Record number of historic Scottish buildings added to risk list

The number of Scottish buildings featured on a UK-wide heritage risk register has almost doubled after 42 new sites were added this year.

Charity SAVE Britain’s Heritage has added the structures to its Buildings at Risk (BaR) register, taking the total number of Scottish entries from 46 to 88.

The list is separate from Historic Environment Scotland’s Buildings at Risk Register, which tracks vacant or underused historic sites across the country.

The charity said the increase reflected growing concern over the future of historic buildings in Scotland, following a series of high-profile incidents including the fire and subsequent demolition of Union Corner in Glasgow.

The Scottish Ambulance Building (SAVE/Finn Brown) Finn Brown/SAVE

This year’s nominations were driven by public input, conservation professionals, and local authorities using SAVE’s updated public platform.

Among the new additions to the 2026 register are several modernist, industrial, and entertainment landmarks. The Scottish Ambulance Service Building in Glasgow, a 1960s structure, stands as a rare example of British modernist architecture designed by Skinner, Bailey and Lubetkin.

Partner Berthold Lubetkin pioneered the modernist movement in Britain and famously designed London Zoo’s listed Penguin Pool. Industrial heritage is further represented by the St. Rollox Locomotive Works in Glasgow and the Broadford Works in Aberdeen, a major textile complex currently facing long-term vacancy and neglect.

Metering House, Lower Glendeven Dam SAVE/Andrew Roger

The register also includes notable examples of Baronial architecture and historic entertainment spaces. The vast, Category A-listed Lennox Castle in Lennoxtown was built between 1837 and 1841 in the Scottish Baronial style by architect David Hamilton. Though it was used as a hospital and maternity unit in the 20th century – the birthplace of singer Lulu – it has sat empty and deteriorating since 2002.

Concerns over mid-century architecture also brought two listed Art Deco Edinburgh cinemas to the register, including The George (formerly the County Cinema) and the former Odeon on Clerk Street.

The Metering House at Lower Glendevon Dam in Perth and Kinross is a small, early 20th-century utility building in a popular hiking area, which the charity says could potentially be converted into a visitor centre.

Other regional additions include the Rag Warehouse, Portsoy Marble Workshop, Marble Warehouse, and the Old Co-operative Grain Store in Portsoy, alongside buildings like the Former Eastgate Hostel and Viewhill House in Inverness, and Kelvin House in Paisley.

The expansion of the register follows a campaign by SAVE to address a loophole in Scottish legislation that allows listed buildings to be demolished using emergency public safety powers without a requirement to justify the decision.

This issue was highlighted by the 2024 demolition of the Category B-listed Ayr Station Hotel following a wilful fire-raising.

Working alongside MSPs Paul Sweeney and Carol Mochan, SAVE launched a parliamentary petition that received over 4,000 signatures, prompting an expert roundtable to discuss future safeguards.

While the register highlights buildings at risk, SAVE notes that successful preservation efforts continue across Scotland.

Recent examples include the restoration of Edinburgh’s Granton Railway Station, Glasgow’s Briggait fish market, and the Art Deco cafe at Tarlair.

SAVE’s conservation officer Lydia Franklin said: “Scotland’s architectural legacy as a place with a rich and diverse range of historic buildings – and as the birthplace of world-famous architects like Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Robert Adam – is one which deserves fierce protection and thoughtful adaption to modern needs.

“Yet threats to Scotland’s built environment persist – from emergency works that risk flattening more than necessary, to the slower but just as deadly issues of neglect and decay.”

SAVE’s heritage engagement manager Amy Popham, who is in charge of the huge volunteer effort that powers the BaR, said: “As the record number of nominations we’ve received this year demonstrate, these buildings are held in huge affection by the people whose lives they enhance. They believe these buildings are worth fighting for and so do we.

“By highlighting these terrific local landmarks we hope people will come forward with creative ideas for their future. Buildings like these are what make our towns and villages unique and reusing them is a great starting place for breathing new life into entire communities.”