What the principal statutes, policy documents, European or international conventions, accords or agreements are to which the Executive is b…

The key legislation for the preservationof and management of works on scheduled monuments is the Ancient Monuments andArchaeological Areas Act 1979. Scottish Historic Environment Policy (SHEP) 2: Scheduling: protectingScotland’s nationally important monuments sets out Scottish ministers’ policy for theidentification and designation of nationally important ancient monuments. A draftSHEP on Scheduled Monument Consent will be issued for consultation in the near future.
The Planning (Listed Buildings andConservation Areas) (Scotland) Act1997 is the key legislation in relation to listed buildings. Historic Scotland haspublished The Memorandum of Guidance on Listed Buildings and ConservationAreas which provides guidance on managing change to listed buildings. Draft SHEPs on Listing and Listed Building Consent will be issuedfor consultation in the near future.
The legislative framework issupported by the Scottish Executive’s National Planning Policy Guidelines of whichNPPG 5 on archaeological remains and discoveries, NPPG 18 on the historic environmentand NPPG 14 on the conservation and enhancement of Scotland’s naturalheritage are the most relevant.
In 2002, Ministers publishedPassed to the Future: Historic Scotland’s Policy for the Sustainable Managementof Historic Environment. This will be superseded during 2007 by the publication,following consultation, of the finalised SHEP 1 on Scotland’s Historic Environment.
The UK has ratifiedthe following international conventions and is bound to ensure that the legislativeframework is in place for their effective implementation:
The European Cultural Convention(ratified in 1955);
The Convention on the Protectionof the Architectural Heritage of Europe (ratified in 1987);
The European Convention on theProtection of the Archaeological Heritage (ratified in 2000);
The European Landscape Convention(ratified in 2006 and coming into force in March 2007), and
The Convention concerningthe Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,adopted by UNESCO in 1972.
The UK governmentis also planning to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of CulturalProperty in the Event of an Armed Conflict.
UK-wide policy on the care of the historic environment in the care of government departments
- particularly scheduledmonuments and listed buildings
- is contained in the Department of Culture, Mediaand Sport’s Protocol for the Care of the Government Historic Estate 2003.There is also a range of policy and guidance produced by Historic Scotland. The most important of these publications is the StirlingCharter, which sets out broad principles for theconservation of the built heritage in Scotland.This will also be superseded by SHEP 1.
In addition, there are a numberof international charters which represent best practice in the conservation of thehistoric environment. Historic Scotland’s Technical Advice Note 8 providesa guide to these charters.
In terms of decision making,each case has to be considered on its particular merits, and the relative weightto be accorded to particular considerations will vary according to the facts of the case.