The Scottish Government will introduce legislation through a tightly focused amending Bill – Historic Environment (Amendment) Scotland Bill – which will update the following three principal Acts:
* The Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953
* The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
* The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997
The Historic Environment (Amendment) Scotland Bill is part of a wider programme of change and complements work already begun by Historic Scotland in partnership with local authorities, including the establishment of Joint Working Agreements between local government and Historic Scotland, and the managed removal of a duty on local authorities to notify Scottish Ministers of certain casework.
The overarching aims of the Bill are:
* To improve the management of our historic environment by addressing the gaps and weaknesses of the current legislative framework identified during a year-long stakeholder engagement process
* To avoid introducing significant new burdens or duties for local and central government, businesses or the private sector
* To keep the implementation costs low
The Scottish Government is confident that the Bill will meet these aims through the range of amending provisions brought forward in the Bill, including:
* Remove uncertainty by introducing a new power that will enable Scottish Ministers to issue a building with a certificate of immunity from listing for five years.
* Better partnership between authorities and developers with Scottish Ministers able to specify in a grant award letter the amount of grant that would be recoverable in certain circumstances.
* Bring the listing and scheduling systems into better alignment, enabling Scottish Ministers to issue a scheduled monument enforcement notice
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/09/02151308
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/programme-for-government/2009-10/
summary-of-bills/ancient-monuments-bill
