
Key Policies
On this page you can find Scottish legislation and policies relating to the existing built environment within the categories heritage, planning, and community and assets. This is the legislation and the policies currently in place. The relevant legislation and policies that are upcoming can be found in this policy map.
Heritage
Our Past, Our Future – The Strategy for Scotland’s Historic Environment
Our Past, Our Future (OPOF) was published in 2023 and is the refreshed five-year strategy for Scotland’s historic environment. OPOF replaced the previous strategy for Scotland’s historic environment; Our Place in Time (OPiT) which was published in 2014. OPOF is situated in a larger policy landscape and works in tandem with other strategies such as the Culture Strategy for Scotland, and the National Planning Framework (NPF), among many others. The strategy advocates a collaborative approach to the process of valuing, caring for and understanding the historic environment.
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
You can read about this Act on the UK Government website here, or read the legislation in full here.
The Ancient Monuments (Class Consents) (Scotland) Order 1996
You can read about this Order on the Historic Environment Scotland website here, or read the legislation in full here.
The Scheduled Monument Consent Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2015
You can read about these regulations on the Historic Environment Scotland website here, or read the legislation in full here.
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas (Compensation) (Scotland) Regulations 2011
You can read about these regulations on the Historic Environment Scotland website here, or read the legislation in full here.
A Culture Strategy for Scotland 2020
A Culture Strategy for Scotland Action Plan 2023
Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014
The Act received Royal Assent on the 9th December 2014 establishing Historic Environment Scotland (HES) as a new Non Departmental Public Body, which took over the functions of Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. In addition to changes to legislation reflecting HES’ role and legal status, the Act changed processes for the designation of sites and buildings and for scheduled monuments, listed buildings and conservation areas consent. It also created new rights of appeal against certain HES decisions. You can read the legislation in full here.
Historic Environment Scotland Act: Secondary Legislation 2015
Following a consultation period, secondary legislation was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 4th June 2015 and came into force on the 1st October 2015. The following are the instruments of primary operational interest. The Scottish Government consultation response which outlines the additions to the original Act can be found here.
Historic Environment (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2011
A technical amendment act which, among various technical amendments, introduced the COINTL (Certificate of Intention Not to List).
Planning
Just Transition for the built environment and construction sector 2023
The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013
You can read about these regulations on the Scottish Government website here, or read the legislation in full here.
Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997
You can read about this Act on the Scottish Government website here, or read the legislation in full here.
The Planning (Listed Building Consent and Conservation Area Consent Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2015
You can read about these regulations on the Scottish Government website here, or read the legislation in full here.
Historic Environment Circular 1 2016
A circular covering requirements of the secondary legislation (the regulations) relating to the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014.
Scotland’s National Planning Framework
The National Planning Framework for Scotland 4 (NPF4) (Scottish Government 2023): is our national spatial strategy for Scotland. It sets out our spatial principles, regional priorities, national developments and national planning policy. It replaces NPF3 and Scottish Planning Policy.
Community and assets
Local Place Plans 2019
Local Place Plans were introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, which contains a new right for communities to produce their own plans as part of the new Scottish planning system. Local Place Plans contain the community’s proposals for the development and use of land, and provide a new opportunity for communities to feed into the planning system with ideas and proposals.
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage – The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003
European Landscape Convention
The European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe promotes the protection, management and planning of European landscapes and organises European co-operation on landscape issues.
Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015
The Community Empowerment Act empower community bodies through the ownership of land and buildings, and by strengthening their voices in the decisions that matter to them. It improves outcomes for communities by improving the process of community planning, ensuring that local service providers work together even more closely with communities to meet the needs of the people who use them. You can read the legislation in full here.
Creating Places
Creating Places (Scottish Government 2013d) sets out national policies on architecture and place making.