canongate in the Old Town of Edinburgh, built between 1967 and 1969. It is characterised by high energy use, low EPC rating, poor maintenance, high running costs and low community engagement. We have a vision to improve the energy efficiency of these buildings and consistently restore or repair features across the development, with the potential for this to serve as an exemplar in terms of its methodology of community engagement, and its energy outcomes. We are looking to appoint a Project Engagement and Monitoring Officer to support the delivery of this innovative project by building on Edinburgh World Heritage’s past engagement with the residents of the Canongate Housing development and by monitoring energy use before, during and after works.
The position is to cover maternity from 28th May for a minimum of five months, with the possibility of extension. To apply for this role, please send us your CV, together with a completed application from and covering letter in support of your application by 5PM, Wednesday 9th May 2018.

Administrator & Secretary to the Council
Unique opportunity to work at the centre of a Scottish architectural heritage charity. If you are passionate about the built environment, the post of Administrator and Secretary to the Council of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) offers a responsible position which requires a high degree of self-motivation, administrative skills, and good communication abilities. The position offers the potential to help with the development of the Society, alongside the core requirements of administration, attracting and organising volunteers to assist in the head office, managing the Society’s IT, website and social media, and promoting national outreach and engagement.
To apply please send a CV and cover letter to the National Chair, Martin Robertson at nationaloffice@ahss.org.uk by 11th May 2018. 

Could you be Chair of The Heritage Alliance?
The Heritage Alliance is looking for a new Chair, to be appointed at its Heritage Day and Annual General Meeting in December 2018. The Chair will be responsible for overseeing the work of the charity, and for convening meetings of the board of trustees. They will be a dynamic ambassador for the independent heritage sector, being a vocal advocate for the cause of the Alliance’s diverse membership of 120 separate heritage organisations. They will take the lead in driving the next phase of the Alliance’s development and ensuring its sustainability as one of England’s most prominent and recognisable advocates for heritage.
Closing date for applications Friday 18th May.

Information in the Bulletin is extracted from a number of websites including the Scottish Government (SG); the Scottish Parliament (SP); Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS); Historic Environment Scotland (HES); Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH); Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO); English Heritage (EH); Design Council (DC); Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG); Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); National Assembly for Wales (NAW); Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS); Scottish Government Building Standards  (SGBS); Europa Nostra (EN); Historic England (HE).

If you have any questions or comments on the above, or would like to submit information to be included, please get in touch with Saskia Smellie or tel: BEFS Office on 0131 220 6241.

BEFS News

Are you responsible for managing a church, or thinking about taking on the management of a former church? Join BEFS and partners, The Prince’s Foundation, Scotland’s Churches Trust, and Scottish Redundant Churches Trust, for our Keeping Church Buildings Alive – Workshop. It will provide practical learning opportunities, allow groups to access expert advice and meet people from similar projects, all with a focus on maintaining the local church buildings at the heart of our communities.

The Scottish Government has published its engagement report on ‘A Culture Strategy for Scotland’, with an overview of the main themes and ideas gathered through public events, written submissions and online forums. The report will inform a draft strategy which will issue for public consultation during 2018. BEFS Director, Euan Leitch’s initial reflections on developing a culture strategy for Scotland can be found here.

BEFS, CIfA, Archaeology Scotland and ALGAO collectively responded to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee’s call for evidence on EU Environmental and Animal Welfare Principles. The response emphasises the need to ensure that the protective measures currently enshrined within EU law are not lost or diluted due to Brexit. Read our full submission here.

BEFS is supporting the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage launch by Commissioner Phil Hogan in Edinburgh. The launch is designed to promote the European Year of Cultural Heritage (@2018EYCHUK #EYCH2018#EuropeforCulture) in Scotland. For further information about the year and to register your events, visit the European Commission website or the UK website.

Last but my no means least, we would like to welcome BEFS newest Associate Members, Planning Democracy.

Consultations

On 29 March the Scottish Government published their updated National Outcomes as part of its broader look at the National Performance Framework. The Scottish Government is required to consult the Scottish Parliament on the proposed revisions to these Outcomes. The Local Government and Communities Committee is taking the lead. As the timescale for completing this work is very short, we are seeking views by 11 April using email, letter or by social media. 

A consultation on an amendment to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Group Relief
Closes 13 April 2018.

A Connected Scotland: Tackling social isolation and loneliness and building stronger social connections
Closes 27 April 2018.

Petition: Permitted development rights in conservation areas
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review the permitted development rights legislation, which we consider impacts unfairly on residents of conservation areas and listed buildings in Scotland.
Closing Date for Online Petition: 08 May 2018 

Call for Evidence on Experience of Concentrated Land Ownership (Scottish Land Commission 22/03/18)
The call for evidence will be open until 23 May 2018.

Publications

Asset Transfer Policy Statement and Guidance (HES 04/04/18)

Register of Assets (HES 04/04/18) 

Home Energy Efficiency Programmes Scotland – Warmer Homes Scotland – 2016/17 Annual Review (SG 26/03/18)

Regulation of Letting Agents Monitoring Compliance and Enforcement Framework (SG 26/03/18)

Focus Magazine 2018 (Engine Shed 23/03/18)
An annual magazine showcasing technical conservation with Historic Environment Scotland and our partners. This edition focuses on traditional skills.

Land: For the many, not the few? Limitations on the Scale of Land Ownership A discussion paper (SLC 22/03/18)

Research on interventions to manage land markets and limit the concentration of land ownership elsewhere in the world (SLC 22/03/18) 

Applied Digital Documentation in the Historic Environment (Engine Shed 19/03/18)
This short guide looks at different data capture techniques that can be used in the analysis, recording, conservation and visualisation of historic objects, sites and landscapes in their present condition.

Unsuitable, insecure and substandard homes: The barriers faced by older private renters (Independent Age xx/03/18)

Scottish Government News

Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2018 Now Open! (SG 04/04/18)
The Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning are one of the Government’s most prestigious awards. They celebrate achievements in planning, right from the detail of processing through to the bigger picture of creating places which will become the legacy of our professionalism.

Help to Buy extended (SG 04/04/18)
The Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme will be extended beyond 2019, helping more people purchase a new-build home without the need for a large deposit. From April 2019, a further £100 million will be invested over two years, helping up to 4,000 households to purchase a new home.

Certainty urged on EU research relationships (SG 25/03/18)
Minister visits Brussels to promote Scottish science and innovation. Certainty is urgently required on the UK’s future participation in EU research programmes after Brexit, Higher Education and Science Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville has said.

Sector News

HES publish Asset Transfer Policy and Guidance (HES 04/04/18)
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has today (Wednesday 4 April) published its policy and guidance on Asset Transfer under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which outlines our commitment to facilitating Asset Transfer Requests where they benefit communities and secure positive outcomes for the historic environment.

Saltire Infrastructure Awards 2018 (ICE 04/04/18)
The awards run in partnership with CECA Scotland celebrate outstanding civil engineering achievements. We showcase the people who design, build and maintain the infrastructure on which we depend. The awards are now open for 2018. Entries are sought for projects completed in 2017/18. We’re looking for the most innovative, creative and sustainable contributions to Scotland’s built and natural environment.

Scotland’s History Mapped Out (HES 04/04/18)
We’re proud to unveil the shiny new version of PastMap, a brilliant digital resource that brings together designations, archives and local historic environment records to help you map out Scotland’s past in one place.

Pilot scheme launched to help build sustainable future for listed places of worship (DDCMS 31/03/18)
A new scheme to help build a sustainable future for listed places of worship will be piloted in urban and rural areas in England, Heritage Minister Michael Ellis announced today.

What’s been happening with social housing rents? (SPICe 29/03/18)
Next week, at the start of the new financial year, Scotland’s 610,000 social housing tenants will begin paying a new rent for their home. Over the last few years, the Scottish Housing Regulator (the Regulator) has been emphasising that social landlords need to take into account tenant affordability when they are setting their rents.

£2m funding for rural communities to restore historic buildings (DEFRA 29/03/18)
A new grant scheme is being piloted this year in five National Parks, offering funding for land managers to restore their historic farm buildings.

Heritage Alliance publishes first ever international report (THA 28/03/18)
The Heritage Alliance has published the first ever report on the independent heritage sector’s impact overseas. The report, sponsored by the Scottish Confucius Institute for Business & Communication at Heriot-Watt University, makes recommendations for building on the success of the overall sector which already generates £21.7 billion a year.

New plan unveiled for Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site (EWH 27/03/18)
A new plan for Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns World Heritage Site was launched today which includes commitments to improve the quality of new development, better manage tourism growth, and deepen residents’ awareness and understanding of the site among other actions.

The Alliance writes to Immigration Minister (HA 23/03/18)
Heritage Alliance Chairman, has written to Immigration Minister to set out our concerns about the impact of potential post-Brexit immigration reforms. We attached our Immigration Briefing which sets out the key issues for the sector, such as avoiding the exacerbation of existing skills shortages and ensuring that our highly skilled, but lowly paid, sector is not unduly impacted by requiring too high a salary for a visa. It also includes the results of our recent survey monkey on EU employment in the heritage sector.

Scale and Concentration of land ownership in Scotland (SLC 22/03/18)
Scotland’s land reform body is calling for evidence about the impact of concentration of land ownership in Scotland, as it publishes a report and discussion paper on the issue today Thursday 22 March, 2018. The Scottish Land Commission research report looks at international approaches to limiting scale and concentration of land ownership.

Talking Shops – a History of Scottish Shopfronts (Engine Shed 19/03/18)
The Engine Shed has launched its latest exhibition, which looks at the architecture and materials used in creating the distinctive shopfronts. If you cannot make it to the Engine Shed, you can see our video: Stories of Scotland’s Shopfronts, or for information about the conservation and maintenance of shopfronts, download our Short Guide 12: Scottish Traditional Shopfronts.

Opinion & Comment

A Lane Strategy for Glasgow City Centre (Willie Miller, Principal of WMUD 26/03/18)

City Region Deals – A Good Deal? (Craig McLaren, RTPI Scotland 23/03/18) 

People at the heart of the Climate Change Plan? (Ragne Low, University of Strathclyde, for RTPI Scotland 23/03/18)

Response to Minister Kevin Stewart MSP’s letter to the Local Government and Communities Committee on Third Party and Equal Right of Appeal in the Planning (Scotland) Bill (SAPP 20/03/18)

Access over Ownership (Stephen Miles, Director of ADP 19/03/18)

Introducing Place Purpose, and why we need it now more than ever (Joy Nazzari, Founder of dn&co and Place Press 13/03/18)

Local Place Frameworks – Unlocking the potential of People & Place (Jonathan Clarkson, Director at Urbantu – Place-making by Design 12/03/18)

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”.

Graeme Dey S5W-15699
To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Land Commission will lay its revised Programme of Work in the Parliament. (SP 29/03/18)

Graham Simpson S5W-15589
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the effectiveness of home reports. (SP 26/03/18)

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-15374: Andy Wightman, Lothian, Scottish Green Party, Date Lodged: 19/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its data regarding the Affordable Housing Supply Programme for 2016-17 records that 72% of the completed homes that were classified as “rural” were built in towns and urban areas.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (28/03/2018)

Question S5W-15373: Andy Wightman, Lothian, Scottish Green Party, Date Lodged: 19/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of its spending on the Affordable Housing Supply Programme for 2016-17.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (28/03/2018)

Debates

Housing (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 (SP 29/03/18)
Debate on motion S5M-11350, in the name of Kevin Stewart, on the Housing (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill.
Read full debate

UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (SP 29/03/18)
Debate on motion S5M-11347, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on Scotland’s support for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Read full debate

Events

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

“It’s our heritage, too” – World Heritage Day Event and Party
Date: 18 April 2018, from 6pm-8pm.
Venue: Reid Concert Hall, Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AJ.
Edinburgh World Heritage invite you to join them for an evening event to celebrate the role of young people in caring for and promoting Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site. As part of Scotland’s 2018 Year of Young People, and to celebrate World Heritage Day, a group of young people from Edinburgh would like to share with you their vision for our World Heritage Site. After the event there will be a drinks reception where you will be able to meet our ambassadors as well as special guests from the heritage world.

Community Heritage Scotland – Going Forward
Date: 21st April 2018.
Venue: Birnham Arts Centre near Perth.
Do you belong to a group or organisation that connects heritage with people – independent museums, historical societies, development or buildings trusts, community archaeology groups, clan societies etc? Or you may be an individual working on your own project. Community Heritage Scotland – Going Forward is a discussion day for people involved with heritage in their communities. We will debate core questions such as how you define community heritage, discuss how to encourage new and diverse audiences and look at how a potential network would be best delivered. The day will involve a series of informal discussions, workshop sessions and plenty of cakes and biscuits.

The Scottish identity – as illustrated through recent discoveries in Scottish silver
Date: April 23 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.
Venue: National Museum Scotland Auditorium, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF.
The lecture will be given by Colin T Fraser FSA Scot, R. L. Christie Works of Art. Since the seminal exhibition ‘Silver; Made in Scotland’ held by the National Museum of Scotland in 2008 there has been a greater appreciation and understanding of the Scottish Goldsmiths craft. Over the past 10 years many new discoveries have been made and new light has been shed on previously well-known pieces. This talk aims to illustrate and discuss these new finds while placing them in a context of the wider survival of the Scottish applied arts and cultural landscape they were created. Immediately after the lecture there will be a drinks reception in the Events Space. This has been made possible thanks to Gillespie Macandrew LLP solicitors as event sponsor.

RTPI Training – Learning from Best Practice – The Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning
Date: 25 April 2018.
Location: Edinburgh – Discounted places still available.
This briefing will highlight the best practice recognised in the winners and finalists of the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning to enable others to learn. The event will provide an opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge on what they have achieved and what they would do differently – the process they went through, looking at the problem each award winner faced; the solution they devised; how they implemented this and what the result was. There are several discounted places still available.

New approaches towards tackling barriers to employability
Date: 3rd May.
Venue: The Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh.
This free half-day SURF Awards workshop event provides an opportunity to explore successful new approaches towards tackling barriers to employability with presentations from SURF Award projects and national partners.

A Repton Celebration
Date: Saturday 12 May 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Broomhall House & Valleyfield – the only Scottish landscape designed by Humphry Repton.
We have put together a super celebratory event to mark the death of Humphry Repton, the last great landscape designer of the 18th century. After coffee, Lord Bruce will welcome us and take us on a virtual tour of Broomhall House. Dr. Patrick Eyres, landscape historian and editor, will speak about Repton and his Theatrical Self-promotion through Red Books and Printed Publications. This will be followed by an illustrated talk: The Valleyfield Red Book by Christopher Dingwall. A buffet lunch is included, after which there is an optional guided tour of Valleyfield, about 20 minutes drive from Broomhall.
Book early on our website to avoid disappointment, as places are limited.

The role of creative arts in regeneration
Date: 17th May.
Venue: Barras Arts and Design (BAaD), Glasgow.
This free half-day SURF Awards workshop event provides an opportunity to explore successful approaches towards linking creative arts into regeneration initiatives with presentations from SURF Award projects and national partners.

Successful approaches to regenerating Scotland’s places
Date: 31st May.
Venue: The Portal Townhouse, Irvine.
This free half-day SURF Awards workshop event provides an opportunity to explore successful current approaches towards regenerating Scotland’s places with presentations from SURF Award projects and national partners.

ARP 2018 Conference – bookings now open!
Date: Saturday 26th May 2018.
Venue: The Engine Shed, Forthside Way, Stirling FK8 1QZ.
Cost: Archaeology Scotland/Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland £35; Non-members £40; Students/unwaged £35.
The national Archaeological Research in Progress conference will examine recent and ongoing archaeological projects across Scotland. It is supported by Historic Environment Scotland and is delivered in partnership with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The all-day conference gives the audience the opportunity to hear first-hand about the most recent archaeological projects across Scotland and should not be missed. Book now to ensure your place.

2018 CSGN Forum – Children, young people + green space = a healthy equation
Date: 14 June 2018.
Venue: Hamish Wood Building, Glasgow Caledonian Uni., 70 Cowcaddens Rd, G4 0BA.
The importance of greenspace for young people is set to be highlighted in the annual CSGN Forum which is now open to bookings. ‘Children, Young People + Greenspace = A Healthy Equation’ will be held at Glasgow Caledonian University on Thursday 14 June and will feature world-renowned experts including the multi-award winning landscape architect, Adam White and architect Hanna Johansson, who has been instrumental in creating the vision to transform Billund into Denmark’s Capital of Children. The event, timed to celebrate 2018’s Year of Young People, will explore many of the concepts being promoted through the UNICEF Child Friendly Cities and Communities initiative, the worldwide programme that puts the needs and rights of children and young people at the heart of decision-making.

Industrial Archaeology Conference
Dates: Friday 22 June 2018 to Wednesday 27 June 2018.
Venue: Wick Baptist Church, Dempster Street, Wick, KW1 5QB.
Historic Environment Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Industrial Heritage Society, and the Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group is pleased to host an Industrial Archaeology Conference in Caithness from 22nd June to 27th June. A series of talks, tours and site visits around Caithness and Orkney will radiate from Wick. The conference allows different options, such as starting or ending with a connecting tour from and to Inverness.

Training

Working Towards World Heritage Status: Perception, Process and Practice
Date: Tuesday 17th April, 9.30am – 4.30pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
Price: £40
This one-day seminar and workshop will develop understanding of the roles and responsibilities of UNESCO, The UK State Party, Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland in the UK Tentative List and the World Heritage nomination process.  It will also highlight some of the benefits and challenges that World Heritage status brings and consider digital innovation in recording, accessing and understanding at World Heritage sites in Scotland and worldwide. The event is aimed at Local Authorities and other organisations associated with sites that have inspirations to join the UK Tentative List (reopening in 2019/20) or that are already on the Tentative List and are now seeking to take forward a World Heritage nomination. Booking essential, register for this event here.

Penicuik CARS and Carlops CA – IHBC CPD
Date: 19 April 2018
Location: Penicuik and Carlops.
IHBC’s CPD training days in 2018 aims to reflect upon 50 years since the first Conservation Areas were designated in Scotland. The first, Carlops and Skirling in Peebleshire, appeared in the Edinburgh Gazette on 19 April 1968 followed by a part of Carlops then in Midlothian. And we look forward to the latest linkage of Conservation to Regeneration through a CARS in Penicuik, hoped soon to begin by Midlothian Council.

Conservation of Surface Finishes – CPD Module
Dates: 19 April – 5 days over 2 weeks; 21 taught hours.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
Price: £440
This module explores the history and conservation of paints and a range of other surface finishes traditionally used on the interiors and exteriors of Scotland’s historic buildings. Taught through lectures, site visits and practical sessions. More in depth information about the module can be accessed here.
Booking essential, register for this course here.

IHBC CPD: Training Day on CA: Ayrshire
Date 11 May 2018.
Location: Ayrshire.
IHBC’s CPD training days in 2018 aims to reflect upon 50 years since the first Conservation Areas were designated in Scotland. The Ayrshire day on 11 May, will be looking at conservation area management in Ayr and Maybole. We will assess the impact of the recent THI, and look at strategic ways forward in both towns. We propose to complete the series covering East, West and North East later in the year with a day looking at Conservation Areas in Aberdeen.

Vacancies

Tender for Research Consultancy Services – Great Place Nations
National Heritage Memorial Fund brief on ‘the evaluation of the Great Place Scheme in Scotland, Wales and NI’ as they seek to ‘understand what the value of the Great Place Scheme in Scotland, Wales and NI has been’, with the project valued at £40,000 and closing on 16 April. 

Chartered Landscape Architects
Wardell Armstrong’s Landscape Team is a busy and we are growing! There is now an exciting range of opportunities for key posts across the practice. Have you got the flair and the enthusiasm to build and support our growing team?
Glasgow: A chartered and experienced landscape architect that knows the Glasgow market and has the ambition to support the development of one of the practices key design teams.

Business Development Officer
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is seeking to recruit a Business Development Officer to help with the delivery of its investment objectives by attracting and delivering new lending business to the AHF and the UK’s heritage sector. The AHF presently has three lending streams (Heritage Project Fund, Community Heritage Support Fund and Heritage Mortgage) and will soon be initiating a fourth: Heritage Impact Fund. Deadline for applications – 5pm 24th April.

Information in the Bulletin is extracted from a number of websites including the Scottish Government (SG); the Scottish Parliament (SP); Architecture and Design Scotland(A+DS); Historic Environment Scotland (HES); Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH); Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO); English Heritage (EH); Design Council (DC); Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG); Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); National Assembly for Wales (NAW); Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS); Scottish Government Building Standards  (SGBS); Europa Nostra (EN); Historic England (HE).

If you have any questions or comments on the above, or would like to submit information to be included, please get in touch with Saskia Smellie or tel: BEFS Office on 0131 220 6241.

BEFS News

BEFS Chair, Graeme Purves, gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee on the Planning (Scotland) Bill on 14 March, alongside the National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Water, and Scottish Environment LINK. Watch the session on Parliament TV here.
You can also read BEFS written submission to the committee and a summary of responses and reactions to the Planning (Scotland) Bill from BEFS membership.
The committee also took evidence on the Bill yesterday from Kevin Stewart, Minister for Local Government and Housing, John McNairney, Chief Planner, Andy Kinnaird, Bill Manager, and Norman Macleod, Senior Principal Legal Officer, Scottish Government. This session can be viewed here.

Are you responsible for managing a church, or thinking about taking on the management of a former church? Join BEFS and partners, The Prince’s Foundation, Scotland’s Churches Trust, and Scottish Redundant Churches Trust, for our Keeping Church Buildings Alive – Workshop. The workshop will provide practical learning opportunities, allow groups to access expert advice and meet people from similar projects, all with a focus on maintaining the local church buildings at the heart of our communities.

Skills has been identified as a key priority for the Historic Environment sector in Scotland. Skills Development Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland have appointed EKOS to develop a Historic Environment Skills Strategy and Action Plan which sets out the main skills issues for the sector and solutions for how these can be best addressed. They are keen to hear from employers on the skills challenges facing the sector, and the main skills gaps. Find out more and get involved.

BEFS 2018 conference considered the future of Historic Environment Scotland policy both in terms of short-term pragmatism and long-term vision. Inherit was invited to deliver a short ‘provocation’ on one of the conference themes of Vision, Designation and Management. Read Director of Inherit, Chris Dalglish’s contribution: Designation & Justice.

Consultations

The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, wants to hear from you on the general principles of the Scottish Crown Estate Bill which the Scottish Government introduced on 24 January 2018. The deadline for responses is 12 noon Friday 23 March 2018.

Consultation on LBTT First Time Buyers Relief
Opened 9 Feb 2018 and closes 23 March 2018.

Call for Evidence – EU Environmental and Animal Welfare Principles
The call for written views will close at midday on Thursday 29 March 2018.

Creative Scotland – Regular Funding 2018-21 (SP 06/03/18)
The Scottish Parliament’s Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee is collecting views on Creative Scotland’s Regular Funding process for the period 2018-21. The closing date for submissions is Friday 30 March 2018.

Trams to Newhaven: Public consultation (EC 07/03/18)

Funding of EU Competences, Finance & Constitution Committee (SP 13/03/18)
The Committee is seeking views on the public finances issues raised for the devolution settlement arising from the Brexit process. The closing date for responses is Monday 16 April 2018.

Consultation on proposals for reviewing the current landlord registration fee structure and expanding the range of prescribed information applicants must provide to local authorities (SG 15/03/18)
Opened 15 Mar 2018 and closes 7 Jun 2018. 

A consultation on an amendment to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Group Relief (SG 19/03/18)
Opened 19 Mar 2018 and closes 13 Apr 2018.

Consultation Responses

Consultation on Fire and Smoke Alarms in Scottish Homes: Analysis of Responses (SG 18/03/18)

Young People’s Participation in Decision Making in Scotland: Attitudes and Perceptions – Research Findings (SG 06/03/18)

Publications

The Impact of Brexit on Scotland’s Growth Sectors (SG 21/03/18)

City Space Race Balancing the need for homes and offices in cities (Centre for Cities 21/03/18)

The Delivery of Public Interest Led Development in Scotland (SLC 14/03/18)

Scottish Government News Releases

Changes to eDevelopment.scot (SG 21/03/18)
On Thursday at 5pm the eDevelopment.scot portals (including ePlanning and eBuildingStandards) will be taken offline to undertake some changes. We’re excited to share some of the improvements to the site.

More action on affordable housing (SG 20/03/18)
£15 million increase to Charitable Bond investment programme. Investment through charitable bonds has enabled more than 1,000 new affordable homes to have been built since 2014.

Improving home safety (SG 18/03/18)
Changes to fire and smoke alarm regulations. All homes will have the highest level of protection from smoke and fire. Following a consultation on fire and smoke alarms, the existing high standard required in private rented housing will be extended to all homes.

Alternative plans at Queen Street Station made public (SG 16/03/18)
New development set to deliver increased economic benefits. A revised plan at one of Glasgow’s key rail stations is set to yield significant economic and business opportunity for the city.

New build housing completions up 5% in latest year (SG 13/03/18)
A National Statistics Publication for Scotland. There were 17,601 new build homes completed across all sectors over the year ending September 2017, an increase of 5%, or 908 homes, on the previous year.

£26 million for local regeneration (SG 12/03/18)
A total of 24 projects will be awarded funding in 2018/19 as part of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF), which supports projects that engage and involve local communities in disadvantaged areas, tackle inequality and support inclusive growth.

News Releases

Saltire Infrastructure Awards launched (ICE 22/03/18)
The search is on for Scotland’s top engineering and construction projects with the launch of the Saltire Infrastructure Awards 2018. Part of the Institution of Civil Engineers’ (ICE) bicentenary celebrations, the Awards celebrate outstanding civil engineering achievement, innovation and ingenuity and shine a light on the hidden professionals behind transport, water, energy and flooding infrastructure. Built environment professionals are invited to nominate projects by 4pm on Friday 25th May, 2018.

Scottish Shortlist for RIAS/RIBA Awards 2018 (RIAS 20/03/18)
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) has announced a 25 strong shortlist for its 2018 awards (from 75 entries).

My Place Award Winners 2018 Announced (SCT 20/03/18)
The winning and commended projects in the Scottish Civic Trust My Place Awards 2018 were announced today, 20 March, by John McNairney, Scottish Government Chief Planner in The Lighthouse, Glasgow. The Awards are supported by the Scottish Government. The winning project is The Leaf Room, Dundee.

Scotland out-performs rest of UK for 6th year running (HES 16/03/18)
The annual release of visitor figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) has seen Edinburgh Castle leap four places in the rankings to be named the 12th most-visited attraction in the UK for 2017.

Connecting people to their heritage – with our new website (EWH 16/03/18)
Welcome to the newly relaunched website of Edinburgh World Heritage. We’d like to show you around…

Europe’s 7 Most Endangered heritage sites 2018 announced (EN 15/03/18)
Europa Nostra, the leading heritage organisation in Europe, and the European Investment Bank Institute have announced the most threatened heritage sites in Europe for 2018.

2018 Beautiful Scotland campaign is now open (xx/03/18)
Organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, this year a new category for Business Improvement Districts, Town Centres and City Centres has been created. Beautiful Scotland is a long-established community environmental improvement campaign which KSB runs in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) under the Britain in Bloom campaign. The programme supports community groups across Scotland as they seek to improve and enhance their local environment.

Scottish Public Opinion Monitor – March 2018 (IpsosMORI 14/03/18)
As the UK government continues its formal negotiations to leave the European Union, Ipsos MORI’s new poll for STV News shows that Scots are pessimistic about the economic impact of Brexit and remain divided on Scotland’s constitutional future.

State must lead on major, public interest development argues new paper (SLC 14/03/18)
Big civic projects such as regenerating the former docklands in Glasgow and Dundee, or building affordable homes – at scale – similar to the construction projects seen post WW2, must be led by the public sector, according to a discussion paper published today.

National Museum of Scotland goes live with Google’s museum view experience (FutureScot 14/03/18)
The National Museum of Scotland has become available for exploration online via Google Arts & Culture’s museum view platform. The museum’s galleries have been captured digitally in partnership with Google, which works with institutions around the world to make cultural and historical material accessible online.

Hundreds of local people attend events to discuss the future of Rosefield Mills (PAS 09/03/18)
Hundreds of local people have attended a series of events designed to consider the future of Rosefield Mills. Dumfries Historic Buildings Trust commissioned PAS to deliver the event series and develop a report outlining the local community’s recommendations for the future direction of Rosefield Mills.

A new website for the National Trust for Scotland (NTS 06/03/18)
The new look of our website is the first glimpse of a fresh visual style that we will be rolling out over the next few months … but this website has more than a pretty face.

Opinion & Comment

Addressing Scale and Concentration of Land Ownership in Scotland (Scottish Land Commissioner, Dr Sally Reynolds 22/03/18)

Land Value Capture – what’s the big idea? (Policy Officer, Kathie Pollard, Scottish Land Commission 16/03/18) 

Public interest led development (Scottish Land Commissioner, Prof David Adams 14/03/18)

Blog: The Future of Social Housing in Scotland: the discussion so far 

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”.

Andy Wightman S5W-15373
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of its spending on the Affordable Housing Supply Programme for 2016-17. (SP 20/03/18)

Andy Wightman S5W-15374
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its data regarding the Affordable Housing Supply Programme for 2016-17 records that 72% of the completed homes that were classified as “rural” were built in towns and urban areas. (SP 20/03/18)

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-14764: Peter Chapman, North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 20/02/2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress that is being made with the development of the regional land use partnerships, which were recommended in Getting the best from our land, a Land Use Strategy for Scotland 2016–2021.
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham (06/03/2018)

Question S5W-15045: Maurice Golden, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 05/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any diverging costs for rural and urban house builders as a result of low-carbon building standards.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (14/03/2018)

Question S5W-15043: Maurice Golden, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 05/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using a single definition of “rural community” for the purposes of delivering energy efficiency programmes.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (14/03/2018)

Question S5W-15042: Maurice Golden, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 05/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of enforcing a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating on private sector home sales, and what consideration it has given to the financial costs associated with upgrading rural off-gas grid properties to a minimum energy efficiency rating as part of any assessment.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (14/03/2018)

Question S5W-15040: Maurice Golden, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 05/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many rural homes in each local authority area have received support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland area-based schemes.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (14/03/2018)

Question S5W-15041: Maurice Golden, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 05/03/2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress it has made investigating possible reform of the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating system.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (14/03/2018)

Events

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

Conservation of all Buildings Great and Small
Date: Saturday 24th March.
Venue: Gordon Memorial Hall, Castle Douglas
Time: 14:15 – 16:30
Cost: £5 members ( £7 non-members)
This talk will be given by Robert Adams, a highly experienced chartered building surveyor, formerly of the National Trust for Scotland and now partner in the Adams Napier Partnership Ltd. specialising in historic buildings.

Dundee Conservation Lecture Series – Gardens with Water
Date: Tuesday 27th March.
Venue: Room LT2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN
Time: 18:00 – 21:00
Cost: Free
Two talks will be given at this event. The first will be on the history and restoration of Ella Christie’s Japanese garden at Cowden Castle and the second will be the spirit of place, or intangible aspects of gardens and landscapes.

Battle of the Bridges, Glasgow
Date: 27 March 2018.
Venue: University of Strathclyde, Technology & Innovation Centre, 99 George Street, Glasgow G1 1RD.
Meet the engineers involved in three of Scotland’s most iconic bridges at South Queensferry and hear why they think their bridge is best before having your say with an audience vote. Members of the public are encouraged to join us as part of our Café 200 series, which shows how civil engineers transform our lives and the fascinating and rewarding career they enjoy.

Workshop on Introduction to Photogrammetry and RTI 
Date: Wednesday 28th March – 10.30am to 3pm.
Venue: St Cuthbert’s Burial Ground, Lothian Road Edinburgh.
Cost: £10
The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) is offering a last minute opportunity to take part in a training workshop in digital recording practices. This workshop will provide you with a basic introduction to using photogrammetry and reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) within a heritage context. It will help you develop an understanding of best practice approaches to data capture and familiarise you with the leading software often used for photogrammetric and RTI models. This event is part of CIfA’s wider training programme, supported by Historic Environment Scotland. If you would like to take part in the workshop, please email Cara Jones at cara.jones@archaeologists.net for further information. Booking essential with limited spaces available.

Glasgow’s Traditional Shopfronts
Date: Thursday 29th March.
Venue: Garnethill Room, Renfield St. Stephen’s Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow
Time: 19:30
Cost: £4 (students free)
Join us at 19:00 for tea and coffee before the lecture. Iain Wotherspoon, Chairman of the AHSS Strathclyde Group strolls along the city pavements, illustrating some of our finest (and most under-rated) streetscape assets: our Victorian and Edwardian shopfronts.

Loneliness and Isolation, Planning a Solution
Date: April 18th 2018.
Venue: Saracen House, Glasgow.
The Equal Opportunities Committee report on Social Isolation was the first of its kind anywhere in the world. The committee found that social isolation and loneliness was a problem in Scotland. The design and planning of public spaces and communities has the capacity to be a vital tool in tackling this issue. With this event, PAS aims to facilitate further discussion between the relevant government agencies, central government, local government, RSLs, planners, development trusts and other private, public and third sector stake holders. The outcomes from these discussions then have the capacity to help inform responses to this consultation.

Inspiring Fundraising: A National Heritage Conference
Date: 26th April 2018.
Venue: Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh.
Inspiring Fundraising, Scotland’s national fundraising conference specifically dedicated to the heritage sector, will take place on Thursday 26th April 2018 at the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh. By attending the conference, you will have a unique opportunity to learn from leading professionals in their specialist fields to help you overcome your fundraising challenges and set you on your journey to reaching your aspirations and targets. Inspiring Fundraising will also provide you with a motivational space to develop new ideas and new ways of working and the chance to engage with more than 200 peers from different heritage organisations from across Scotland and beyond. Using interactive learning techniques, the diverse programme will cover topics ranging from Embracing Creativity and Innovation to The Voice of the Funders and from The Power of Business and Cultural Partnerships through to Telling your Story on Film.

Archaeological Research in Progress 2018
Date: Saturday 26th May.
Venue: The Engine Shed, Forthside Way, Stirling FK8 1QZ.
The national conference examining recent and ongoing archaeological projects across Scotland will take place at the Engine Shed in Stirling on Saturday 26th May 2018. This conference is supported by Historic Environment Scotland and is delivered in partnership with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The all-day conference gives the audience the opportunity to hear first-hand about  the most recent archaeological projects across Scotland and should not be missed. Offering great value for the full day (lunch and refreshments are included in the ticket price) there are further discounts for Archaeology Scotland and Society of Antiquaries of Scotland members. Book now to ensure your place.

Training

Architectural Conservation CPDs in Perth – Principles and Best Practice for Traditional and Historic Buildings
If you are looking to refresh your conservation knowledge or encounter historic buildings as part of your work portfolio, but have limited knowledge of the best conservation practice to employ when approaching a project involving traditional buildings, then this is the CPD programme for you. Traditional and historic buildings are an integral part of Perth and Kinross’s built environment with many of its population centres, such as Perth, celebrated for their rich historic character. Whilst valued, historic buildings are often considered difficult to maintain, expensive to repair and their traditional methods of construction complicated to refurbish and align with modern building regulations. This series of CPDs will give you the tools to help unlock their potential. These cost £15 to attend to cover the costs associated with running the events.

Traditional Roofing Masterclass
Date: 20 April 2018
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Venue: Charlestown Workshops.
This day will look at the barriers and opportunities to preserve the character and appearance of our traditional roofs including skills and availability of materials. Join us for an alternative Masterclass with opportunities to view demonstrations of traditional roofing practices and a chance to ‘have a go’ (so don’t wear a suit!). All PPE will be supplied (except for site boots).

RTPI Training – Learning from Best Practice – The Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning
Date: 25 April.
Venue: Edinburgh – Discounted places still available.
This briefing will highlight the best practice recognised in the winners and finalists of the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning to enable others to learn. The event will provide an opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge on what they have achieved and what they would do differently – the process they went through, looking at the problem each award winner faced; the solution they devised; how they implemented this and what the result was. There are several discounted places still available.

Rubble Wall Building
Date: 5 – 6 June 2018.
Venue: Merryhill Training Centre, Fife KY11 3DR.
This practical two day course will equip you to set out, construct and finish a traditional rubble wall using a variety of building stones and traditional lime mortars. The importance of laying the stones correctly and the use of pinning stones will be emphasised so that no more than 30% of the volume of the wall is mortar! The content of this workshop provides part of the underpinning knowledge required for assessment and accreditation of SQA National Unit 3 – ‘Conservation Masonry’.

Intensive Training Week – C1,C2 & National Units
Date: 11 – 15 June 2018.
Venue: Merryhill Training Centre, Fife KY11 3DR.
This intensive week of training and assessment will combine our courses ‘C1 Making and Using Traditional Mortars’ and ‘C2 Traditional Masonry Repair’ with continual assessment to allow you to gain SQA National Units 1, 2 & 3 in Conservation Masonry within five intensive days. You require to have trowel skills to participate and be assessed.

Rendering & Harling with Lime
Date: 21 – 22 June 2018.
Venue: Merryhill Training Centre, Fife KY11 3DR.
This course will enable you to apply a variety of external lime finishes including formal ‘lined out’ work to less formal textured harled finishes to a wide range of background types including matching in to existing finishes. Attendance at this two day workshop will let you get to grips with both hand casting and mechanical application techniques to effect a range of surface finishes and is relevant for the reinstatement of traditional lime finishes and for new build applications.

Vacancies

Youth Programmes Manager (PAS)
PAS has received funding from the Scottish Government for a fixed term appointment of a manager to oversee our youth programmes. The post holder will head up a small team to build on PAS’s existing work by developing our successful Young Placemakers initiative into a Volunteering Programme and expanding our Bridging the Gap programme. Bridging the Gap encourages a unique sustained intergenerational partnership to give young people the skills to engage with placemaking and to learn about active decision-making from an older generation. The post holder will also deliver other existing youth programmes – IMBY® and YEP!™ as required.
Closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 25 March. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 4 April.

Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage Seeks Researchers – Research Report Tender
Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage (RSH) is commissioning research to be completed as part of the legacy of the 4-year capacity building programme. The research will map the current funding landscape for the heritage sector in Scotland and will build on the existing evaluation work already conducted as part of the RSH programme.  The RSH Project Manager and the Head of Programmes at Arts & Business Scotland will work with the commissioned consultancy to ensure the resulting research report meets the needs of the RSH Programme, and of all partners involved.
Deadline 29th March. 

ARCH are looking to recruit a Project Officer
Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands are looking to recruit a Project Officer to work on the Regional Archaeological Research Framework for the Highlands as part of the wider ScARF project supported by Historic Environment Scotland as part of Scotland’s Archaeology Strategy. The successful applicant to the post of Project Officer will need to have good research skills and a familiarity with heritage databases, archaeological publications and other sources which can help build a picture of archaeological research in the Highlands from earliest settlement through to the end of the 20th century.
Applicants for the post should submit a CV and cover letter to info@archhighland.org.uk by 29th March 2018.

HLF Project Manager and HLF Project Officer (Dunfermline)
Dunfermline has an extraordinary heritage and is one of Europe’s fastest growing towns – increasingly a commuter town. To ensure stable growth it is important that future development is rooted in the past and the town grows with integrity, inclusion and innovation. We have recently been awarded Heritage Lottery Funding under their Great Place award and have a set out a three-year programme of works to use heritage to inspire future growth. We are currently recruiting for a Project Manager and Project Officer to deliver the Heritage Lottery Funded programme of works. The post is available with immediate effect and is funded until 31 December 2020. For full job descriptions contact Sarah Young on info@dunfermline.com.
The deadline for application for the positions is Friday 6 April and interviews w/c 23rd April.

Scottish Archaeological Research Framework Project Manager
The Society is seeking an exceptional candidate for the post of ScARF Project Manager. Responsible for every aspect of the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework project, from sourcing contributors and content to final publication and marketing, ensuring consistency and high academic standards throughout.  The main aims of the role are to manage and keep updated the existing Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (ScARF) project period panel reports, to create, manage and publish new regional research frameworks, and to manage the ScARF Museums Project. The post will also help develop and deliver the Society’s role within Aim 2 of Scotland’s Archaeology Strategy.
Closing Date: midnight Sunday 8th April 2018.

Assistant Consultant / Consultant, Heritage
Turley Heritage is a 15 strong team involved in some of the most exciting and high profile heritage projects across the UK with teams based in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. We are looking to expand the newly formed heritage team in Scotland with the appointment of a talented and ambitious assistant or consultant to support our Director based in Edinburgh. If you would like a confidential discussion with the hiring manager, please get in touch. Or, to apply please send your CV with a covering letter, including current salary details, in confidence to: Matthew Eves, HR Advisor, matthew.eves@turley.co.uk.

BEFS News

This year Historic Environment Scotland is undertaking a review of the Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement. Join BEFS for our Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement Conference on 15th March and influence what direction it may take. The conference will bring together the sector for an intensive workshop looking at creative and pragmatic approaches to caring for Scotland’s historic environment. There are limited places still available so book your tickets now.

The power for communities to have the right to buy abandoned, neglected, or detrimental land and buildings is soon to become available: what opportunities will it offer your community? In partnership with Glasgow City Heritage Trust, BEFS invites you to Power to the People: Understanding Community Right to Buy at Govanhill Baths on 14th March, to find out more about the new legislation.

The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee is? hearing from a range of stakeholders, including BEFS, over the coming weeks on the Planning (Scotland) Bill. You can also provide your thoughts on their Dialogue group page now.

Celia Sweeney, Equalities Manager with Historic Environment Scotland shares insights from BEFS Board Diversity in Public and Third Sector Organisations event on 20th February 2018 in our first blog this week.

BEFS Policy & Advocacy Officer, Ailsa Macfarlane, follows this up with further reflections on Board diversity in her blog, Board Diversity – A Reflection, A Provocation.

Finally, Karen Grant, Reforesting Scotland and the Thousand Huts campaign, updates us on the latest developments, new legislation and a whole new movement of hutters, in our third blog this week.

Consultations

Call for Evidence – EU Environmental and Animal Welfare Principles (SP 05/03/18)
The call for written views will close at midday on Thursday 29 March 2018.

The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, wants to hear from you on the general principles of the Scottish Crown Estate Bill which the Scottish Government introduced on 24 January 2018.
The deadline for responses is 12 noon Friday 23 March 2018. 

Have your say on the future priorities of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF 31/01/18)
The consultation runs until Thursday 22 March 2018. 

Consultation on LBTT First Time Buyers Relief (SG 09/02/18)
Opened 9 Feb 2018 and closes 23 Mar 2018.

Consultation Responses

Updating of the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967: Analysis of Responses to the Public Consultation Exercise. (SG 26/02/18)

Publications

Climate Change Plan: The Third Report on Proposals and Policies 2018-2032 (SG 01/03/18) 

Review of Strategic Investment Plans for Affordable Housing (Shelter Scotland xx/02/18)

Planning (Scotland) Bill: Proposed Infrastructure Levy (SPICe 21/02/18)

Revised explanatory notes for the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill (SG 19/02/18)

Cadw’s historic environment online resources: Best practice guidance publications (HEW xx/02/18)

Architecture and Design Scotland Annual Review 2017 (A&DS 20/02/18)

Technical Paper 27 – Hot-Mixed Lime Mortars Microstructure and Functional Performance (Engine Shed 30/01/18)
This paper presents technical evidence for the use of hot-mixed lime mortars in the conservation of masonry structures. It examines how lime mortars function in practice, looks at historic lime mortars and highlights key characteristics of hot-mixed lime mortars.

Technical Paper 28 – Specifying Hot-Mixed Lime Mortars (HES 30/01/18)
This report examines the use of hot-mixed lime mortars for the repair, conservation and restoration of traditional masonry structures in the UK and Ireland. It also explores the evidence for the historic use of hot-mixed mortars and why these materials are still relevant.

Ten Years On: The Impact of the Heritage Grants Programme 2002-2007 (HLF 17/01/18) 

Scottish Government News Releases

Rural tourism support (SG 01/03/18)
Island projects first to be backed under new £6m fund. Three sites on Skye and in Orkney are being given support to help them prepare for the tourist season, thanks to a new Scottish Government fund.

Affordable housing for the future (SG 27/02/18)
In a speech to the Chartered Institute of Housing Conference, Communities Secretary Angela Constance will reflect on a decade of success on housing and regeneration, set out the challenges that lie ahead and how government and the housing sector might work together to respond.

Archaeologists unearth amazing finds on Aberdeen bypass (SG 26/02/18)
Artefacts and structures found during archaeological excavations on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project are shedding light on land use and settlement in the north east over the past 15,000 years, including Mesolithic pits, Roman bread ovens, prehistoric roundhouses and a cremation complex.

Protecting music venues (SG 19/02/18)
Strengthened planning guidance published. Developers building new residential buildings near music venues will be responsible for taking appropriate measures to ensure local people are not disturbed by noise.

News Releases

See DBW for news on a ‘Building MOT’ scheme from BSRIA (IHBC 27/02/18)
IHBC members may find an interesting angle on Scotland’s earlier BEFS-linked ‘Building MOT’ headline initiative in the new feature from Designing Buildings Wiki (DBW) from the Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA), on the Association’s own new ‘Building MOT’ scheme.

HES Welcomes 2018-19 Budget Settlement (HES 26/02/18)
The 2018-19 Budget provides HES a total operating budget of £98.2m for the year, with £41.1m provided by the Scottish Government Grant in Aid and the remaining £57.1m drawn from commercial income. This is a £12m increase in the commercial income retained by HES, more than offsetting a reduction of £3.6m in the Grant in Aid

Planning Ahead (RTPI Scotland xx/02/18)
We have highlighted six examples from across Scotland which show how planning is working with communities and other professions to overcome the challenges that Scotland faces. But, we believe that we need to make it easier for planners to deliver these successes. This means making sure that the Planning Bill, and changes to policy and guidance that follow it, help to reposition the planning system.

IHBC Annual School – Belfast 2018 – Our shared Heritage (IHBC)
‘The IHBC has opened booking for its 2018 School – in Belfast on 21-23 June, on ‘Sharing’ – offering ‘early bird’ fees, bursaries, low-cost residential options as well as diverse study tours, so delegates can access up to 24 hours of formal CPD and networking over the 3-day Full School or up to 9 hours for the Day School and AGM.

Record attendance for Scottish visitor attractions (BBC 20/02/18)
The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions has reported a 9.7% rise in visitors in 2017, taking the total number to over 30 million. Edinburgh Castle and the National Museum of Scotland also received over two million visitors each, a record for a Scottish attraction. Distilleries and whisky-related attractions received an 11.8% increase.

New Brexit reports show English culture organisations receive £40m from EU each year (Arts Council 20/02/18)
Two new reports have been released today revealing further details about the exposure of cultural organisations in England to markets in the European Union and elsewhere. EUCLID’s report assesses the European Union’s contribution to the arts, museums and creative industries in England. It found £345m was awarded between 2007-16, equating to £40m each year.

Active Travel Funding for Towns (STP 19/02/18)
Sustrans Scotland – Sustrans Scotland is delighted to launch the Community Links programme for 2018 -19, run in partnership with the Scottish Government. This year, we will prioritise ambitious, inclusive projects that make our towns and cities friendlier and safer places for people to walk and cycle.

Church spires to boost digital connectivity in rural areas (DDCMS 18/02/18)
Church spires across the UK will be used to boost digital connectivity in rural areas following an agreement between the Government and the Church of England.

DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates 2016: Business Demographics (DDCMS 14/02/18)
DCMS has published official statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of DCMS Sectors to the UK economy, measured by the number of businesses. These do not separate out the heritage sector but note that it is likely to be an underestimation for the heritage sector.

Theatres at Risk 2018 (Theatres Trust xx/01/18)
Theatres Trust has announced its Theatres at Risk Register 2018 with a call for local authorities to better support their theatre buildings by developing the opportunities they offer to their communities. The Register lists 35 theatre buildings across England, Scotland and Wales that are most at risk of being lost – even though each has real potential for a sustainable future as a working performance space.

Opinion & Comment

What happens when the polluter can’t pay? The sad case of Station Brae (Lauren Welsh, College of Arts at the University of Glasgow xx/03/18)

Planning Ahead – Why we need to invest in the Planning Service (Craig McLaren, RTPI Scotland 16/02/18) 

McLeish: Longer term plans key for engaging communities (SAPP 15/02/18)

Community charrettes: how we can maximise their impact (Nick Wright, 14/02/18)

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”.

Maurice Golden S5W-15040
To ask the Scottish Government how many rural homes in each local authority area have received support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland area-based schemes. (SP 05/03/18)

Maurice Golden S5W-15041
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress it has made investigating possible reform of the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating system. (SP 05/03/18)

Maurice Golden S5W-15042
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of enforcing a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating on private sector home sales, and what consideration it has given to the financial costs associated with upgrading rural off-gas grid properties to a minimum energy efficiency rating as part of any assessment. (SP 05/03/18)

Maurice Golden S5W-15043
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using a single definition of “rural community” for the purposes of delivering energy efficiency programmes. (SP 05/03/18)

Maurice Golden S5W-15045
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any diverging costs for rural and urban house builders as a result of low-carbon building standards. (SP 05/03/18)

Peter Chapman S5W-14763
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to carry out an urban land use pilot, which was recommended in Getting the best from our land, a Land Use Strategy for Scotland 2016–2021. (SP 21/02/18)

Peter Chapman S5W-14764
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress that is being made with the development of the regional land use partnerships, which were recommended in Getting the best from our land, a Land Use Strategy for Scotland 2016–2021. (SP 21/02/18)

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-14674: Lewis Macdonald, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 15/02/2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the Agent of Change principle in the Scottish planning system to ensure that new development does not threaten the viability of live music venues.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (16/02/2018): 

Question S5W-14291: Alexander Stewart, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 01/02/2018
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01736 by Kevin Stewart on 31 January 2018 (Official Report, c. 10), what discussions have taken place to ensure that community councils are empowered to (a) support community engagment with and (b) play an active role in the planning process.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (19/02/2018):

Events

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

Analysis of a Clackmannanshire Estate
Date: Tuesday 6th March
Venue: Room LT2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN
Time: 18:00 – 21:00
Cost: Free
This Clackmannanshire estate is ancient and the house is 18th century, with alterations. Or is it? And where exactly was (is?) the now missing tower house of Hartshaw? Brucefield House was mothballed by the Victorians and then reclaimed in the 1920s, with style.

William Adam and Formal Landscape Design in Scotland 1720-1745
Date: Monday 12th March.
Venue: St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, 13 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PA.
Time: 18:30 – 21:00
Cost: £5 (£2.50 students)
Non-members welcome!
This lecture investigates how William Adam’s garden designs related to contemporary and earlier fashions in Scottish and English garden design. Starting with two important gardens in which he played a key role – Newliston in West Lothian and his own estate at Blair Crambeth – a wide range of Adam’s work in landscape design will be examined.

Historic Plasterwork
Date: Tuesday 13th March.
Venue: Room LT2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN.
Time: 18:00 – 21:00.
Cost: Free .
Will Napier, chartered building surveyor and heritage consultant, will present on techniques of historic decorative plasterwork in Scotland. Steven Blench, independent plasterwork historian, conservator and contemporary practitioner, will present on nineteenth century decorative plasterwork.

Scottish Plant Hunters by Anne Lindsay
Date: Thursday 15th March, 6.30pm- 8.30pm.
Location: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Lecture Theature, 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh.
Price: £9 or £6 for SGLH members of Friends of RBGE.  Tickets available on the door.
Why did so many plant hunters herald from Scotland? Anne Lindsay, author of ‘Seeds of Blood and Beauty’ will explain why so many Scots become embroiled in tales of daring-do across the globe in search of plants to brighten gardens, conservatories and lives in the 18th and 19th centuries. A joint event hosted by Scotland’s Garden and Landscape Heritage and the Friends of RBGE.

Introduction to Digital Documentation of Buildings, BIM and Virtual Reality for Heritage
Dates: 19 & 20 March, Day 1: 9.30am – 4pm; Day 2: 9.30am – 3pm.
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
Price: £60 per day/£100 2 days; Members and concessions 10% discount.
Delegates will explore the digital documentation of heritage through terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry, learning the basics involved in capturing and processing data, as well as how it can ultimately be used in BIM modelling. Virtual reality applications for heritage will also be investigated. The event will include an optional evening event to celebrate the launch of the Digital Documentation Short Guide.

Insight Tour: British Geological Survey
Date: 20 March, 10am – 12pm.
Venue: Lyell Centre, Edinburgh.
Price: Free (booking essential).
Join Luis Albornoz-Parra, Building Stones Scientist and Enquiries Officer at the British Geological Society (BGS), in an exclusive tour of the BGS Collections at The Lyell Centre, Edinburgh. Learn about a wide range of rocks, building stones, mineral ores and curious specimens. See how Historic Environment Scotland and BGS come together to look after our built heritage.

Inspiring Fundraising: A National Heritage Conference
Date: 26th April 2018.
Venue: Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh.
Inspiring Fundraising, Scotland’s national fundraising conference specifically dedicated to the heritage sector, will take place on Thursday 26th April 2018 at the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh. By attending the conference, you will have a unique opportunity to learn from leading professionals in their specialist fields to help you overcome your fundraising challenges and set you on your journey to reaching your aspirations and targets. Inspiring Fundraising will also provide you with a motivational space to develop new ideas and new ways of working and the chance to engage with more than 200 peers from different heritage organisations from across Scotland and beyond. Using interactive learning techniques, the diverse programme will cover topics ranging from Embracing Creativity and Innovation to The Voice of the Funders and from The Power of Business and Cultural Partnerships through to Telling your Story on Film.

New approaches towards tackling barriers to employability
Date: 3rd May.
Venue: The Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh
This free half-day SURF Awards workshop event provides an opportunity to explore successful new approaches towards tackling barriers to employability with presentations from SURF Award projects and national partners.

The role of creative arts in regeneration
Date: 17th May.
Venue: Barras Arts and Design (BAaD), Glasgow.
This free half-day SURF Awards workshop event provides an opportunity to explore successful approaches towards linking creative arts into regeneration initiatives with presentations from SURF Award projects and national partners.

Successful approaches to regenerating Scotland’s places
Date: 31st May
Venue: The Portal Townhouse, Irvine
This free half-day SURF Awards workshop event provides an opportunity to explore successful current approaches towards regenerating Scotland’s places with presentations from SURF Award projects and national partners.

Training

Trustees’ Event: GDPR Briefing 
Date & time: Mar 14 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: A&BS, 1st Floor, Rosebery House 9 Haymarket Terrace EH12 5EZ
General Data Protection Regulation is coming into force on 25th May. The GDPR brings with it a series of important changes in the UK’s data protection laws and will have a significant impact on how organisations manage personal data. Anderson Strahtern Lawyers Douglas McLachan and Barry Nichol will guide delegates though the issues and how best for organisations to stay compliant

Title Telling it like it is: Effective Copywriting 
Date & time: Mar 15 10:30 am – 16:30 pm
Location: A&BS, 1st Floor, Rosebery House 9 Haymarket Terrace EH12 5EZ
This one-day training session is aimed at all individuals, regardless of their existing skills or experience, who need to develop a case for support for their heritage project or cause. Offering a combination of project-based, hands-on writing exercises with tips, techniques and critical theory, the training session explores the five stages of the copywriting process in the context of putting together an effective case for support.

*NEW FOR 2018* – Making & Using Hot Mixed Mortars
Dates: 16 March 2018 and 24 April 2018.
Venue: Charlestown Workshops, Fife KY11 3EN.
This one-day workshop aims to provide an introductory guide to the preparation and use of ‘hot mixed’ lime mortars, that is, mortars prepared by slaking quicklime, sand and natural hydraulic lime binders (and possibly other additives like tallow or pozzolans) to more closely mimic the appearance and technical performance of conservation mortars and in some cases offer advantages in use and technical performance over more conventional ‘cold mortars’. More and more clients and specifiers are asking building contractors to make and use ‘hot mixed’ mortars on their repair jobs, so get ahead of the game and brush up your knowledge and skills with us.

In Focus: Introduction to Sponsorship
Date & time: March 20 10:30 am – 4:30 pm
Location: A&BS, 1st Floor, Rosebery House 9 Haymarket Terrace EH12 5EZ
This session will explore the opportunities presented by corporate sponsorship for heritage groups and organisations.  It is aimed primarily at those who have no or very little sponsorship experience. It is also a great refresher for those who need reminding of the basic principles and practice of this area of fundraising within the heritage sector.

*NEW FOR 2018* – Specifying Hot Mixed Lime Mortars
Dates: 27 March 2018 and 04 May 2018.
Venue: Charlestown Workshops, Fife KY11 3EN.
This one-day workshop aims to provide an introductory guide to the preparation and use of’ hot mixed’ lime mortars, that is, mortars prepared by slaking quicklime, sand and natural hydraulic lime binders (and possibly other additives like tallow or pozzolans) to more closely mimic the appearance and technical performance of conservation mortars and in some cases offer advantages in use and technical performance over more conventional ‘cold mortars’.

Historic Glass and Glazing Conservation (CPD module, part of PDA in Technical Conservation)
Dates: 5 days over 3 weeks between the 27th March and 16th April (22.5 taught hours).
Venue: Engine Shed, Stirling.
Price: £425
This module looks at the manufacture, use and conservation of glass and glazing systems in Scotland’s historic built environment. Taught through lectures and site visits. This is part of a wider Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Technical Conservation course currently being taught at the Engine Shed. Email us for further details or to book a place. mailto:Technicaleducation@hes.scot.

*NEW FOR 2018* – Introduction to Indigenous Earth Building Traditions and Techniques EB1
Date: 10 – 11 May 2018.
Venue: Charlestown Workshops, Fife KY11 3EN.
This 2 day workshop aims to provide an introductory guide to a range of earth building techniques including materials science, conservation of earth structures and buildings and construction methods using earth based materials.

Repairing Traditional Masonry P1 – Professional Level 1
Date: 15 – 16 May 2018.
Venue: Charlestown Workshops, Fife KY11 3EN.
This is our most popular 2-day workshop for building professionals and provides an introduction to the effective conservation and repair of traditional masonry structures and buildings, for the most part using traditional lime based mortars. By the end of the course attendees will be able to recognise vernacular and historic finishes to masonry buildings and will gain an understanding of building diagnostics in order to be able to develop specifications in relation to exposure, season, substrates and the nature of masonry repairs required.

Masonry Building Conservation- Principles and Techniques P2-Professional Level 2
Date: 29 – 31 May 2018.
Venue: Charlestown Workshops, Fife KY11 3EN.
This course is aimed at building professionals who have completed ‘P1 Traditional Masonry Repair’ and provides confidence in the repair principles, materials and techniques for traditional masonry buildings, covering mortar manufacture, practical repair methods and techniques, and aftercare of lime based materials. A 3-day workshop that aims to provide confidence in the relevant repair principles, materials and techniques for traditional masonry buildings, covering mortar manufacture, practical repair methods and techniques, and aftercare of lime based materials through a programme of classroom and practical activities. The course provides sufficient underpinning and practical knowledge of materials to enable effective development of specifications, supervision and snagging of the conservation works including repointing, stone indents, surface repair of stone, grouting, renders and harls and limewash

Vacancies

Appointment of 2 Board Members (Architecture and Design Scotland)
Do you want to help shape Scotland’s built environment? Scottish Ministers are looking to appoint up to 2 new Board members of Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS).
The Company Board, will ensure the A&DS’s strategy and business plan continue to support and promote the value good architecture and sustainable design add to everyone’s lives. Board Members will be expected to have a keen interest and understanding of the built environment; able to see the bigger picture, and have strong communication and influencing skills, along with monitoring performance and uphold good governance skills. Architecture & Design Scotland have filmed video messages with the Chair, Karen Anderson and current Board Members, Alan Sim and Sue Evans. Here they explain the benefits of joining the board.
The closing date for applications is Friday 9 March 2018.

Project Officer (Planning Skills Programme, Improvement Service)
We have an opportunity for a Project Officer to make an impact on the Planning Skills Programme year ahead. Inputting into the development, communication and delivery of changing skills and behaviours required to implement the Planning Review. The role will also involve working with and supporting Heads of Planning as they respond to the Planning Bill going through Parliament.
Closing date: 09 March 2018.

Stonemason Principal Trainer (Scottish Lime Centre Trust)
We have an excellent opportunity for a time served stonemason to join our busy team to deliver our range of ‘hands on’ courses as well as work alongside the Building Advisory team. Outline of Job Description:

• Delivery of Scottish Lime Centre Trust’s (SLCT) busy timetabled programme of practical training ‘hands-on’ courses related to the construction and repair of traditional masonry buildings to a wide range of learners from time served tradesmen, homeowners and school children in an engaging manner (see www.scotlime.org for details of scope of courses);
• Delivery of SLCT’s busy commissioned practical ‘hands-on ’training courses related to the construction and repair of traditional masonry buildings for individual, commercial and heritage project clients both on and off site in an engaging manner.

Please send in your CV with a covering letter to Roz Artis, MRICS, SLCT Director by email to admin@scotlime.org by Friday, 9 March 2018.

Digital Archivist required for Stobs Camp Project (Archaeology Scotland)
The Stobs Camp Project, near Hawick, requires a digital archivist for this part-time fixed-term post.  This community project is focussed on the period of the First World War when the camp was a Prisoner of War camp where many Germans and Austrians were interned.  Fascinating facts, photos, artefacts, pictures and memorabilia have been uncovered and these need organised for future research purposes.  If you are community-minded and a great organiser with good digital skills then this could be just the job for you.  The post can be based in our offices in Musselburgh or primarily home-based with a weekly visit to our office. Closing date for applications: noon 18 March 2018   

Patrick Geddes Centre Director, Riddle’s Court, Edinburgh
Scottish Historic Buildings Trust has recently completed the restoration of Riddle’s Court, Edinburgh giving it a new life as the Patrick Geddes Centre for Learning.
Thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, we wish to recruit a Centre Director who will be responsible for leading and delivering the Strategic Vision for the Patrick Geddes Centre for Learning, promoting the legacy of Patrick Geddes and his approach to learning, highlighted in stone above the gateway to Riddle’s Court – ‘Vivendo Discimus’ – by living we learn. Geddes’ thinking has guided the Trust through its delivery of the building as a new crucible for learning in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
We are looking for an enthusiast and expert in the work of Patrick Geddes in both a local and global context with a proven record of accomplishment of working within the educational/cultural sectors to lead a successful multi-disciplinary team to deliver dynamic learning programmes and activities in an astounding setting.
For a copy of the Job Description, please contact recruitment@shbt.org.uk. Interested parties can send a CV supported by a covering letter setting out how you meet the requirements of the role to recruitment@shbt.org.uk by midday on Friday 23rd March 2018.

New board members sought (Scottish Canals)
The two new board members will be expected to make a wide-ranging contribution to the leadership and governance of the organisation, focussed on meeting the needs of a diverse range of stakeholders in line with evolving Scottish Government priorities. As a member of the board you will assist the chair in –

• providing strategic leadership and direction
• motivating and inspiring the executive team
• maintaining high standards of corporate governance
• communicating effectively both internally and externally

These positions will be of interest to individuals who are accustomed to thinking and working at a strategic level within an organisation, but they do not require previous board experience. For ambitious individuals with enthusiasm and strong leadership potential they are likely to offer an excellent professional development opportunity. Closing Date for applications is 23 March 2018

BEFS News

The Our Place in Time Performance Report 2017 is now out. This report covers the first three years of the Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland – Our Place in Time, from its publication in October 2014. It sets out the progress made in delivering the Strategy and complements the narrative of the Annual Reports that were published in 2015 and 2017.

This year Historic Environment Scotland is undertaking a review of the Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement. Join BEFS for our Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement Conference in March and influence what direction it may take. The conference will bring together the sector for an intensive workshop looking at creative and pragmatic approaches to caring for Scotland’s historic environment. Advanced booking is now open, with further information and a programme to follow soon.

The Planning (Scotland) Bill appeared in December 2017, a little over 2 years since the independent panel carried out a “game-changing review of Scotland’s planning system”. Read BEFS response and an overview of the built environment sector’s responses and reactions to the Bill.

Following the May 2016 review, a Digital Taskforce was established to explore opportunities to develop a world leading Digital Planning Service for Scotland. As part of the work to explore digital opportunities, the Scottish Government’s Digital Planning Team are keen to hear about people’s experiences of planning in Scotland. To help shape the digital future of the Scottish planning system, please take part in this short survey.

Members of the Scottish Parliament have shown an increased interest in the challenges of maintaining buildings under shared ownership, with a Parliamentary reception for the RICS ‘Tenement Health Check’ in November and a motion debating ‘Maintenance of Tenement Communal Property’ in January 2018. Join the next meeting of the Cross-Party Group on Architecture and the Built Environment, in collaboration with BEFS and RICS, which will consider how the Scottish Parliament can help find solutions to the known challenges and how stakeholders can support a cross party working group on the topic.

Booking opens today for Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage conference, Inspiring Fundraising – A National Heritage Conference, specifically dedicated to the heritage sector.

Erin Fulton, Volunteer Manager at PAS, introduces PAS’ new youth volunteering initiative and PAS Youth Volunteer Award in the Year of Young People, in our first blog this week.

Isobel Leckie tells us about the work of the Causey Development Trust, community engagement and the design for transforming The Causey in Edinburgh, in our second blog.

Consultations

Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme: Second Consultation on Local Heat & Energy Efficiency Strategies, and Regulation of District and Communal Heating
Closes 20 Feb 2018.

Consultation on LBTT First Time Buyers Relief (SG 09/02/18)
Opened 9 Feb 2018 and closes 23 March 2018.

The Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform Committee agreed to launch a call for evidence on the Scottish Crown Estate Bill, with a deadline of Friday 23rd March 2018.

Publications

The Our Place in Time Performance Report 2017.
This report covers the first three years of the Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland – Our Place in Time, from its publication in October 2014.

Social Tenants in Scotland 2016 (SG 13/02/18)

The Third State of Scotland’s Greenspace Report (Greenspace Scotland 01/02/18) 

Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal (SEA/SA) (RTPI 15/01/18)
Our advice aims to help town planners to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of SEA/SA for land use plans.

Scottish Government News Releases

Social Tenants in Scotland, 2016 (SG 13/02/18)
Scotland’s Chief Statistician today released Social Tenants in Scotland 2016, the second annual statistical compendium publication on social tenants and social rented housing in Scotland, covering topic areas such as stock, household characteristics, housing flows, and rents and income levels.

LBTT consultation launched (SG 09/02/18)
Views sought before introduction of new policy. The next step towards helping more people buy their first home is underway. A consultation on the details of the first-time buyer relief from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) announced in the draft Scottish Budget 2018/19 is being launched by the Scottish Government.

Brexit and rural Scotland (SG 06/02/18)
Access to EU migrant workforce is vital to rural Scotland’s continued success, stability and sustainability, according to Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing. People from elsewhere in the EU make up around 3% of those employed in the rural economy. Additionally, some 10,000 people are directly employed in Scotland’s food and drink growth sector – as well as thousands more in public services such as hospitals and schools in remote and rural communities.

News Releases

Home-owners and poverty (JRF 15/02/18)
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a report examining the relationship between home-ownership, low incomes and poverty and reveals that half of all households in poverty are home-owners in the UK. The report notes that within the UK, Northern Ireland had the highest rate of home-owners in poverty and Scotland the lowest rate.

Scottish Government housing scheme criticised for ‘reviving right to buy’ (The Ferret 14/02/18)
Following an investigation by The Ferret, the Scottish Government has been accused of reintroducing Right to Buy. The report found that 131 homes for mid-market rent, financed by the National Housing Trust, have been sold off.

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2018 (ICE 14/02/18)
ICE200 is a year of events and activities showing how civil engineering transforms the way we live and promoting it as a career. Highlights include Invisible Superheroes – a real and virtual exhibition; 200 projects and people – how they were built and by whom; Explore Engineering – see or visit civil engineering in your area; Café 200 – engineers meet the public and explain civil engineering; and Pitch 200 – competition where civil engineers pitch innovative ideas in just 200 seconds. And the Global Engineering Congress – unique gathering of international engineers to agree a response to deliver five UN Sustainable Development Goals, London 22-26 October.

Historic Environment Scotland unveils new Investment Plan (HES 12/02/18)
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has today (Monday 12 February) unveiled an investment plan for some of Scotland’s most iconic historic sites. Backed by investment of £12 million in 2018/19, the plan sets out an investment programme scheduled to run until 2021/22 which will enhance the condition of sites and improve the experience of visitors.

Historic Environment Scotland reveal plan to manage historic assets (HES 12/02/18)
The Asset Management Plan outlines the steps Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is taking to maintain not just the historic properties and structures in its care, but also the modern infrastructure such as car parks, visitor facing facilities, mechanical and electrical installations that are critical to its operations.

CIfA announces the formal launch of CIfA Deutschland (CIfA 12/02/18)
CIfA is pleased to announce the formal launch of CIfA Deutschland/Germany Group. A provisional organising committee will manage the affairs of the Group until formal elections at its first AGM in Munich on 12 May 2018.

Coalition calls for urgent action on shortage of housing for older and disabled people (Age Scotland 09/02/18)
The Older People’s Housing Coalition was officially launched on Friday 9th February. The new alliance, whose members include Age Scotland, Castle Rock Edinvar and the Scottish Older People’s Assembly, has urged the Scottish Government to make housing for older people and those with disabilities an urgent priority in the Planning (Scotland) Bill.

Help the Heritage Alliance understand how Brexit will affect heritage sector employees (THA 09/02/18)
Heritage Organisations & businesses, please fill out our 5-minute survey on EU Workers to inform our Brexit work on immigration.  Do share & retweet to help us build our evidence base. @Heritage_NGOs

Europa Nostra Learning Kits (08/02/18)
At the beginning of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, Europa Nostra is proud to issue Learning Kits for heritage civil society organisations on three crucial topics: Fundraising, Awareness-Raising & Advocacy, and Citizen Engagement & Education. The Learning Kits provide innovative and practical approaches to these topics and bring together dozens of outstanding examples from 21 countries across Europe. These digital publications, which were produced with the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, are now available online.

New online learning on professional ethics launched (RTPI 07/02/18)
The RTPI has launched a new bite-size online learning module on professional ethics to provide members with more clarity and support in this area. This supplements RTPI’s updated practice advice on professional ethics, which reiterates planners’ need to ‘act fearlessly and impartially in their professional judgement’.

IHBC’s Branch events update: Find our local CPD, across the UK (IHBC 06/02/18)
The IHBC has launched the first of its new regular NewsBlog IHBC Branches Update, so anyone can find IHBC’s local CPD events, across the UK. Practitioners also can scan local IHBC-linked events using the ‘Branches’ panel on our home page.

‘ALGAO Scotland – Latest Figures! (ALGAO 31/01/18)
Each year information about the work carried out by ALGAO Scotland members is gathered through an annual survey, the results of which are submitted to Scotland’s Historic Environment Audit (SHEA) and Measuring Success. The information from ALGAO Scotland, along with information from other organisations helps to build a picture of the Historic Environment in Scotland. The results from the annual survey for 2016/17 indicate the substantial and wide-ranging body of work carried out by the Local Authority Archaeologists and a snapshot of the impact of some of the work is highlighted in a new info-graphic available to view and download through the ALGAO Scotland webpage here.

UK puts forward Jodrell Bank Observatory as 2019 World Heritage nomination (DDCMS 29/01/18)
The Observatory, part of the University of Manchester, is a site of global importance in the history of radio astronomy and helped revolutionise our understanding of the Universe.

Impact of Brexit on the creative, tourism and digital industries (CMSSC 01?18)
The Culture Media and Sport Select Committee has released its report on the impact of Brexit on the creative, tourism and digital industries. The report notes that development of a new system of entry to the UK for EEA visitors will be a key aspect of the UK’s relationship with the EU after Brexit.

Opinion & Comment

Land value capture: why we need a system that works for all (Sally Thomas, SFHA 08/02/18) 

Power to the People! (GCHT 08/02/18)

McLeish: Involve local people earlier in planning decisions (SAPP 07/02/18)

Planning Bill lacks detail and shows modest ambition (SHN 06/02/18) 

Accreditation where it’s due – Ensuring conservation skills are retained and shared is just as important as protecting historic buildings (Bryan Dickson in RICS 31/01/18)

Thinking globally, acting locally – the case for regenerating Scotland (Graham Ross, Austin-Smith:Lord 24/01/08)

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”.

Alexander Stewart S5W-14291: To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01736 by Kevin Stewart on 31 January 2018 (Official Report, c. 10), what discussions have taken place to ensure that community councils are empowered to (a) support community engagement with a) and (b) play an active role in the planning process. (SP 01/02/18)

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-13988: Rachael Hamilton, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 22/01/2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to protect the 160 historic sites that have been reported by Historic Environment Scotland as being at high risk.
Answered by Fiona Hyslop (30/01/2018):

Events

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

World Heritage: India 
Date: Tuesday 20th February, 6.00-9.00pm.
Venue: Room LTS, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN.
James Simpson is one of the founding partners of Simpson & Brown Architects, one of the UK’s leading specialist consultants in building conservation. James has retired from practise and is now devoting some of his considerable energies to researching the predominantly Scots-developed communities around the Hooghly River in West Bengal, including the modern-day city of Culcutta. His talk will include a fascinating account of the Hooghly Jute Mill, still employing some 2500 people, with 300 mechanics maintaining machinery made by Urquhart, Lindsay & Co 100 years ago in Dundee, some few 100 yards north of our lecture theatre at the Blackness Foundry in Larch Street.

Scotland’s Buildings
Date: Tuesday 27th February, 6.00-9.00pm.
Venue: Room LTS, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN.
Simon Green, architectural historian with the Survey and Recording section of Historic Environment Scotland, is also president of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland. One of his responsibilities is the Buildings at Risk Register, now an in-house function of HES, and the opportunity has been taken to look at how the effectiveness of the BAR service and the register can be developed and improved. He will discuss different ways that departments of HES contribute to the removal of buildings from the register and thereby to the enhancement of the historic built environment. His second talk will be an enthusiast’s examination of the development of the Scots Baronial style. Antiquarianism, Romanticism, Aestheticism: recording and research have all played a part in the creation and longevity of this distinctive architecture.

Geography, Funding & Heritage
Date: Wednesday 21st February 2018 from 6-8pm.
Venue: GCHT offices, 54 Bell Street, Glasgow.
There are various reasons why we protect our built heritage, including safeguarding its intrinsic values, connections to the past and its positive influence on our environment. But does our ability to do so hinge on where that building is located and the socio-economic conditions found there?

In Focus: Storytelling using Media 
Date: 22nd February.
Location: Edinburgh.
This hands-on practical session will allow you to identify your key messages and present them using video as a medium for storytelling. Identifying and presenting your key messages in an appealing and visual way can support your fundraising efforts and help you to effectively communicate the value of the work that you/your organisation does.

Talking Shops – A History of Scotland’s Shopfronts
Date: Monday 26 February 2018 from 9am – 4pm.
Venue: The Engine Shed, Forthside Way, Stirling, FK8 1QZ.
This is a one day seminar to launch our new exhibition. Leading experts in the field will delve into the current challenges facing our High Streets. The day will explore topics including researching shopfronts, architecture of Co-operatives, shop interiors and their maintenance and the future of the High Streets. It will also include case studies of renovations and support schemes currently available. This is a level 2 event for professionals, it is also appropriate for members of the public with an interest on the topic. Refreshments will be provided during the day, please let us know of any dietary requirements at the time of booking.

Tenement Maintenance and Repair
Date: 6th March 2018 at 6pm.
Venue: Committee Room 1, Scottish Parliament.
Linda Fabiani MSP, invites you to attend a meeting of the Cross-Party Group on Architecture + the Built Environment, to be chaired by Tavish Scott MSP. Members of the Scottish Parliament have shown an increased interest in the challenges of maintaining buildings under shared ownership with a Parliamentary Reception for the RICS ‘Tenement Health Check’ in November and a motion debating ‘Maintenance of Tenement Communal Property’ in January 2018. Our next meeting will consider how the Scottish Parliament can help find solutions to the known challenges and how stakeholders can support a cross party working group on the topic. Our speakers will be David Gibbon MRICS MCABE a RICS Certified Historic Building Professional from the Tenement Action Group, Professor Douglas Robertson who has spent his career researching private housing issues and the third speaker is yet to be confirmed. Their short presentations will be followed by an open discussion chaired by Tavish Scott MSP.

Landownership: Opportunities and Challenges for Urban Communities
Date: Tue 6 March 2018 from 12:00 – 16:00.
Venue: Barmulloch Residents Centre, 54 Quarrywood Road, Glasgow, G21 3ET.
Community landownership has been transformative for many rural communities in Scotland. Can it have the same impact in Scotland’s towns and cities? Come along to this event to find out about the results of our research into urban community landownership, hear inspiring case studies and take part in a discussion about the future of urban community landownership. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Power to the People: Understanding Community Right to Buy
Date: Wednesday 14th March 2018 | 6-8pm.
Venue: Govanhill Baths, 99 Calder Street, Glasgow, G42 7RA.
The power for communities to have the right to buy abandoned, neglected, or detrimental land and buildings is soon to become available: what opportunities will it offer your community? Glasgow City Heritage Trust in partnership with BEFS invite you to join us at Govanhill Baths to find out more about this legislation, which will give communities significant power and rights to acquire land and buildings. Throughout the evening we will hear from a variety of organisations about what land is eligible, which community bodies can apply and the process for doing so. There will be opportunity for discussion and to learn from other communities that have taken on ownership responsibilities.

Impact and Opportunities of the Collaborative Economy and Disruptive Technologies: how Edinburgh should respond to short-term letting
Date: Wednesday 14 March 2018 between 2pm to 5 pm.
Venue: Methodist Church, Nicolson Square, Edinburgh.
Cost £8 for Cockburn Association members, and members of Edinburgh Civic Forum. £45 for others (£100 for block booking of 3 places).
The Cockburn Association will be holding the first in a new series of mini-conferences addressing current and emerging issues affecting the management and conservation of Edinburgh’s places and landscapes. The first will look at the impact of short term letting on the City, its role in supporting a buoyant tourism industry and the impact on residential and community amenity. Confirmed speakers include Professor Douglas Robertson – co-author of a Scottish Government scoping report on the supply and demand of short term lets in Scotland.  Professor Robertson’s research expertise focuses on sociological understanding of place, belonging and identity and examining how these influence society in relation to social and housing policies. Register your interest at admin@cockburnassociation.org.uk.

Scottish Young Planners’ Conference 2018: The Changing Face of Planning: Planning Ahead.
Date: Wednesday, 14 March, 9:30AM – 5:00PM.
Venue: Technology & Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde, 99 George St, Glasgow.
Tickets are now on sale for the Scottish Young Planners Conference 2018. This unmissable CPD for early career planners will this year tackle how advances in tech and approaches to design and construction could transform the planning system. Speakers will cover case studies of how new ways of working and thinking can help produce more joined up and productive working across sectors, disciplines and professions.  Confirmed speakers include the Minister for Local Government and Housing, Stefan Webb of the Future Cities Catapult, Liz Pringle of the Scottish Government’s ePlanning project and Kenny Steele of Pinnacle Visualisation, specialists in virtual reality software.

Scottish Plant Hunters by Anne Lindsay
Date: Thursday 15th March, 6.30pm- 8.30pm.
Venue: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Lecture Theature, 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh.
Price: £9 or £6 for SGLH members of Friends of RBGE.  Tickets available on the door.
Why did so many plant hunters herald from Scotland? Anne Lindsay, author of ‘Seeds of Blood and Beauty’ will explain why so many Scots become embroiled in tales of daring-do across the globe in search of plants to brighten gardens, conservatories and lives in the 18th and 19th centuries. A joint event hosted by Scotland’s Garden and Landscape Heritage and the Friends of RBGE.

CifA annual conference 2018: Pulling together: collaboration, synthesis, innovation
Date: 25 to 27 April 2018.
Venue: Brighton Racecourse.
Booking is open for the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ annual conference. This year’s theme is ‘Pulling together: collaboration, synthesis and innovation’. Sessions will feature contributors from around the archaeological sector and beyond it, and will provide an opportunity for heritage professionals to discuss, consider and learn about ways in which the archaeological profession can work together – and with others – to develop innovative and exciting projects that have wide reaching benefit and become ‘greater than the sum of their parts’. Make sure to book soon to secure the 10% Early bird discount. Bursaries are available – for more information see the website.

Training

Introduction to Leadwork
Date: Monday 19 March 2018.
Venue: Tullos Training Ltd., Aberdeen.
Contact: Douglas Campbell, Aberdeen City Heritage Trust, 01224 522755, dcampbell@aberdeenheritage.org.uk
Training delivered by the Lead Sheet Association, the recognised industry expert.  This is a rare opportunity for Architects, Chartered Building Surveyors, Architectural Technologists, contractors, heritage professionals and anyone involved in specifying or inspecting leadwork to consolidate and build on existing understanding of this important traditional material from the leading authority on Lead Sheet.

Leadwork: Basic Bossing and Welding
Date: Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 March 2018
Venue: Tullos Training Ltd., Aberdeen
Contact: Douglas Campbell, Aberdeen City Heritage Trust, 01224 522755, dcampbell@aberdeenheritage.org.uk
Training delivered by the Lead Sheet Association; a hands-on, practical course.  Bossing and welding are two key skills that leadworkers need to master to be able to create the range of forms and shapes necessary to detail roofing leadwork properly.  The course is aimed at building and roofing contractors who wish to develop their skills and represents a rare opportunity to access training from the recognised industry expert in the detailing and use of lead sheet for contractors in the North East.

Maintaining Traditional Buildings
Date: 23 March 2018, from 10.00 – 15.00.
Venue: Charlestown Workshops, Fife.
A must for anyone who owns or is responsible for a traditional building.
The seminar provides the perfect starting point if you are considering undertaking some simple repairs yourself or will enable you to speak your builder’s language and be confident that you are being given the correct advice. This seminar will outline the maintenance that traditional buildings require and attendees will gain an understanding of traditional building techniques and the correct materials to use when undertaking repairs. This will also be an excellent opportunity to speak to the Scottish Lime Centre Trust’s expert tutors about your project, attendees are welcome to bring along photos and mortar samples for some specific advice.

Vacancies

Practice Manager (Benjamin Tindall Architects)
Benjamin Tindall Architects is a busy, well-established architectural practice located in a studio in Edinburgh’s Old Town. We are seeking an experienced Practice Manager to join our team. The vacancy is being created by the retirement of the current staff member. This is a full-time position and offers the successful candidate the opportunity to be busy but never bored. The role requires a friendly, hands-on attitude and someone with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, the ability to work collaboratively with the existing team and provide support and assistance across all business support functions as and when required. Excellent IT skills are essential including MS Office, SAGE accounting and Adobe Creative Suite. Knowledge of Archetype, the documentation system used by the practice would advantageous. Web maintenance and the use of social media is essential.   Experience of all HR requirements for a small practice is necessary.  Knowledge of and experience in managing QA systems would be desirable. Competitive salary based on experience, as well as pension and holiday entitlement will be offered to the successful candidate.
Closing date for applications: Monday 26th February.

Heritage Consultancy (Simpson & Brown Architects)
Simpson & Brown is looking for an enthusiastic, dynamic and experienced person to join the Heritage Consultancy team in Edinburgh. Working in this team requires versatility and a willingness to be involved in a variety of work relating to the historic built environment. The position would be part time, three days per week. The work primarily consists of researching and writing a variety of documents relating to the built environment. These documents include strong components of historical analysis (based on primary and secondary sources), analysis of views and setting, assessments of significance (Historic England and Historic Environment Scotland methodologies) and recommendations based on local and national planning/heritage policy.
Please email your CV with a covering letter to admin@simpsonandbrown.co.uk by close of business, Monday 26th February 2018.

Programme Manager (HES)
Based at the newly opened building conservation centre, the Engine Shed in Stirling, this post will be responsible for managing and delivering the programme of events, volunteer programme and front of house operations there. This varied and challenging role will help establish the Engine Shed as a hub for technical conservation advice, training and digital innovation with a reputation for quality and professionalism, reflecting Historic Environment Scotland’s vision.
Closing Date: 28 February 2018 at midnight.

Programme Officer (HES)
Based at the newly opened building conservation centre, the Engine Shed in Stirling, this post will be responsible for managing and delivering the programme of events, volunteer programme and front of house operations there. This varied and challenging role will help establish the Engine Shed as a hub for technical conservation advice, training and digital innovation with a reputation for quality and professionalism, reflecting Historic Environment Scotland’s vision.
Closing Date: 28 February 2018 at midnight.

Community Engagement Adviser (Scottish Land Commission)
An exciting opportunity has arisen with the Scottish Land Commission for a Community Engagement Adviser. This two year fixed term appointment will support land owners and communities in implementing effective engagement in relation to land ownership and use and advise on the implementation of the Scottish Government guidance on ‘engaging communities in decisions relating to land.’ Applications are invited by CV and covering letter. Completed applications should be submitted to scott.strachan@landcommission.gov.scot.
Closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday 2 March 2018