Question reference: S6W-23595
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 5 December 2023
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Current status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 December 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing statutory designation for the sites of important historic battles.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of our many varied cultural and historic sites, which includes battlefields. We deliver support for the historic environment through our sponsorship of Scotland’s lead public body for the historic environment, Historic Environment Scotland.
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for protecting sites of national historic significance through designations including listing buildings, scheduled monuments, and maintaining the Inventory of Historic Battlefields.
In 2019, Scottish Ministers issued a Direction which requires notification of any new applications for non-householder development that may affect designated historic battlefields to be given to Scottish Ministers. This allows additional considerations for the significance of the site to be taken into account during decision making and informs a national overview of development in the planning system that affects designated historic battlefields.