The Scottish Government has released the latest compilation of environmental reporting, including information on the number of designated heritage assets from 1991- 2016, and derelict urban land from 2009 – 2015
The report states:
- The area of designated protected areas and number and area of scheduled monuments has shown an upward trend over the long term
- The total area of derelict and urban vacant land increased by 10%, from 11,530 hectares in 2009 to 12,674 hectares in 2015; mainly due to the addition of 2,217 hectares of former surface coal mines that became derelict in East Ayrshire in 2014. The most recent survey (2015) showed a net decrease of 458 hectares from 2014
- The number of Scheduled Monuments (SMs) has increased by 74% between 1991 and 2016 and the area they account for has increased by 129% over the same period. In 2016, there were 8,167 designated SMs in Scotland, covering an area of 18,285 hectares (ha). There are also 7 historic Marine Protected Areas, covering 87 ha, that have been designated to protect marine historic assets such as historic shipwrecks
