Have your say

From 12 September to 17 October 2023, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on our proposal to designate Tollcross Fire Station in Edinburgh as a category B listed building.  

The building was constructed in 1986 as the as the central control unit for the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. It was designed by the Department of Architectural Services at Lothian Regional Council and is a notable example of public-sector architecture in Scotland from the 1980s.

Tollcross is an exceptional example of a fire station for its late-20th century date and incorporates an unusual, curved drill tower to the rear. Its striking design is both highly functional and artistic, taking elements of traditional Scottish architecture and re-interpreting them in a playful way. It is an early and important example of Postmodern architecture in Scotland.

We received two responses to the consultation, one in favour of the listing and one against. The respondents provided the following comments:

The Twentieth Century Society noted that they were strongly in support of the proposed listing as the building is “…an excellent and significant exemplar of early post-modernist expression in Scotland.” They made further comments supporting the special architectural and historic interest of the building and provided more information about the artist responsible for the relief sculpture.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (the owners) objected to the listing proposal as they had concerns that the consents that listing may incur could compromise or delay necessary changes to the building for operational purposes. They also included individual reactions from station personnel. Two noted they were in favour of listing, and one noted they were not.

We considered the responses carefully and further considered the special interest of the building.  

We have now listed Tollcross Fire Station in Edinburgh as a category B listed building. The listed building record is available on our Heritage Portal, where the final Report of Handling is also available.  

Our historic environment is always changing. Listing does not prevent change, but it does allow for a structure’s special character to be taken into account when changes are proposed.  

From 25 July 2023 to 5 September 2023, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on a proposal to list the Piper Alpha Memorial in Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen and to add the Memorial Garden to the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.

These sites commemorate those killed in the Piper Alpha Disaster of 1988. Our assessment indicated that the memorial and garden are of national importance for designation. The garden is strongly valued as a public site of memory and for its artistic and other experiential qualities. The memorial is an unusual example of a late 20^th century commemorative monument that adopts the style of earlier figurative war memorials. Both sites relate to a historic event of international significance.  

Through Citizen Space, we invited members of the public to tell us if they agreed with the proposed designations and if they had further comments to make. We also asked for views on the proposed designation name of the garden because our research showed there are different understandings of its name.

We consulted directly with the Local Authority as owners of the site and other interested parties, including those who had previously given us their views.

Our selection guidance for designation and the policies we work to are published in the Designations Policy and Selection Guidance document. 

We received a total of 27 responses: One from the Local Authority, two from interested parties and 24 from private individuals via the online survey.

The overwhelming majority of people who responded expressed strong support for the designations. Noone raised issues that brought into question the cultural significance of these sites for designation. Many of the comments provided further evidence for the values of these sites.

We have reported in more detail on the consultation in our Report on Handling, which can be downloaded from the Heritage Portal or from the bottom of this page.

Comments from the online survey are published in full (where we have appropriate permissions). The report can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

After considering the comments received during consultation, we have

• Listed the Piper Alpha Memorial at category B http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB52621
• Added the Memorial Garden to the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/GDL00412

The designation name of the garden is ‘Piper Alpha Memorial Garden/North Sea Memorial Rose Garden’.  We acknowledge that this will not be satisfactory to all. The designation name has no bearing on determining the official name of the garden or what people choose to call it. The name is solely for the purpose of identifying the designation. We would be happy to consider any updates to the designation name in the future on receipt of any new information.

We have published a Report on Handling for this case at Heritage Portal. This can also be downloaded at the bottom of this page.

We have published two new records in the National Record of the Historic Environment

Aberdeen, Hazlehead Park, North Sea Memorial Rose Garden | Canmore

Aberdeen, Hazlehead Park, Piper Alpha Memorial | Canmore

From 11 April to 18 May 2023, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) asked for comments and information on Livingston ‘Livi’ Skatepark to help inform our assessment of the skatepark for listing.

A building may become listed if it is of special architectural and historic interest. Our selection guidance for designation and the policies we work to are published in the Designations Policy and Selection Guidance document. 

This is the first time we have been asked to list a skatepark, and we were keen to hear from people who know and use Livi Skatepark, and/or have a view on its design, history and significance. 

We are delighted to have received 557 responses to our online survey.

We will now work to analyse these responses, together with the feedback we received when we visited the skatepark in April.

Our next steps will be to compile a report on our findings, which we will publish online. If we consider that the skatepark meets the criteria for listing, we will consult with West Lothian Council as the owners and local authority before making a decision.

Skateboard Scotland, the official governing body for skateboarding, helped to shape this survey. Where we have consent from participants, we will forward responses to them for their interest.