The Scottish Parliament has debated Scotland’s proposed Historic Environment Strategy as Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop led speeches and discussion on heritage and related issues on 10 September? as they ?debated ‘Scotland’s historic environment? – the way forward’.
The Cabinet Secretary said:
‘The historic environment has a key role in regeneration; indeed, the recent report on town centres also indicates how we must look at care and protection. On-going maintenance, as we have heard, must ensure that we have stronger and safer communities, maintaining that sense of place. Sustainability will very much be part and parcel of the approach, particularly towards the 500,000 traditionally constructed domestic buildings built before 1919—a matter that we have touched on in the debate.
…. we need to adopt a team Scotland approach, wisely advocated in George Reid’s review of the National Trust for Scotland, which was published in 2010. We cannot work in isolation if we are to achieve the best for our historic environment, and for Scotland, today. As I have said, this is Scotland’s strategy—we need to collectively own and deliver the strategy.
The strategy sets out a framework that will help to deliver positive outcomes for our historic environment. We as a Government need to ensure that we play our part in the delivery of the strategy. That includes ensuring that the historic environment is better factored in to other public policy debates, such as the regeneration of town centres, through to capturing the excellent work of our national collections….
I move, ‘That the Parliament welcomes the work carried out by organisations across Scotland’s historic environment sector, including charitable bodies and local government, to develop the first ever Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland; further welcomes views from all members to inform the strategy and ensure that it will deliver the best outcomes for Scotland’s precious and unique historic environment, and recognises the importance of collaborative working in the sector to enable Scotland’s rich heritage to continue to contribute to its economy, society and communities so that future generations can enjoy and benefit from its built heritage.’
Patricia Ferguson responded:
… I now come to the area that gives me most concern: the proposed merger of Historic Scotland and RCAHMS… The time is therefore not right to merge the two organisations. The National Trust for Scotland has pointed out that, although an options appraisal exercise has been undertaken in respect of RCAHMS, no such similar exercise has been done for the functions of Historic Scotland, leaving the sector trying to work out the implications of that.
I move amendment S4M-07622.1, to insert at end:
‘but believes that such work must also be properly resourced’.
Liz Smith responded:
… questions about how we ensure that planning authorities have access to the appropriate expertise—a point that has been made already—so that any planning decisions are made with the fullest knowledge of the relevant facts. We know only too well from other aspects of Government policy, whether in this country or elsewhere, that fierce debates can arise when planners are at odds with conservationists. Therefore, I can well understand why there might be some scope for difficulty if such matters are not carefully thought through.
We also need to be mindful of the impact that the merger will have on the third sector, especially if the new body is to enjoy charitable status. Third sector bodies often have an excellent record of engaging best with local communities, and we must be careful not to undermine that relationship, because the third sector is a key player in the area. I hope that the cabinet secretary will listen carefully to the points about how that sector’s resources and expertise can be best used.
For the texts in their entirety see: LINK
