The Scottish Civic Trust welcomed Thursday's Parliamentary
Debate on the importance of architecture and place-making to the
economy of Scotland.
The Trust provided briefing notes for MSPs ahead of the debate,
outlining our key messages about the value of architecture and
place making.
Read SCT's debate briefing here.
Countries are defined by their buildings and public spaces as
much as by their landscape and people. Scotland has a unique and
rich architectural heritage which must be protected but it also
punches above its weight in terms of producing exciting, innovative
and appropriate contemporary architecture. The economic benefits of
maintaining and creating beautiful buildings and places are
obvious, in terms of promoting tourism, generating well-being and
enhancing quality of life. Key to this is the involvement of local
communities and, in particular meaningful engagement with people on
planning and development.
The Trust supports the Scottish Government's call for a cut in
VAT for the repair and refurbishment of existing buildings. The
current VAT inequality between refurbishment and new build
effectively means that reuse and refurbishment of existing
buildings costs 20% more than new build.
Reuse of existing buildings has a number of benefits, not least
of which is sustainability, avoiding the use and waste of scarce
resources associated with demolition and redevelopment. Scotland's
Historic Environment Audit (SHEA) 2010 notes that "The sensitive
re-use of historic buildings is crucial if Scotland is to meet the
target of cutting 80% of all carbon emissions by 2050." At the
Trust's recent conference, " Heritage + Development = ?" speakers
also emphasised that reused and refurbished historic buildings act
as 'anchors' for future development of an area; fostering civic
pride and connecting communities to places.
This debate took place against a background of budgets cuts
and economic hard-times. There is a genuine concern by some that
the historic environment will suffer from lack of investment while
at the same time developers will be encouraged to build, unfettered
by conservationist or design agendas. The announcement of a
new architecture policy for Scotland in 2012 and a renewed
emphasis on placing the built environment, and in particular
the re-use of older buildings, right at the heart of economic
regeneration must be supported. Let us hope that all of
Scotland's political leaders, across the parties, will give
greater consideration to the importance that good architecture and
sensible planning decisions can have not only to the country's
economy but to its cultural, social and environmental health.
A letter from our Director was published in the Herald this week
supporting the debate and emphasising some of these points. It is
availble to read online here.
If you missed last week's debate, a transcript is available here.