PROPERTIES IN THE CARE OF SCOTTISH MINISTERS ANNUAL REPORT 2017-18 Principal author: Dr Clare Torney, Head of Analytics, Reporting and Audit Analytics support: Gary Carvel, Analytics and Reporting Officer Please note, this report does not detail activity/ investment at our ancillary properties, unless this activity has a direct impact on the Properties in Care and/or associated collections. All images © Crown Copyright HES or © Historic Environment Scotland General view of Cambuskenneth Abbey. CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 4 2 LEAD 6 2.1 The Engine Shed 6 2.2 Climate change and sustainability 7 2.3 Innovation in conservation 7 2.4 A future for traditional skills 8 2.5 Increasing opportunity in the tourism industry 10 3 UNDERSTAND 12 3.1 Asset schedule 12 3.2 Statements of significance 13 3.3 Technical, historical and archaeological research 14 4 PROTECT 16 4.1 Managing the Properties in Care 16 4.1.1 Conservation and maintenance of the Properties in Care 17 4.1.2 Conservation and maintenance systems 24 4.1.3 Standards and assurance 25 4.2 Managing and providing access to our collections 26 5 VALUE 30 5.1 Providing access to the Properties in Care 30 5.2 Engagement 32 5.3 Enhancing the visitor experience 32 6 PERFORM 34 6.1 The impact of our investment 34 6.1.1 Economic impacts 34 6.1.2 Social impacts 36 6.2 Investing in our people 36 6.3 Driving operational efficiency 37 6.4 Working with our partners 38 6.5review Peer 38 7 CONSERVATION CHALLENGES 42 7.1 A changing climate 42 7.2 Managing the consequences of success 43 7.3 Ensuring we have the skills and materials required 43 APPENDIX A. 2017-18 DESIGNATION CHANGES TO THE PROPERTIES IN CARE 44 APPENDIX B. CONDITION CHECKING OF THE ASSOCIATED COLLECTIONS 46 1. INTRODUCTION Historic Environment Scotland’s turn this lays the ground for Assessment report published second full year of operation, improving visitor experience this year represents the most 2017-18, has seen us continue and cultural impact, and in-depth study to date of the to develop our role as the finally how we will deliver impact of climate change on lead public body caring for additional economic, social and the historic sites in our care. Scotland’s historic environment. environmental benefits. By expanding our knowledge, Central to our wider role in increasing our resources and improving understanding We invested over £9 million taking action where it is needed, of, and public access to, this in conservation and maintenance we are securing the future of our environment is the management works specifically focused on Properties in Care and public and conservation of the 336 ensuring access is maintained to access to them. properties directly in our care. the Properties in Care in 2017-18, Through our stewardship of supporting specialist trades these sites, we are building and contractors, contributing knowledge, skills and circular to tourism and stimulating local economies which have a economies, often in areas of wider impact across Scotland deprivation. Chapter 4 of this and internationally. report highlights some of the innovative technologies we are This annual report demonstrates using to guide this investment the progress made throughout by achieving the most accurate our Properties in Care and their understanding of the properties associated collections against in our care in their 6,000 the five strategic themes outlined year history. in our Corporate Plan: Lead, Understand, Protect, Value and A record 5 million+ people Perform. These themes underpin visited one of our sites this year, all of our work and are intended encouraged by our properties as practical section headings, not being open more days of the firm boundaries. year than ever before. Our volunteer numbers continue A huge step forward was taken to increase, making a vital this year with the publication of contribution of nearly 8,000 our Asset Management Plan. This worked hours in 2017-18. ambitious document addresses our infrastructure and assets in Our changing climate presents a their entirety: human, physical very real challenge to the fabric and intangible. The Plan sets of our historic environment. The out how we will improve the first step in managing the impact condition of our physical assets of this change is to understand through conservation, how in it, and our Climate Change Risk 4 Properties In Care Report View of Dunstaffnage Castle. Properties In Care Report 5 2. LEAD LEADING AND ENABLING BY SUPPORTING, EMPOWERING AND COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS We adopt a leading and enabling 2.1 THE ENGINE SHED The Engine Shed has a key role role in the historic environment as a central point for delivery of In June 2017 the Engine Shed sector to ensure that others are learning opportunities not only was officially opened by Fiona supported and empowered to to the public and our own staff, Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary secure the future of our historic but to heritage professionals for Culture, Tourism and External environment. and groups from across the Affairs, with the doors opening to country. It has also acted as a the public on 3rd July 2017. Evidence of our leading role hub to engage our stakeholders, is threaded throughout this fostering and developing The Engine Shed has exceeded report and includes details of collaborative partnerships expectations in its role as a our work to widen access to the which help us tackle many of central hub from which to Properties in Care, working with the challenges we face around engage the next generation partners across the wider sector, caring for our PiCs. with our historic environment engaging with communities and and the value of protecting and empowering others. The Engine Shed also houses preserving it. some of our state-of-the-art digital and scientific facilities and is the home of the in-house research that informs our conservation strategies for the PiCs. WELCOMED OVER 5 MILLION VISITORS TO OUR STAFFED SITES 6 Properties In Care Report 2.2 CLIMATE CHANGE • A 5.3% reduction in 2.3 INNOVATION IN AND SUSTAINABILITY greenhouse gas emissions CONSERVATION compared with 3.9% the In 2017-18 we made significant Our digital innovation work previous year progress in relation to continues to be a core area of understanding the impacts of • A National Award (Gold) for research and development for climate change on our estate, Environmental Excellence us, and our commitment to this and in our approaches to (NAEE) at Stirling Castle and is evident in the expansion of our sustainability. We expanded (Bronze) Aberdour Castle teams in these areas. our climate change team, • Historic Environment appointing a Climate Change Scotland’s Biodiversity This year we appointed staff to Scientist to work specifically on Delivery Statement with manage our digital innovation environmental risk management, the Scottish Government projects, and our estates digital and a Circular Economy Project (historicenvironment.scot/ systems. We have continued Officer to lead on waste scottish-biodiversity-strategy) development and testing of management, sustainable • Historic Environment HES‧SIGMA, our condition procurement and circular Scotland’s Litter survey tool, and we have economy. Our 2017-18 Climate Prevention Action Plan commenced work to develop Change and Sustainability (historicenvironment.scot/ PiCAMS, our bespoke Properties deliverables include: litter-prevention) in Care Asset Management • Contributing to the System. We have continued to deliver the Rae Project, and our • Our first formal publication on development of ‘Dynamic Building Information Modeling the impacts of climate change Coast: Scotland’s National (BIM) case studies. on the PiCs, ‘Screening Coastal Change Assessment’, for Natural Hazards to launched by Cabinet Inform a Climate Change Secretary for Environment, We have continued our digital Risk Assessment of the Climate Change and documentation and digital Properties in Care of Historic Land Reform, Roseanna innovation research via a number Environment Scotland’ Cunningham MSP in of projects including virtual and (historicenvironment. August 2017 augmented reality projects and scot/climate-change-risk- app development. This research is • Partnering in the Climate assessment) that forms part often focused on our PiCs, it gives Ready Scotland exhibition, of an on-going project to us a better understanding of our part of the European understand, monitor and monuments, which in turn helps Climate Change Adaptation manage environmental risk to us make more informed decisions Conference held in Glasgow in the HES estate in relation to their care. June 2017 which was attended by over 850 delegates. Properties In Care Report 7 We have also been addressing 2.4 A FUTURE FOR We have expanded our ability challenges with establishing TRADITIONAL SKILLS to deliver training in a number visitor numbers at unstaffed sites. of different ways – most In October 2017, Deputy First This work has been conducted as notably through our Advanced Minister and Cabinet Secretary part of the CivTech® programme, Professional Diploma (APD) in for Education and Skills, John part of the Scottish Government’s Technical Building Conservation, Swinney, formally announced ten Digital Directive that is helping delivered at the Engine Shed. new HES internship opportunities transform public sector Despite having not yet completed across a range of technical and engagement with technology the first year, this course has craft disciplines. In addition and innovation. We are working already provided 569 days of to these, we continued to with Replicade Ltd, an asset training to participants from a provide training opportunities management solutions company range of backgrounds (Figure 3). in traditional skills through from Kilmarnock who we’ve our apprenticeship and craft chosen to develop a solution fellowship programmes (Figure 1). for tracking visitor numbers at remote, unstaffed sites across our estate. Replicade are currently developing a low cost, robust visitor counting system with long term battery capabilities which will send data via different methods to overcome the issue of some of our sites having little or no connectivity.