Historic Scotland: public consultation on Scotland’s Historic Battlefields and for Gardens and Designed Landscapes underway

EDINBURGH, 2015-8-26 — /Travel PR News/ — Members of the public, and those within the heritage sector, are being urged by Historic Scotland to come forward and offer their views, comments and ideas as the latest public consultation on Managing Change within the historic environment gets underway.

People are encouraged to take this opportunity and have their say on two separate sets of draft Managing Change Guidance Notes. The first is looking at further developing the guidance note for Scotland’s Historic Battlefields and the second for Gardens and Designed Landscapes –  a new addition to the notes series.

Feedback is being welcomed that will then directly help shape and inform the content of both documents and the advice and guidance they offer.

Drawing upon Scotland’s first strategy for the historic environment – Our Place in Time – these guidance notes form part of a series of useful resources and reference material available to the public. The documents provide advice and guidance for planning authorities, public bodies, and others on how best to effectively manage the impact of any proposed changes.

Commenting on the consultation, Barbara Cummins, Director of Heritage Management at Historic Scotland, said: “Through this consultation process we hope to reach as broad an audience as possible and engage them in our work around change management and Scotland’s historic environment.

“Whilst change and development is not uncommon across the many areas that make up the rich asset that is our historic environment, these guidance notes serve as a tool for the importance of fully considering any proposed changes and the associated impacts they could bring.

“The public and those within the sector are being actively encouraged to step forward to review and provide feedback on the Managing Change Guidance Notes, relating to Historic Battlefields and Gardens and Designed Landscapes. The feedback we receive will then play a real role in helping shape the content of these documents.”

In addition to these guidance notes, Historic Scotland also holds the Inventory of Historic Battlefields which identifies and contains information on 39 of the country’s most historic and culturally significant sites that have witnessed battles throughout the ages, dating back to 1296. As well as this, Historic Scotland also compiles and maintains the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes which identifies sites of national importance.  There are currently 389 gardens and designed landscapes included in the Inventory, ranging from the estates of historic country houses to botanical gardens, urban parks and cemeteries.

The inventories along with the notes equip people with information and advice to aid and inform their management and helps to highlight and raise awareness of these important sites.

At the end of the consultation period, which closes on Monday 28th September, it is hoped the findings and insights gathered will result in a resource that helps to increase people’s knowledge and understanding around the management of change, whilst preserving the value of Scotland’s historic environment.

The final versions of the guidance notes for Historic Battlefields and for Gardens and Designed Landscapes will then be published online.

Members of the public are being encouraged to engage with the consultation process, prior to closing on Monday 28th September 2015. For more information on the Managing Change Guidance Note consultation, regarding Historic Battlefields and Gardens and Designed Landscapes or to complete a Consultation Response Form, please visit www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/mcgn-consultation-gardens-battlefields or contact hs.heritagemanagement@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

The Inventory of Historic Battlefields can be viewed here: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/inventorybattlefields

The Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes can be viewed here:www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/gardens

Notes for editors:

• Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment. The agency is fully accountable to Scottish Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament.

• Historic Scotland and RCAHMS are creating a new public body, Historic Environment Scotland (HES,) which will come into effect in October 2015. See the Transition Programme section of our website for further information www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/historicenvironmentscotland

• Register for media release email alerts from www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/news. If you wish to unsubscribe at any time, please email hs.website@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

• 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success. Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism. A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat. To find out more visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland.

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For further information
Grant Thomson, Communications Officer
Historic Scotland Media Office
0131 668 8074 or 07580 702 611
grant.thomson@scotland.gsi.gov.uk