BEFS Bulletin – Bringing you funding, events, and sector wide news
Get The Latest Built Environment News, Policy Developments, Publications, Consultations And More.
BEFS News
Professor Douglas Robertson, and BEFS Director briefly gave comment within Why Buildings Collapse highlighting the importance of building maintenance, and robust building data. Further information on activity within Scotland on this topic can be found here.
BEFS Director was also asked to contribute to a panel session on shaping the future direction of Scotland’s heritage sector, at the recent Scottish Historic Environment Forum (SHEF) conference. BEFS will be working with HES on engagement across the sector to inform the updated Our Place in Time national strategy, helping ensure it is fit for the future.
Looking to the future, Scottish Civic Trust have just released their findings from a survey of local civic and heritage groups. They recently discussed the initial findings, and highlighted a range of inclusive resources on their website.
In strategic news, leading heritage organisations have partnered to create a UK-wide Climate Hazards Group. And, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland has announced £2million funding to help the heritage sector build back after the pandemic.
In awards news, Europa Nostra have announced the 2022 winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, funded by the EU Creative Europe programme. The winners of the inaugural RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence have been announced. And, two buildings, selected from the Scotland regional heat, have been shortlisted for the national RIBA awards.
Congratulations to Chris Stewart who has been elected RIAS president. And a warm welcome to: Samantha McCabe and Dr Georgiana Varna who have been appointed to the board of Architecture and Design Scotland (AD&S).
BEFS are pleased to welcome Under One Roof as our latest member. They undertake vital work providing impartial advice on repairs and maintenance for flat owners across Scotland.
And finally: BEFS Member SPAB have the following offer this month – 20% off membership throughout July. From cottages to castles and from churches to cathedrals, SPAB help buildings and the people who care for them. For a limited time only get 20% off your first year of membership using discount code JULY20.
Consultations
Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill:
Consultation by Alex Rowley MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Region
Closes 27 July
Review of permitted development rights – phase 2 consultation
Scottish Government
Closes 3 August
Views on the impact of budgetary decisions including the Resource Spending Review on the culture sector in Scotland
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
*new* Closes 19 August
Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: a consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August
Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: A Route Map to 2025 and beyond
Scottish Government
Closes 22 August
Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation
Scottish Government
*new* Closes 25 Sep 2022
Consultation Responses
Publications
Rural Planning in the 2020s (RTPI July 2022)
A report detailing the changing face of rural areas across the UK and Ireland.
How to combine action on housing retrofit with tackling health inequalities and other injustices (CaCHE June 2022)
A briefing paper on the interconnected policy priorities that retrofitting homes can contribute to, whilst taking a Whole Systems Approach to retrofitting as a public health issue
Heritage Sector Resilience Plan 2022-24 (Historic Environment Forum June 2022)
Plan to provide a clear roadmap to a robust and resilient heritage sector, via a collaborative approach in which everyone with an interest plays their part.
Historic Environment Overview (HE, June 2022)
The Historic Environment Overview forms part of Heritage Counts, the annual audit of England’s heritage since 2002.
Culture Budget Tracker – Comparing 10 Years of Scottish Government Budgets (Culture Counts June 2022)
An interactive data visualisation to explore past Scottish Government culture budgets
Rethinking Heritage for Sustainable Development (Sophia Labadi June 2022)
A substantial and original assessment of whether and how heritage has contributed to three key dimensions of sustainable development
Scottish Government Publications
Stakeholders Update (01/07/22)
Planning Minister Tom Arthur and Chief Planner Fiona Simpson’s letter to update stakeholders on aspects of the work programme, heading into the summer recess period.
Building Standards Workforce Data Analysis Report 2021 (24/06/22)
Report providing a national-level view of the challenges facing the building standards profession in relation to resourcing, development of competencies and levels of turnover.
Planning Circular (30/06/22)
Providing guidance on the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022
Wellbeing Economy Monitor (24/06/22)
Monitor of a range of indicators providing a baseline for assessing progress towards the development of a wellbeing economy in Scotland.
Resource Spending Review and Pre-Budget Scrutiny (22/06/22)
Summary analysis of some of the key issues arising from the recent Scottish Government Resource Spending Review (RSR)
NPF4 (22/06/22)
Response to Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on an update on final version of NPF4
Building a Net Zero Future (15/06/22)
New regulations to cut emissions of all new-build homes by nearly a third.
News Releases
Launch of the first National Survey for Scotland’s museums and galleries in 20 years.
The survey will help to capture where the strengths are in the sector, and the areas where Scotland’s museums and galleries most need support.
Hands on Experience of Traditional Building Skills for young people in Paisley
Pupils in Renfrewshire get to grips with traditional building skills at a career-building event
Glencoe turf house keeps heritage building skills alive
The recreation 17th-century turf house was created using traditional materials, tools and techniques.
Successful Heritage Regeneration Programme Has Revived Historic Towns Across England
From Weston-super-Mare to Sunderland, 10 Historic England-funded Heritage Action Zones have been a powerful catalyst for regeneration.
Designing Buildings celebrates 10 years offering a free, open access wiki site for the construction industry
Practitioners share knowledge about things they know and find knowledge about things they don’t.
Spotlight on Britain’s rich heritage of traditional crafts
A new series from Sky Arts, The Prince’s Master Crafters: The Next Generation, will be airing later this year.
Opinion & Comment
Eiffel Tower riddled with rust and in need of repair (Guardian 04/02/22)
Over 100,000 homes in Scotland have nobody living in them – with some lying empty for decades (Daily Record 03/07/22)
Staffing crisis hits top Scottish tourist attractions (The Herald 01/07/22)
Who’s betting on Lottery funding? (Arts Professional 30/06/22)
Data provides opportunity for tourism and environment (The Scotsman 30/06/22)
Call to re-open Fife’s historic buildings as soon as possible after inspections (Fife Today 30/06/22)
Challenges on every front, but tourism will deliver for Scotland this summer (The Herald 28/06/22)
Andy Wightman: In modern Scotland, power is becoming more centralised (Holyrood Magazine 23/06/22)
The Greenest Building is the One Already Built (IHBC 19/06/22)
Departing Stores and Place Vandalism (Leigh Sparks 15/06/22)
Emma Dickson: Why the construction industry needs to investigate alternative paths to entry to address ongoing pain of skills shortages (Scottish Construction Now 14/06/22)
Parliamentary Questions
Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.
S6W-09248: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many surveyors and fire engineers it has procured to carry out single building assessments.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022
S6W-09249: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many single building assessments it has offered directly to date.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022
S6W-09250: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 80 unique blocks that submitted an expression of interest in the single building assessment it has written to.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022
S6W-09251: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the average day rate is of the contractors in its Cladding Remediation Unit.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022
S6W-09252: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many contractors have worked and (b) what the expenditure has been on contractors, in its Cladding Remediation Unit in each of the last 12 months.
Answer expected on 21 July 2022
S6W-09298: Sharon Dowey, South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) encourage applications and (b) make an application itself for Scottish sites to feature on a new tentative list of natural, cultural and mixed sites for potential nomination for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Answer expected on 21 July 2022
Parliamentary Questions & Answers
Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Government in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.
S6O-01231: Annabelle Ewing, Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party Date Lodged: 8 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Historic Environment Scotland about the reopening of assets in the Cowdenbeath constituency.
Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2022.
S6O-01292: Pauline McNeill, Glasgow, Scottish Labour Date Lodged: 22 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what range of heating systems it anticipates will replace gas boilers in the near future.
Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2022
S6O-01295: Edward Mountain, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Date Lodged: 22 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what level of grant per property will be made available to assist homeowners to achieve an EPC rating of band C or better by 2025.
Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2022
S6W-08961: Fulton MacGregor, Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party Date lodged: 9 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to (a) review legislation that allows property factor companies to own 50% or more of residential buildings and (b) introduce legislation to ensure that residents retain decision-making rights for their homes rather than property factor companies.
Answered on 21 June 2022
S6W-08983: Dean Lockhart, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 9 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government by which date in Autumn 2022 it will publish its previously delayed, updated Energy Strategy.
Answered on 23 June 2022
S6W-09092: Kaukab Stewart, Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party Date lodged: 10 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to respond to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report, Achieving net zero in social housing, in order to provide registered social landlords with as much certainty as possible as they plan to retrofit their stock of tenement accommodation to meet its climate targets, including in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency where the stock is reportedly extensive.
Answered on 21 June 2022
Events
For the latest information about BEFS Members’ events see our events calendar.
Discovering Dumfries – Walking tour of Dumfries
Date & Time: Thursday 21 July 5-7pm
Location: Armstrong Watson, Dumfries
An on-foot, after-work blend of learning, competition and refreshment with the opportunity to seek out nationally and locally important places and people, facts and features with colleagues and friends in the planning world. Members from other Scottish chapters, and wider, would be welcome.
Dumfries is on the train line between Newcastle and Glasgow, via Kilmarnock.
Scottish Young Planners’ Network Summer Social
Date & Time: Thursday 28 July, 5:30-10pm
Location: 3 Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh
Come and join the RTPI for the Scottish Young Planners’ Network summer social. Back in Edinburgh and soaking up the city atmosphere.
STBF – Festival of Traditional Buildings
Date & Time: Monday 22 – Friday 26 August
Location: Edinburgh and online (hybrid)
This will be the 10th Festival of Traditional Buildings, with a rebranding from Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival. In the last two years the event has been hosted online due to the pandemic, creating a truly global audience. Whilst the team are delighted to be back delivering the festival in-person, this will be a hybrid event so those unable to attend in person are still able to participate in the events. Full details also available here.
From Slogans to Sound Strategy? The 2022 SURF Annual Conference
Date & Time: Thursday 25 August 10am-3pm
Location: COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Anyone involved with the regeneration of Scottish places, is very likely to have heard repeated references to Community Wealth Building and Levelling Up in recent times. SURF’s 2022 Annual Conference will critically examine policy and practice developments associated with both concepts, with particular reference to the Argyll & Bute town of Dunoon.
Participants will learn about national policy developments associated with the new regeneration context from the Scottish and UK Governments, and hear emerging lessons on the ground from Dunoon and elsewhere in Scotland. Those attending will also have the opportunity to share their local experiences, and question leading practitioners, policy-makers and academics in interactive panel sessions.
Training
Online CPD: Upgrading a Traditional Tenement Building
Date & Time: Thursday 14 July 12:30-1:30pm
Location: Online
In this CPD, Chris Morgan of John Gilbert Architects will be discussing the current works being done to upgrade a traditional Glaswegian tenement building on Niddrie Road to meet the EnerPHit standard. The project, commissioned by Southside Housing Association, aims to demonstrate an approach that rigorously tackles energy efficiency and fuel poverty whilst also addressing issues related to health and well-being as well as heritage, building maintenance and management.
Attendees will get to learn about the works being undertaken, explore the innovative monitoring and 3D scans the team has been doing, and hear what the project means for helping Scotland’s historic housing stock tackle the climate crisis.
Vacancies
Historic Environment Scotland: Grants Managers
Salary: £26,341-£32,669
Status: Full time; one permanent role and one fixed term to 31 March 2023
Location: Edinburgh and the Lothians
Successful candidates will provide advice to potential grant applicants, assess grant applications and make recommendations to decision makers. They will also manage a caseload of grants in delivery, processing grant payment requests in a timely manner and effectively monitoring any risks to HES investment. They will have knowledge of grants management, experience of managing multiple projects and excellent communication skills.
Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 11 July 2022
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