Closed...our nation’s treasures
Fury over SNP budget cuts as public are locked out of 67 castles and historic sites
A RECORD number of Scotland’s historic buildings have been closed to the public – amid fears the country’s heritage is being left to crumble because of chronic underfunding by the SNP government.
Currently, 67 of the properties managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) are deemed ‘unsafe’ and shut to visitors. Castles, churches, palaces and abbeys have been sealed off because of the threat of falling masonry.
The unprecedented scale of the closures is being blamed partly on the effects of climate change, which is wreaking havoc on the buildings’ ancient and often fragile stonework.
However, experts have also warned that the SNP has failed to provide the funding to allow HES, the government-funded agency responsible for preserving the nation’s historic properties, to carry out necessary maintenance.
As well as preventing members of the public – plus thousands of overseas visitors – from enjoying sites of interest, the record closures are hitting hard the many nearby areas that rely on tourism.
Last night, Scottish Conservative culture spokesman Sharon Dowey said the Scottish Government should make safeguarding the country’s heritage a priority instead of squandering millions on another independence referendum.
The MSP said: ‘This is devastating for the tourism sector. At the moment, businesses need all the help
‘Core work seems to have been ignored for many years’
they can get. Sites have been closed for a good part of the last few years throughout the pandemic, but a lot are still closed.
‘Money and investment are needed to try and bring them back up to standard.
‘Obviously safety is paramount, but we need to go and put money back into these buildings just so we can keep our heritage.’
Before the pandemic, HES contributed about £2.3 billion a year to Scotland’s economy, with heritage sites cited by many international tourists as the primary reason they chose to visit the country.
Ms Dowey added: ‘I’m for the Union so I want us to concentrate on getting Scotland back to where it should be.
‘I don’t want us to be concentrating on any kind of independence referendum.
‘That’s where the SNP need to be focusing their priorities – getting the country back up and running after the pandemic.
They need to look into the culture sector, which was hit the worst in the pandemic because everything was closed, and £20 million going to a referendum is ridiculous.
‘We could be spending that in the culture sector to get all our buildings open to the public to try to encourage more people to come to Scotland for their holidays.
‘The last thing they want to do is come to Scotland and then discover our castles, abbeys and other sites are closed.’
HES manages 336 properties, attracting five million visitors a year. Yesterday, the agency said 67 are fully or partially closed. Among those shut are landmarks such as Dumbarton Castle and Linlithgow Palace. Others are St Andrews Cathedral, comprising the ruins of Scotland’s largest medieval church, and Arbroath Abbey, from where the Declaration of Arbroath was sent in 1320. HES acknowledged more properties are closed than ever before.
A spokesman said: ‘This is the first time we have faced this situation on a large scale. The properties we care for are inherently fragile, but the action taken here has been necessary to protect staff and visitors from harm.’
Emergency masonry surveys are being undertaken, but with no dates for when sites will reopen.
Critics fear the problem is being compounded by underfunding. This month, SNP Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said annual funding for HES is to be slashed by £13million by 2026/27 while £20million will go to fund another referendum on breaking up Britain.
Many historic properties are managed by the National Trust for Scotland. Last week, the charity, which cares for landmarks such as Craigievar Castle, Fyvie Castle and Falkland Palace, said its properties are also affected by climate change – but it has funded a maintenance programme that means it hasn’t had to shut sites to the public.