Image: Rainbow over Loch Awe and Kilchurn Castle (Historic Environment Scotland)
The organisation’s Buildings at Risk Register (BARR) is not “currently fulfilling any of its identified key purposes”, says the review
Historic Environment Scotland has paused its Buildings at Risk Register (BARR) after a report found insufficient evidence to demonstrate it has a significant impact in bringing buildings back into use.
The pause will allow Historic Environment to consider long-term options for the future of the register of historic buildings at risk in Scotland, which it currently maintains.
The organisation commissioned Harlow Consultancy to carry out a review of the BARR, focusing on assessing its impact in bringing buildings back into use in order to make evidence-based recommendations for its long-term future.
Among the findings, the report suggests that teh majority of BARR users are from the heritage
sector – 82% of surveyed BARR users say they have a ‘professional interest’ in the historic environment. Users outside of the heritage sector represent a small proportion (18%) of surveyed BARR users.
“Users tend to access the BARR to obtain information about buildings at risk in which they have a pre-existing interest. Very few users useBARR to search for potential buildings to purchase, or to market buildings,” it reads.
The review states that the inclusion of a building on the BARR has a positive impact on the outcomes of grant funding applications, but it “identified no compelling empirical evidence” that either the BARR or other similar national registers “alone contribute significantly, in themselves, to bringing buildings back into use.”
It concludes that there is “no clear evidence that the BARR is currently fulfilling any of its identified key purposes effectively.”
Elizabeth McCrone, Director of Heritage at HES, said: “We remain committed to proactively supporting the long-term sustainable reuse of buildings that are vacant, neglected, or at risk of demolition. Pausing the BARR will allow us to look at alternative ways we can do this more effectively.
“As we consider the future of the BARR, we will continue the conversation with key stakeholders to see if there are alternative solutions that harness the potential of historic buildings not currently in use and deliver benefit to communities across Scotland.”
The BARR was set up in 1990 in response to concern at the growing number of listed buildings and buildings in Conservation Areas that were vacant and in disrepair. Since 2015 it has been maintained by HES. It provides information about properties of architectural or historic interest considered to be at risk. Buildings stay on the Register until they’re either saved and put back into use, or demolished. As of January 2024, 2,219 buildings were on the BARR.
The Register was first developed by the Scottish Civic Trust with funding from Historic Scotland. Its purpose was set out as “…to put potential restorers in touch with owners who are not in a position to tackle the problems themselves, in the hope of encouraging fruitful dialogue which might result in a building being given a new lease of life.”
Historic Environment Scotland yesterday released a set of reports including its Delivery Framework for Our Past, Our Future (OPOF), Scotland’s national strategy for the historic environment, along with the OPOF Baseline and Summary Report. Among statistics from the report, it suggests the historic environment generates £6bn per annum for Scotland’s economy, £2.1bn of which is attributable to heritage tourism.
