The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) has launched its first ‘scoping’ study into capacity and operations across Scotland’s Local Authority Conservation Services, funded by Historic Scotland and carried out by the IHBC’s research team, with the data confirming that Scotland’s conservation services continue to cope despite ongoing financial pressures, thanks not least to the dedication of skilled conservation staff.
A key conclusion in the report is that further work is required to demonstrate more fully the threats to the historic environment where such services are not functioning properly, as well as the major social, economic and cultural benefits that conservation services offer other public policy agendas.
IHBC Chair Mike Brown said: ‘We’re delighted with the release of this report, its findings and the partnership approach that led to it. We think this is the most detailed national study of local conservation services yet carried out in the UK. It builds on the IHBC’s earlier consultancy work in England and Wales, and while it highlights the resilience of the service, it also indicates just how much more evidence is needed to make sure that Scotland is offering the public the best possible benefits from these efficient and affordable services.’
‘Our data collection, along with the views expressed by those delivering these services on the ground, has established some striking insights into the process of conservation in local authorities. For example, while conservation services provide specialist conservation advice on how planning can care for all our places – the whole historic environment from the great castles to the most modest urban and rural areas – by our calculations they only cost the taxpayer about one half of one percent of the national planning budget!’
‘However, while Scotland’s national investment in conservation advice might seem no more than a ‘blip’ in the mainstream of development and planning statistics, it delivers measurable value and improvements across everything from sustainable places to tourist attractions and even health.’
‘The IHBC’s research also confirms that most of these services are carried out by skilled and specialist staff, although it has demonstrated too that at present it is very difficult to identify exactly what might constitute a base-line service ‘standard’.
‘So we need to ensure that we can robustly evidence this value to the public and decision-makers alike. We therefore welcome especially the approach taken forward by the Scottish Government and organisations such as Built Environment Forum Scotland – BEFS – to promote the wider benefits of this historic Scotland within the mainstream policy agenda as well, as proposed in the Scotland’s first Historic Environment Strategy (HES).’
‘Ultimately, though, the report is also a ringing endorsement of how Scotland has fared to date despite the pressures on local government and other budgets. Our best estimates – and the only ones available as yet – show that capacity has contracted by some 15% in the last two years, with more reductions certain to come. It is in this spirit that the report calls on partners in the Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland, developed with key stakeholders including Historic Scotland and the IHBC, to work together so that we can all lead in planning how to help conservation services address any new capacity reductions.’
Download the Summary Scoping Report: HERE
Download the full Scoping Report: HERE
For more background on developments in heritage management infrastructure in Scotland see: LINK
For the Scottish Government’s Historic Environment Strategy see its Historic Environment pages at: LINK
