Question reference: S5W-25253
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 10 September 2019
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 September 2019
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what regulations are in place to ensure the appropriate maintenance of category (a) B and (b) C listed buildings.
Answer
All building owners have a general responsibility to maintain their property.
There is no specific obligation on the owner of a listed building to maintain their buildings, but there are statutory powers available to Ministers and local authorities to take action where listed buildings have deteriorated. These powers allow them to carry out urgent works for the preservation of listed buildings, to serve ‘repairs notices’ and to compulsorily acquire listed buildings in need of repair. The much better alternative is, of course, effective management and maintenance.
The key legislation is as follows:
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 – Section 42: Compulsory acquisition of building in need of repair.
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 – Section 43: Repairs notice as preliminary to acquisition under Section 42.
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 – Section 49: Urgent works to unoccupied listed buildings.
In addition to listed building legislation local authorities are also empowered under the terms of Section 28 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to serve a ‘defective building notice’ on the owner of any building requiring them to rectify such defects in the building as the notice may specify in order to bring the building into a reasonable state of repair having regard to its age, type and location.