BEFS Bulletin – NPF4 & More Sector News
Get The Latest Built Environment News, Policy Developments, Publications, Consultations And More.
BEFS News
Last week saw the much anticipated publication of the Revised Draft National Planning Framework (NPF4). As the world continues to focus on events at COP27, tackling the climate and nature crises and climate mitigation and adaptation sit front and centre of the polices in the document. The revised draft represents a significant landmark in recognising the role of the historic environment towards sustainable places. BEFS Policy and Strategy Manager provides some initial thoughts here.
The independent analysis report of the responses to the consultation and Delivery Programme are also available.
With a further focus on urgent action to meeting Scotland’s climate targets, RICS recent report on Decarbonising UK Real Estate makes recommendations that aim to accelerate the reduction of both embodied and operational carbon emissions arising from real estate in line with national decarbonisation targets.
With insight from across the RICS profession and input from a wide range of built environment stakeholders the report’s recommendations call for:
• The modernisation of the EPC scheme;
• Establishment of a UK-wide retrofit programme; and
• A whole life approach to measuring and monitoring built environment carbon emissions.
Applications are now live for the 2023 Museums Galleries Scotland | Business Support Programme. Starting in March 2023 this free programme will last 9 months and will support 20 heritage organisations across Scotland to build capacity and develop sustainable business models. The programme is open to organisations across the wider heritage sector in Scotland, including museums, galleries, built environment, greenspaces, and community heritage. The programme covers 4 key areas: Leadership, Governance, Business Planning and Community Engagement.
Deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 12 December 2022.
BEFS Members, Scotland’s Churches Trust recently elected Professor Adam Cumming as Chairperson, following Col Jamie Erskine’s departure after three and a half years. Adam outlines his passion for Scotland’s church heritage and his aspirations for the Trust’s future in this recent blog.
And finally, congratulations to BEFS Members, The Ridge, who won the SPAB Sustainable Heritage Award for their work rescuing No. 4 Black Bull Close, an abandoned 18th-century building behind Dunbar High Street.
The next Bulletin dates are 1 & 15 December – BEFS Members should submit information for inclusion by the Monday prior to publication.
Consultations
The Future of National Parks in Scotland
Scottish Government
Closes 30 November 2022
Responsible Tourism Framework
Historic Environment Scotland
Closes 30 November 2022
Developing a Scottish Tax to replace the UK Aggregates Levy
Scottish Government
Closes 4 December 2022
Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture. Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill
Scottish Government
**Deadline extended** Now closes 5 December 2022
World Heritage Site Management Plan 2023
Edinburgh World Heritage
Closes 12 December 2022
The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing & Planning Committee inquiry into Community Planning
There are two different surveys: the first call for views is aimed at members of Community Planning Partnerships (organisations or individuals). The second survey is aimed at other organisations or individuals who have an interest in community planning.
Closes 30 December 2022
Publications
Making data work for public sector policy: Can better data lead to better policy? (Centre for Cultural Value October 2022)
Understanding Landlord Behaviour in the Private Rented Sector in the UK (CaCHE November 2022)
A roadmap to decarbonisation: Retrofit of social housing stock in the South of Scotland (CLES/IPPR November 2022)
Decarbonising UK real estate: Recommendations for policy reform (RICS November 2022)
Scottish & UK Government Publications
Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2023-24: Scotland’s Public Finances in 2023-24 and the Impact of the Cost of Living and Public Service Reform (ScotParl 03/11/2022)
Non-domestic buildings – heating systems: research report (SG 04/11/2022)
Construction Industry Training Board Annual Report and Accounts for y/e 31 March 2022 (UK Gov 07/11/2022)
National Planning Framework 4: Revised Draft (SG 08/11/2022)
National Planning Framework 4: Explanatory Report (SG 08/11/2022)
National Planning Framework 4 Delivery Programme (SG 08/11/2022)
National Planning Framework 4 Housing Land Requirement Explanatory Report Addendum (SG 08/11/2022)
Habitats Regulations Appraisal of National Planning Framework 4 – HRA Record (SG 08/11/2022)
National Planning Framework 4 Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (SG 08/11/2022)
Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of National Planning Framework 4 Proposed National Development Assessment Findings (SG 08/11/2022)
Draft National Planning Framework 4 Analysis of Responses to the Consultation (SG 08/11/2022)
Local development planning regulations and guidance – draft: consultation analysis (SG 08/11/2022)
Building a green heat industry (SG 11/11/2022)
Towards an Industry for Green Heat: heat in buildings supply chains delivery plan (SG 11/11/2022)
News Releases
Creative Scotland issue update on approach to future funding for organisations (03/11/2022)
Historic England Reveals its Heritage at Risk Register 2022 (10/11/2022)
Stirling will become the first fully Augmented Reality city in the world (10/11/2022)
Arts & Business Scotland announce the appointment of new Chair and Trustees (16/11/2022)
Opinion & Comment
Edinburgh conservation area ‘red tape’ could change to help insulate old homes (Edinburgh Live 02/11/2022)
Decarbonising UK public buildings to cost £25-30bn (BBC News 05/11/2022)
St Fillan’s: Congregation and campaigners still hope to save ancient church (The Scotsman 06/11/2022)
‘Empty promises’: Ministers plan £133m of cuts to Scots energy efficiency schemes (The Herald 07/11/2022)
Robertson’s fire destroyed a little bit of Dundee’s soul: Jim Spence (The Courier 15/11/2022)
Stirling prize: why Cambridge’s Magdalene library was named the UK’s best new building (The Conversation 15/11/2022)
Parliamentary Questions and Answers
Questions marked with a triangle (?) are initiated by the Scottish Government to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament. Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an “R”.
S6W-11584 Donald Cameron, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 18/10/2022
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Historic Environment Scotland regarding the flexibility to use its reserves, and whether it has plans to extend any such flexibility to other organisations.
Current status: Answered by Neil Gray 1 November 2022
S6W-11537 Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: 13/10/2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the status is of each (a) single building assessment and (b) single building assessment application it has received under the grant-based approach.
Current status: Answered by Shona Robison 3 November 2022
Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: 04/11/2022
S6W-11906 To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00933 by Shona Robison on 1 November 2022, what the status is of the gateway recommendations in Cladding Remediation Gateway Review 0 (Strategic Assessment) October 2021 and July 2022.
S6W-11907 To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10678 by Shona Robison on 22 September 2022, whether the meeting with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities colleagues has now taken place, and what further funding has been secured to assess and remediate buildings in Scotland affected by combustible cladding.
S6W-11908 To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has had with all identified privately owned high-rise buildings in regard to the Single Building Assessment programme ahead of their forthcoming invitation onto the survey programme in 2023, and how many buildings it has been in contact with.
S6W-11909 To ask the Scottish Government how long it estimates the assessment of the 780 identified high-rise buildings in Scotland will take, and how this compares with the information released under Freedom of Information request 202200321870.
Current status: Expected answers 18 November 2022
S6W-11929 Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: 04/11/2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the new £50 million fund for bringing homes back into use has been allocated, broken down by local authority area.
Current status: Answered by Neil Gray 9 November 2022
S6W-11934 Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: 04/11/2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a timeline of when Historic Environment Scotland expects sites currently closed to the public as part of the high-level masonry programme will reopen, and what information it has on the budgets required to do this.
Current status: Answered by Neil Gray 10 November 2022
S6W-11950 Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: 07/11/2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07307 by Shona Robison on 25 March 2022, and in light of its tender, OCT462463, for the audit anticipating that the research will extend over six months, what the (a) scope and (b) timeline is of the empty homes audit.
Current status: Expected answer 21 November 2022
Ministerial Statement NPF4 – Tom Arthur, The Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth
Date: 08 November 2022
S6W-11958 Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: 08/11/2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the £6 million of reduced Buildings Standards expenditure identified on page 23 of the Emergency Budget Review was originally assigned to.
Current status: Expected answer 22 November 2022
Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 08/11/2022
S6W-11964 To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many buildings in Scotland have undergone survey work to identify and remediate unsafe cladding since 12 May 2022.
S6W-11965 To ask the Scottish Government how many housing developers it has met with regarding the identification and remediation of unsafe cladding since 12 May 2022.
S6W-11966 To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has provided to housing developers in order to identify and remediate unsafe cladding.
Current status: Expected answers 22 November 2022
S6O-01547 Jamie Greene, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 09/11/2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Historic Environment Scotland site closures.
Current status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2022
Events
Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders Archaeology Conference
Date & Time: Saturday 19 November 2022; 9am-4:45pm
Location: Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh
This annual conference is organised by the City of Edinburgh Council, East Lothian Council and Scottish Borders Council. For the 20th anniversary there will be an exciting programme of talks about recent discoveries and archaeological research in Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders.
Conference tickets are £30, with an optional buffet lunch priced at £10 (NB lunch must be pre-booked by 16 November). Conference tickets only will be available on the day. Book tickets here
RICS World Built Environment Forum – Natural solutions to human-induced problems: Is green infrastructure the answer?
Date & Time: Wednesday 23 November 2022; 4-5pm
Location: Online
Join the conversation as we explore what new and revised financing and governance frameworks are required to successfully up-scale nature-based solutions. How broadly could these solutions be implemented, and are policymakers rising to this legislative challenge?
ICON Scotland 25th Annual Plenderleith Memorial Lecture: Even on a Mountain, there is still a road: Reflections on Conservation in post-Conflict Afghanistan
Date & Time: Thursday 24 November 2022; 7-8:15pm
Location: City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, Edinburgh
Join Icon Scotland for their 25th annual lecture in memory of Dr Harold Plenderleith, one of the founders of modern conservation. This year’s speaker is Dr Richard Mulholland, Senior Lecturer on the Conservation of Fine Art MA programme at Northumbria University. A Paper Conservator and Technical Art Historian, Richard has been engaged in research on the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage collections at risk in conflict zones, particularly focused on Afghanistan. His lecture will consider what is being done to equip collections staff to respond to these crises and reflect on the future of culture in an increasingly polarised world.
Scotland’s Landscape Alliance – Managing Continuity and Change in Scotland’s Landscapes: Keeping Scotland aligned with Europe and alive to world challenges affecting our landscape
Date: Tuesday 29 November 2022
Location & Times: The Engine Shed, Forthside Way, Stirling FK8 1QZ (09:30am-2pm) and Online (10am-1pm)
Link to register In person
Link to register online
2022 marks the 22nd anniversary of the launch of the European Landscape Convention, and provides a reminder of the enthusiasm and energy that was invested in its inception. Scottish voices were very much part of this process, and the launch of the Scottish Landscape Charter in 2010 confirmed the drive for action from across the country.
Scotland’s Landscape Alliance invite you to review key achievements in bringing the principles of the ELC into daily life in Scotland, to explore landscape challenges and priorities facing us in the future and engage the landscape community in a discussion on ideas for its future implementation.
A&BS The (Income) Generation Game: In-person
Date & Time: Tuesday 29 November 2022; 4pm-6:15pm
Location: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh
Link to register
A&BS The (Income) Generation Game: Online
Date & Time: Wednesday 30 November 2022; 4-6pm
Location: Online
Link to register
Chairs of heritage or mixed arts/heritage organisations are invited to network and learn from experts and peers in a mini-series called ‘The Heritage Chairs Network Exchange’.
The sessions focus on challenges chairs might be facing having come out of lockdown, and the wider context organisations need to respond to. The sessions will bring together chairs to allow participants to expand their peer networks and share experience. With unprecedented pressure on public funding, what are some of the ways organisations can respond to remain financially sustainable?
These in person and online sessions will look at the role of the board and chair in fundraising, and other income generation options available to heritage organisations and mixed heritage/arts organisations.
EWHT – Modernism and Conservation: The life and times of Sir Robert Matthew
Date & Time: Wednesday 30 November 2022; 6pm
Location: St Mark’s Unitarian Church, 7 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2DP and Online
Join Prof Miles Glendinning to hear about one of Scotland’s most important architects and conservationists. Sir Robert Matthew was a man of contrasts. He designed cutting-edge modernist buildings such as the Royal Commonwealth Pool and David Hume Tower in Edinburgh, while also campaigning to conserve the historic New Town, protecting what was, in his words, ‘a national asset of world significance. Professor Miles Glendinning is the Personal Chair of Architectural Conservation at the Edinburgh College of Art. His fascinating talk will cover Matthew’s place in Scottish/British/International modernism in general, as well as touching more specifically on his involvement in conservation in the 60s/70s, and the ‘heritage significance’ of his work.
IHBC at 25
Date & Time: Thursday 1 December 2022; 4pm for AGM; presentations from 4:45-6pm; refreshments and networking from 6-7pm.
Location: Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL and Online via Zoom
Link to register
Since 1997 IHBC – The Institute of Historic Building Conservation – has been supporting and accrediting built environment conservation professionals while promoting the public and charitable benefits of conservation. Marking a quarter century since conversion from the Association of Conservation Officers, IHBC Scotland branch will hold a hybrid meeting on 1 December at Augustine United Church, beginning with our AGM, followed by talks and refreshments and concluding at 7pm. Non-members and Supporters are welcome. Free to book via IHBC Scotland scotland@ihbc.org.uk
Notes re Covid-19: Augustine church is spacious and airy. If in doubt about your health please wear a mask or join via Zoom.
AHSS Dr Iain Gordon Brown – Auld Greekie: Edinburgh as the Athens of the North
Date & Time: Monday 12 December 2022; 6:30pm
Location: Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL (wheelchair accessible)
Note: Lectures will also be streamed online via Zoom
In the early nineteenth century, Edinburgh – ‘Auld Reekie’ – came to think of itself and to be widely regarded as something else: it became ‘Modern Athens’. 1822 was a crucial year. At this bicentenary moment the speaker will share ideas explored in his new book, Auld Greekie. He will discuss several events of that time, and interlink architectural, cultural and social developments.
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland December Lecture: The Viking boat-burial at Kiloran Bay, Colonsay – Professor James Graham-Campbell
Date & Time: Thursday 15 December; 6pm
Location: Hybrid format; in-person at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh and livestreamed online via Zoom
The high-status Viking burial excavated at Kiloran Bay, Colonsay, in 1882 and 1884, is a well-furnished weapon grave, including scales, weights and harness-mounts, together with a boat, a horse and a possible human sacrifice, but also with two cross-marked stones. It is well documented for the period, in the archives of the Societies of Antiquaries of Scotland and of London, but much remains for discussion in relation to similar graves from Scandinavia, Britain and Iceland.
Training
A&BS Business Briefing: Data Protection and Marketing Update
Date & Time: Tuesday 22 November; 12-1pm
Location: Online via Zoom
The use of data has never been so valuable but the question of what you can and cannot do legally with contact data to market your goods and services is complex. In this session we will look at how data protection laws apply to the arts, heritage and culture sector and how it can use contact data to keep in touch with audiences and supporters. We will cover:
– Marketing and data protection laws – the basics
– Cookies, consent and the risks
– The Data Reform Bill and changes which could assist the third sector
Scottish Lime Centre Trust – Climate Change – How to protect our buildings
Date & Time: Friday 2 December 2022; 9:30am-4:30pm
Location: Charlestown Workshops, Fife
Cost: £200 +VAT
What on earth we can do to protect our buildings? From more robust roof design, retro-fitting for pre and post 1919 buildings, bigger and better rain water goods, all about insulating plasters and render and we think mortar skew fillets have their days numbered.
Vacancies
Heritage Trust Network – Board Members
Salary: not remunerated; expenses covered
Heritage Trust Network is recruiting new members to its Board of Directors.
This is a unique opportunity to join the leadership of the fastest growing organisation in community-led heritage regeneration. You could help steer their ambitious strategy to strengthen the organisation and help their members succeed. New board members are being recruited to ensure continuity, bring in new experiences and perspectives, and diversify the board.
There are up to three board positions available. Download a recruitment pack and further information on being a trustee.
Closing date: 28 November 2022