Hansard

Thank you very much, Presiding Officer.

I congratulate Chic Brodie on leading what I think has been a very thoughtful and informed debate. Of course, Scotland’s historic buildings are an exceptionally important national asset. Our country’s image at home and abroad and the way in which we think about Scotland as a historical landscape are based on our wonderful heritage of towns, cities, crofts, castles and country houses. Our historic houses, from the tenements of Edinburgh and Glasgow to the fantastic tower houses and castles of the north-east, are an essential part of that priceless heritage.

The vast majority of those buildings are well cared for and managed by both private and public owners. As Graeme Dey said, many organisations, particularly in the private-ownership sector, contribute so much to Scotland. As private owners, Scotland’s people have the main responsibility for looking after our historic environment and they do so very well. Scotland’s historic homes are our heritage and, as Christine Grahame so ably set out, the story of our buildings is very much the story of our people.

Seafield house in Ayr is a B-listed building that is the former home of Sir William Arrol, the celebrated builder of the Forth rail bridge. Both George Adam and Graeme Pearson set out his personal history. We are putting forward the Forth rail bridge for nomination as a world heritage site. Of course, we will soon have three crossings for the Forth that will span three centuries. I do not think that any other part of the world will have such an iconic heritage site, once the new Forth crossing is built.

Today is the centenary of the death of Sir William Arrol. His former home, Seafield house, was converted for hospital use. As the Presiding Officer said, I am a local Ayr lass and I used to travel every Saturday morning to play hockey in front of Seafield house at the racecourse. Indeed, I visited my brother when he broke his leg and was a patient in Seafield house, so I am familiar with the building. Of course, it latterly became vacant and suffered fire damage.

I understand that the building’s owner, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, has formed a viability group and is looking at all options for the site along with South Ayrshire Council, the Scottish Futures Trust and Historic Scotland. The group will meet again once the consultants’ initial work is complete to discuss the way forward.

Along with our key partners in local government, the Scottish Government strongly supports owners and managers of historic buildings through grants, technical advice and statutory regulation to promote and protect our historic buildings for the benefit of all. I recently announced the fifth funding round of our conservation area regeneration scheme, which is run by local authorities. The current round amounts to £10 million to target priority buildings and provide small grants to home owners. Since 2007, £26 million has been awarded across the programme in places such as Elgin, Parkhead Cross in Glasgow, Ayr and Selkirk.

In addition, Historic Scotland’s building repair grant scheme has awarded £56 million to historic buildings over the past five years and has levered in a further £271 million to our most outstanding buildings. We have unlocked the potential of our key historic buildings to deliver for local communities.

Conservation projects that are based around historic buildings benefit communities and can be outstanding architectural projects in their own right. I am thinking about Castlemilk stables, Maryhill burgh halls and, in my constituency, Blackburn house, which is a successful example of how joint working brought investment in heritage-led regeneration. The beautifully restored and converted Blackburn house offers studio, office and gallery space. The friends of Seafield house might want to look at that wonderful community asset, which is run by the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust.

At Linlithgow burgh halls in my constituency, a much-admired local landmark has been recast as a fantastic new community resource, which is part of a heritage set piece that recently tempted Chanel to stage a key fashion show at nearby Linlithgow palace. The historic environment is about the past, but such events demonstrate its potential for generating a dynamic future. Historic buildings are at their best and most secure when they are at the heart of the community.

I urge Jamie McGrigor in particular to visit the recently restored Dalkeith tolbooth and have a look at its appropriate but effective double-glazing.

We should be proud of our positive track record in Scotland on reuse and conversion of our historic buildings. As George Adam said, we should get used to seeing industrial buildings and hospitals converted to residential or business use and thereby remaining part of our landscape and heritage. Our urban designers have shown what can be done and how towns and cities can be re-energised by new projects in historic settings. The Parliament’s incorporation of the A-listed Queensberry house in the context of the Holyrood north master plan is testament to that.

There are, quite rightly, concerns about historic buildings that lie unused or derelict. Some buildings are awaiting conversion but a small percentage are not currently well cared for. The reasons for that vary, but a building’s poor condition is often all too obvious and has a negative effect on community investment.

To meet the challenge and highlight historic properties that were under threat, the buildings at risk register for Scotland was set up in 1990. The aim was to target buildings for repair, restoration or reuse. The register is run on Historic Scotland’s behalf by the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historic Monuments for Scotland. The new body that will be created when the two organisations merge will continue that function.

In addition, in April 2011 a buildings at risk initiative was set up to bring together key stakeholders over three years, to tackle Scotland’s most endangered historic buildings. Historic Scotland has targeted A-listed buildings at risk, to deal with the most important examples of our heritage and to show how such activity addresses wider issues.

Through the national performance framework, we are committed to reducing the percentage of A-listed buildings that are at risk. In 2009, 8.7 per cent of A-listed buildings were at risk, compared with 8.2 per cent in 2011. That steady improvement is continuing; figures were released yesterday that show that the proportion is down to 8 per cent.

Our strategy in the area has two main themes: the targeting of deliverable projects around existing buildings at risk; and the development of effective estate management strategies, in partnership with larger landowners. We will address the on-going redundancy rate in buildings, while continuing to deal with existing buildings at risk. We will work closely with landholders, with advice and support from the Scottish Futures Trust, to deal with issues that can lead to a building becoming at risk, through preventative action.

It is in all our interests to think carefully about the historic buildings in our care and to make positive decisions about them. There are many success stories. Of the 277 A-listed entries on the register in 2009, 199 remain at risk but 32 have been saved and a further 26 are in the process of restoration or conversion.

When a derelict historic property is given a new lease of life in a community, we all feel good. Let us not wait until important historic buildings get into a poor state of repair. The key to good management is planning and early action. We will continue to support public authorities to plan for the continued use, strategic disposal or conversion of their historic buildings, which are our precious heritage.

I thank Chic Brodie for lodging the motion so that this important subject could be debated in the Parliament, and I extend my best wishes to the friends of Seafield house.