A MERGER between Scotland's largest conservation charity and the government's heritage agency is "almost inevitable", its chief executive has said.

Simon Skinner Simon Skinner, of the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), said that his organisation “occupies the same space” as Historic Environment Scotland (HES), and believes that the two may become one at some point in the future.

NTS has 330,000 members and owns 129 properties across the country, while HES maintains more than 300 sites, including Edinburgh Castle.

Mr Skinner said that both bodies had “a shared agenda”. Speaking to the likelihood of a merger, he added: “Over time, it is almost inevitable. The same space is being occupied and we need to look at that. I think elements of it could come together."

However, he added that it was too early to talk about "synergies and opportunities," saying that NTS had demonstrate its business model was working.

The possibility of a merger has been mooted before, with SNP Ministers considering the proposal a decade ago.

George Reid, the former presiding officer at Holyrood, also conducted a review of NTS in 2010.

A NTS spokesman said: "It is worth noting that NTS is an independent charity with a wider remit than HES as we care for both natural and built heritage."

"Mr Skinner was signalling that nothing should be off limits when considering how best to conserve Scotland’s heritage. The example given was the current negotiations with a commercial partner over potential new management arrangements, interpretation and visitor facilities at Gladstone’s Land in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile."

HES said there were currently no plans to merge the two bodies.

A spokeswoman said: “We have a strong working relationship with colleagues at the National Trust for Scotland on a wide range of matters, such as the current Jacobites campaign and helping to manage and highlight world heritage sites such as St. Kilda, however there are no proposals to change the nature of that relationship.”