10 Years of the Traditional Buildings Health Check

The Traditional Buildings Health Check was set up following a 2012 scoping study undertaken by Stirling City Heritage Trust for Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland). The study highlighted the need for a proactive maintenance scheme in Scotland. In response, Historic Scotland commissioned Stirling City Heritage Trust to conduct a 5-year pilot scheme, which ran from April 2013 to March 2018 and was funded in partnership with CITB Scotland.

The pilot scheme report, produced in 2020, highlighted the positive impact the scheme had had in Stirling after 5 years of operation. During the Pilot’s operational period 120 properties had repairs commissioned, with private owners investing an estimated £1.3 million into their properties. The scheme was shown to act as a catalyst for repair intervention, improving owner confidence and understanding by providing advice and support.

As a result of the success of the pilot, Stirling City Heritage Trust has continued to operate the TBHC as part of its primary services since 2018. Since then, the service has been adapted, responding to demand outside of the City of Stirling by expanding the scheme to cover Bridge of Allan, Dunblane and Blairlogie. Inspection methodology has also been innovated with the introduction of Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA or Drone) and grants have been increased in size to support owners to complete larger repair projects.

Over the past decade 280 buildings have been inspected around Stirling, Bridge of Allan and Dunblane. 445 property owners have joined the scheme and been supported in the repair and maintenance of their traditional property. In 10 years, the scheme has granted funded 64 completed projects, awarding £340,340 in grant funding, towards total grant funded project costs of over £1 million.

"We only really borrow a property for a period of time. We think we own it but we really just curate it for a period. The building’s life is much longer than ours. I get frustrated when some of my neighbours take a minimalist, short-term approach to maintenance. We should aim to pass the building on in a better state than we received it." - TBHC Member

The TBHC 10-year report has been produced to celebrate the success of the scheme. It includes details on the delivery of the service over the last decade and the investment in traditional building repair and maintenance in Stirling.

The report is the first in a series that will be released over the next year, looking in detail at the work of the TBHC and findings from the last 10 years of running the scheme.

A digital copy of The Traditional Buildings Health Check 2013-2023 can be downloaded here.