Annual Report & Accounts 2007-2008 - Historic Scotland

environment sector, and the preparation with National Policy Team of the Marine Historic
Environment SHEP consultation document.
The Listing Team completed the resurvey of Hawick and Innerleithen, as well as Holyrood
Ward in Edinburgh. Thematic surveys included Scotland’s heritage pubs, cinemas,
the buildings of architect Peter Wormersley, and Glasgow Corporation’s Loch Katrine
Waterworks. A total of 194 buildings were listed, a further 704 were reviewed and re-listed
as part of the list maintenance programme, and 113 were de-listed, mostly as part of a
review of non-statutory ‘C’ listed buildings.
A programme of seminars and lectures, together with two travelling exhibitions and
publications on the resurvey of Scotland’s two national parks, were completed in 2007-08.
The Listing team oversaw the transfer of the Dictionary of Scottish Architects from the
University of St Andrews to Historic Scotland, and research is now moving on to cover
post-1940 architects. The website, which contains bibliographies and references for 9,460
architects and 42,366 buildings, is proving to be extremely popular, and has received
almost two million hits since January 2006.
Following the provision of web access to the Inventory of Gardens and Designed
Landscapes last year, sole responsibility for the inventory’s development and maintenance
has been transferred to Historic Scotland from Scottish Natural Heritage.
Further enhancements have been the provision of historic buildings list descriptions
directly through our website, and the commencement of work together with
Communications & Media to develop an on-line search facility for scheduled monuments.
The impact of these web-based initiatives has been almost immediate, resulting in a
substantial drop in telephone enquiries.
Annual improvements include the development of e-Planning, the design of a new
casework management system, working towards establishing a joint working agreement
with local government, and upgrading the Memorandum of Guidance, which will be
completed in 2009.
The Inspectorate seconded a member of our staff to the Rural Payments and Inspections
Directorate (RPID) as part of the implementation team of Scotland’s Rural Development
Programme (SRDP), a project that will spend over £1.6 billion in rural Scotland over the
next five years. The Inspectorate continued to
Castlemilk Stables
promote the interests of the historic environment
which involves working closely with other key
partners and stakeholders the Rural Directorate,
Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural
Heritage, ALGAO and RCAHMS.
On 20 December 2007, the Scottish Public Services
Ombudsman (SPSO) published a report into an
investigation of our listing of a property in Edinburgh
in 2004. The complainant cited 11 separate
complaints about Historic Scotland and the City of
Edinburgh Council. Of the eleven complaints seven
were not upheld. Three of the complaints upheld
(one of which was only partially upheld) related to
the actions of Historic Scotland. We had already
apologised to the complainant for one of these, and
have apologised for the other two. In her report the
SPSO commended us on the changes we had made
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