A revised Scottish Historic Environment Policy (SHEP) has been launched by Scottish Ministers, superseding the edition published at the Planning Summit in October last year. An Annex of the new document lists all the changes made since that edition. The document can be downloaded from the link:
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/policy/shep.htm There are two significant additions. First, a new chapter, superseding the existing UK policy, sets out revised responsibilities of government bodies for the care of the historic environment in their ownership. Second, Ministers publish their policy on historic battlefields.
The Directorate for the Built Environment is publishing also Planning Circular 9 2009 Withdrawal and Replacement of the Memorandum of Guidance on Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas, available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/publications/circulars/Q/editmode/on/forceupdate/on This formally withdraws the 1998 Memorandum and confirms that the Scottish Historic Environment Policy, Scottish Planning Policy 23 (which is to be incorporated during 2009 into a combined Scottish Planning Policy) and Historic Scotland’s Managing Change in the Historic Environment guidance note series are the documents to which planning authorities are directed in their consideration of applications for conservation area consent, listed building consent for buildings of all three categories A, B and C(S), and their consideration of planning applications affecting the historic environment and the setting of individual elements of the historic environment. The Circular also directs Planning Authorities to these documents to assist them in development planning
