BEFS Bulletin – Financing the Historic Environment

BEFS News

BEFS conference, Financing the Historic Environment, organised in collaboration with Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland and the BRICK programme run by The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, will take place on 29th and 30th March at the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow. Check out the programme and booking your ticket here.

In the run up to the local government elections in May, HES has created a tool to search for designated assets by constituency and council ward. This interactive searchable map will prove a useful advocacy tool for you and/or your organisation when discussing the impact of the historic environment with your local politicians.

In addition to BEFS conference, there are a great number of events coming up this month organised by BEFS members and associates. Check out the ‘events’ section for full details.

Consultations

Consultation on HES Managing Change in the Historic Environment: Windows 
Consultation on one in a series of guidance notes offering best practice advice on specific topics relating to the historic environment.  They provide guidance on making changes to the historic environment in line with Scottish Planning Policy and Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement. HES is particularly keen to hear from those who have experience in applying for permission to replace windows (whether as an applicant or agent) in listed buildings or within conservation areas and those in local authorities involved in determining applications.
This consultation will close at 6pm on Friday 28 April 2017.

Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement: A Consultation
A consultation on the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, which is a set of principles with an overarching vision that will guide the development of public policy on the nature and character of land rights and responsibilities in Scotland.
Closes 10 Mar 2017.

Consultation Responses

Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 – Participation Requests – Consultation on Draft Regulations – Analysis of Consultation (SG 23/02/17)
This report provides an analysis of responses to the Scottish Government consultation on draft regulations and guidance associated with participation requests under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. The consultation took place between 21 March 2016 and 22 June 2016.

Historic Environment Protection Reform Group
Summer Consultation 2016 responses: Heritage Protection Reform Proposals

Publications
Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2015-16 (SG 28/02/17)
Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics is an annual publication that provides a comprehensive overview of Scottish Local Authority financial activity. The publication covers Local Authority income, revenue and capital expenditure, outstanding debt, local taxation and Local Authority pensions.

Scottish Government News Releases

82 new affordable homes for Govan (SG 01/03/17)
£6.8m investment in charitable bonds. South Glasgow is set to benefit from 82 new affordable homes for social rent, helped by £5 million support from an innovative Scottish Government scheme.

Supporting urban regeneration (SG 28/02/17)
The Scottish Government’s SPRUCE (Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres) fund has been so successful that more money is now available. The fund initially invested £50 million, in loan form, in regeneration and energy efficiency schemes across Scotland. As those loans are starting to be repaid and some ahead of time, the investment can be recycled and used to deliver further regeneration projects.

Brexit meeting update (23/02/17)
“Urgent answers needed” on powers, farming, fisheries and environment. Guarantees over future powers and the protection of European funding and market access are needed urgently, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said.

Third sector vital to EU stability (23/02/17)
Uncertainty for sector in light of Brexit. Withdrawal from the EU would pose a threat to Scotland’s strong and dynamic third sector, which plays a crucial role in the drive for social justice and inclusive economic growth.

Commitment to regeneration (SG 21/02/17)
Clyde Gateway to benefit from £6.5 million of Scottish Government funding. Scotland’s largest regeneration project, Clyde Gateway has been awarded a £1 million loan from the Scottish Government’s SPRUCE (Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres) fund.

Tackling Climate Change (SG 20/02/17)
£10 million Climate Challenge Fund awarded. More than one hundred organisations across Scotland are to benefit from almost £10 million of funding to support local action to tackle climate change.

Scottish Land Fund awards (SG 16/02/17)
11 community groups share £2.1 million to develop community spaces. Communities the length and breadth of Scotland have been given the green light to realise their ambitions to take ownership of and redevelop local land.

Improving Scotland’s Energy Efficiency (SG 15/02/17)
£11m funding pot opens for new projects. A further £11 million of funding has been made available for councils across Scotland to make homes, public buildings and businesses more energy efficient.

News Releases

£6.2 million funding boost for Scotland’s historic towns and cities (HES 28/02/17)
Alex Paterson, Chief Executive of HES, announces funding to preserve the built heritage of Scotland’s town centres. Seven communities across Scotland will benefit from the latest round of Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funding announced today.

Review of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund launched (DCMS & HLF 23/02/17)
The Government has today launched a call for evidence on the roles and responsibilities of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Housing starts hit 9-year high (DCLG 23/02/17)
The number of new build homes that have started to be built continued to rise last year to the highest level since 2007, figures released today (23 February 2017) show.

Rural land prices predicted to fall during Brexit negotiations (RICS 23/02/17)
Demand for farmland in Great Britain has further decreased, having now been declining for the last 18 months, according to the latest RICS/RAU Rural Land Market Survey.

Celebrate Scotland’s history in 2017 (HES 22/02/17)
People across Scotland are being encouraged to get up close and personal with their history this year as we unveil our programme of events for 2017 as part of Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.

Historic sites break tourism record with four million visitors (HES 15/02/17)
Footfall at Scotland’s heritage attractions up 13% year-on-year. Historic Environment Scotland’s staffed heritage attractions have drawn in more visitors than ever before. Over the last 11 months – from April 2016 to present – a record breaking 4,000,000 people have flocked to historic sites across the length and breadth of the country.

Members’ News

Director’s Notes – February 2017 (EWHT 28/02/17)
Adam Wilkinson’s reflects on a busy start to the year at Edinburgh World Heritage.

SP=EED Verification in Fife (PAS 27/02/17)
Bill Lindsay – Service Manager (Development Plan) – Fife Council – blogs about commissioning PAS to deliver SP=EED Verification to a range of Fife Council staff.

Places, People and Planning – Development Planning (RTPI 24/02/17)
RTPI Scotland will working closely with our members over the coming months to prepare our response to the Scottish Government consultation paper Places, People and Planning.  We have already published a paper setting out some key game changers Repositioning Planning.  Alongside our Chapters we are running a series of member workshops across Scotland, each one tasked with exploring one of the review’s key themes.

Channel 4, Chocolate Media and RICS join forces to showcase the very best restoration projects (RICS 23/02/17)
Channel 4 has today announced the commission of an exciting new series, ‘Restoration of the Year’, from Chocolate Media. The series features projects entered into the RICS Awards and the series will be made in collaboration with RICS, who will judge the projects.

Delivery vs Engagement – A way through the tension? (RTPI 21/02/17)
Nick Wright gives his take on how to reconcile two potentially conflicting aims of the Planning Review: Better community engagement, and more efficient delivery.

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”.

S5W-07480 Monica Lennon: To ask the Scottish Government what financial and practical support it makes available to communities and individuals to participate in the statutory planning process. R (SP 24/02/17)

S5W-07597 Mike Rumbles: To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the initial projected cost of the Forth Replacement Crossing project was an overestimate. (SP 01/03/17)

S5W-07598 Mike Rumbles: To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the date the Forth Replacement Crossing will be (a) completed and (b) open to the public, and how this compares with the initial projected date. (SP 01/03/17)

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-06974: Pauline McNeill, Glasgow, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/02/2017
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06198 by Kevin Stewart on 30 January 2017, whether it will provide further details of the “novel proposals” that it is assessing in relation to the building of new mid-market rent homes, and at what stage these assessments are.
Answered by Kevin Stewart (24/02/2017)

Events

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

Painting the City, 250 Years of the New Town
When: Monday 6th March, 6.30pm.
Where: St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, Edinburgh.
Tickets on the Door, £5
Ahead of his exhibition at the Scottish Gallery in July 2017 the distinguished watercolourist Hugh Buchanan talks about the influence of Edinburgh’s architecture on his work and how it inspired him as a student at Edinburgh College of Art.

Post War Architecture
When: Tuesday 7th March, 6pm.
Where: LT2, Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee, DD1 4EN.
Free. Scotland’s theatres 1951-95 and St Peter’s, Cardross,
Alistair Fair and Diane Watters discuss twentieth century Scottish architecture.

‘A Monumental Essay’: a talk by Alastair Penman.
When: Saturday 11th March, 2pm
Where: Gordon Memorial Hall, St. Ninian’s Episcopal Church, Whitepark Road, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, DG7 1EX
Tickets on the door, £5 including refreshments. Alistair Penman is the director of the Stewartry Archaeological Trust and author of ‘Old Castle Douglas’, ‘Old Kirkcudbright’ and ‘Some Customs, Folklore, and Superstitions of Galloway’.

White, Black and Grey: Recent Discoveries at Aberdeen’s Medieval Friaries
When: 13 Mar 2017 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm.
Where: National Museum Scotland Auditorium (use Main entrance), Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF.
Ms Alison Cameron from Cameron Archaeology Ltd will present a lecture entitled “White, Black and Grey: recent discoveries at Aberdeen’s medieval friaries”.

Save the Royal High School Public Meeting
When: Tuesday 14th March, 6.30pm.
Where: Central Hall, Tollcross, Edinburgh.
Everyone welcome, come along to find out about the new hotel application and what you can do. #SaveRHS

Property Maintenance Event – Caring for our Common Heritage
When: Wednesday 15 March 2017. Registration from 7.00pm Start 7.30pm.
Where: Carmelite Hotel, Stirling Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6JU.
Ensure you and your neighbours protect your biggest asset. With predicted increases of extreme weather events, it has never been more important to work collaboratively with neighbours to ensure that common repairs and maintenance of your traditional tenement or flat are carried out regularly and after damage occurs.

Property Maintenance Event – Remedying Traditional Building Deterioration
When: Thursday 16 March 2017. Registration from 7.00pm Start 7.30pm.
Where: Carmelite Hotel, Stirling Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6JU.
Identifying the causes and remedying the deterioration of traditional buildings can be one of the most challenging aspects of professional practice. This event will consider approaches to better understanding, identifiying and remedying deterioration and will provide the latest thinking on the use of traditional lime mortars.

The restoration of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Glasgow School of Art
When: March 21 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm.
Where: Regent Building Lecture Theatre, Regent Walk, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX.
Liz Davidson OBE, Hon FRIAS, IHBC, Senior project Manager, Mackintosh Project, Glasgow School of Art, will present a lecture entitled “Restoring the Mackintosh Building following the 2014 fire”, exploring this iconic structure, the influence of Mackintosh and the Four and its restoration.

Patrick Geddes: A Botanist by Design? 
When: Weds March 22nd – 13.00-16.30.
Where: Royal Botanic Garden, 20A Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR.
A Riddle’s Court event in advance of the Patrick Geddes Centre for Learning opening Sept 2017. From his rural Perthshire upbringing via his Professorship at University College, Dundee, botany played a central role in Patrick Geddes’ life and work. This Riddle’s Court event in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), will include a tour of the herbarium building and, uniquely, will reveal some of Geddes’ own botanical collections. Tickets available on Eventbrite or via SHBT.

Scottish Young Planners’ Conference 2017 – Skills that Young Planners Need to Succeed
When: 22 March 2017.
Where: The Golden Lion Hotel in Stirling.
The Scottish Young Planners’ Conference 2017’s packed programme focuses on developing essential skills. Sessions on leadership from Nicola Barclay, Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland, and innovative working from Irene Beautyman of the Improvement Service will equip delegates to be influential and effective in a reformed planning system. Hands on workshops on development economics, networking and mediation will promote active debate and participation. International contributions will place our responsibilities as planners in the global context of the New Urban Agenda. Registration is available now.

2017 Church Buildings Renewal Trust Conference in Inverness
When: 31 March 2017.
Where: Old High Church in Inverness.
The next conference of the CBRT will be held in the Old High Church in Inverness on 31st March 2017 under the title ‘Open All Hours: Churches for all the Community?’ To book please follow the link.

Training
Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage is delivering a series of training courses and events across Scotland.
Our training is best suited to registered charities and constituted community groups. Take a walk through our simple question and answer page to determine which course is right for you. We have two main training courses and a series of ‘In Focus’ events. If you are interested in any particular event or fundraising topic, please do get in touch – we may be able to bring an event to your area info@scotheritage.org.

Traditional Building Skills Training
Scottish Lime Centre Trust offer a wide range of vocational and professional courses combining theory and practical working sessions designed to ensure that there are courses to suit everyone.

Vacancies
Support Officers at Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF)
We are recruiting freelance part-time contractors in North East England and Northern Ireland and also an employed full-time post in Wales, all to start in April 2017.
Home-based, our Support Officers assist local communities who are seeking to rescue and re-utilise a historic building which they value. The AHF places particular emphasis on targeting help towards supporting community enterprises that wish to set up and/or grow their businesses in historic buildings, particularly those that are at risk and/or transferred from public ownership. Working as part of the Operations Team, each Support Officer will take a proactive approach to tackling heritage at risk by actively seeking out new projects and new types of beneficiaries of AHF support, in collaboration with the Heritage Lottery Fund and other partners.
For each role, experience of working in the heritage sector is not essential, although enthusiasm for the benefits of re-using historic buildings would be an advantage.
For the North East England role we are seeking a Support Officer with additional specialist skills in Communications, Public Relations & Marketing.
Full details including closing dates here.

Learning Officer 
War Memorials Trust works to protect and conserve all war memorials within the UK.
The charity seeks a Learning Officer with initiative, enthusiasm and experience to deliver our Learning Programme. The Programme educates young people about the history and importance of war memorials and their preservation. As a conservation charity which gives repair and conservation grants the Trust’s Learning Programme is the means of engaging tomorrow’s custodians – ensuring the work we do today is continued in the years ahead. The Learning Officer delivers the Programme by producing materials and resources, shared on www.learnaboutwarmemorials.org, and undertaking visits to schools and youth groups to promote the importance of our shared war memorial heritage.
Closing date 6th March 2017 10am.

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

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