Scottish Historic Environment Policy

The Scottish Historic Environment Policy sets out Scottish Ministers’ policies, providing direction for Historic Scotland and a policy framework that informs the work of a wide range of public sector organisations.

The SHEP has benefited from public consultation during the development of policy www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/closedconsultations

The SHEP was originally developed as a series of free-standing publications (SHEPs 1 to 5, published between 2006 and 2008). Now that the series is nearing completion Ministers have decided to publish it as a single document, reducing the amount of detail and duplication between the original publications. There have been no substantive changes to previously published policy on Scheduling, Scheduled Monument Consent, Gardens & designed Landscapes and Properties in the Care of Scottish Ministers).

The consolidated SHEP also sees the publication of the final Ministerial policy on Listing and Listed Building Consent, which were consulted upon in 2007.

Download the SHEP [pdf, 312 kb]
Download the Introduction to the SHEP revisions [pdf, 91kb]

The new SHEP (July 2009) is structured as follows:

Chapter 1: Scotland’s Historic Environment – this is a reduced version of the original SHEP 1, updated to take account of the policy framework of the Scottish Government.

Chapter 2: Designations –  previously published policy on Scheduling, Listing and Gardens & Designed Landscapes; newly published policy on Historic Battlefields; a redacted version of policy on Conservation Area designation previously published in the Memorandum of Guidance.

Chapter 3: Consents – previously published policy on Scheduled Monument Consent, Listed Building Consent and Gardens & Designed Landscapes; advance notice of policy on Historic Battlefields; a redacted version of policy on Conservation Area Consent previously published in the Memorandum of Guidance.

Chapter 4 – policy on Properties in the Care of Scottish Ministers.

Chapter 5 – policy on the care of the historic environment by government bodies, previously published as the ‘Protocol for the Care of the Government Historic Estate 2003’ and in ‘The Care of Historic Buildings and Monuments by Government Departments in Scotland’, which are now superseded.

There are also nine Annexes, including for the first time a detailed list of changes and documents superseded.

The SHEP will continue to develop and will be revised as necessary. Ministers have consulted on policy on the Marine Historic Environment and it is intended that Ministers’ finalised policies on this matter will be included in later versions.

Queries should be directed to:

The Head of National Policy
0131 668 8639
HS.policy@scotland.gsi.gov.uk