Scotland’s new heritage body launches three-year strategy
Places of historic interest across Edinburgh and the Lothians are set to benefit from a £10 million funding boost from Historic Environment Scotland.
The new lead heritage body which cares for, protects and promotes the historic environment has announced that funding is now open to applications from across Scotland. The announcement was made at the launch of the organisation’s first corporate plan, which sets out their strategy for the historic environment.
The funding, which is distributed through Historic Environment Scotland’s Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) encourages local authorities to invest in their historic environment, repairing and restoring the built environment, whilst helping to stimulate economic regeneration.
This is the seventh round of funding bringing the overall contribution to £45 million invested by Historic Environment Scotland since 2007 to the benefit of more than 56 projects across the country.
Dr David Mitchell, Acting Chief Executive for Historic Environment Scotland, said: “Our investments the length and breadth of Scotland both support and inspire people and communities to utilise their heritage for the future. What we aim to do is to facilitate decision making at a local level with funding allocated to priority projects which have a key focus on the wider contribution that the historic environment brings to communities – with benefits ranging from helping to breathe life back into high streets, providing employment opportunities or acting as a tourism driver.
“Since we launched CARS, many towns and villages across Scotland have benefited from this funding, from Orkney to the Borders. Releasing another round of £10 million funding will give more areas than ever before the opportunity to benefit from this investment.”
Speaking at Historic Environment Scotland’s corporate plan launch event at Paisley Abbey, Jane Ryder, OBE, and Chair of Historic Environment Scotland, said: “Today marks a major milestone for Historic Environment Scotland and I am both delighted and immensely proud to be unveiling our first corporate plan. As the lead body for the historic environment it is our aim to empower people to play a greater role in Scotland’s heritage, ensuring it is cared for, protected, understood, valued, enjoyed and enhanced now and for future generations.
“In that vein we were determined to have a thorough interactive consultation exercise both by reaching out to a new audience and encouraging debate on social media which many people participated in. This has helped shape our strategic direction in managing the historic environment which contributes £2.3 billion to the Scottish economy every year and supports over 60,000 jobs.
“So today signals the beginning of an exciting future as we look to deliver on this corporate plan by engaging and empowering communities and partners both national and local. We firmly believe that Scotland’s heritage is for all and it is our job to demonstrate the difference it makes to people and how it contributes to a better way of life in Scotland, and I look forward to the journey ahead.”
The deadline for CARS applications is Wednesday 31 August 2016. For more information and to apply visit www.historicenvironment.scot
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