The Scottish Government's troubled heritage agency has come under fire for not opposing a planning application at an important historic battlefield.
SNP MSP Keith Brown raised the matter at today's meeting of Holyrood's culture commmittee which was taking evidence from culture secretary Angus Robertson and senior civil servant Kenneth Hogg.
During the session Mr Brown said Historic Environment Scotland (HES) should be more ready to exploit commercial opportunities in the heritage tourism sector.
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He told the committee HES should "keep their eye on their core business".
He added: "And one example of where they've not done that would be very close to my constituency, in Stirling where an application to build on the battlefileld site of Bannockburn an Asda and various other buildings was approved, but with no representations from Historic Environment Scotland."
Mr Brown went onto say he could not think of "any other country in the world" where that would have been allowed to happen as he hit out at HES failing to make representations to the planning body.
Mr Robertson said he was "sure the incoming leadership at Historic Environment Scotland will be following this evidence session very closely" and that "the sensible points that Mr. Brown has raised, are ones that will be heard".
He added: "They will be followed up by me in the ongoing conversations that I have with the appropriate people at Historic Environment, Scotland."
Mr Robertson was taking questions from MSPs after being accused of being "asleep at the wheel" during the crisis engulfing the heritage body.
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The culture secretary was quizzed in Holyrood this morning - a week after the new chair of Historic Environment Scotland Sir Mark Jones appeared before the same committee.
HES has been hit by a series of press reports over the conduct of its senior staff in recent weeks with chief executive Katerina Brown only recently returning to work following a leave of absence since June.
The agency is given £74 million a year from the Scottish Government to look after and promote more than 300 of Scotland’s most important historic and environmental heritage sites including Edinburgh and Linlithgow castles and the neolithic Skara Brae settlement on Orkney.
Sir Mark appeared before the Holyrood committee on Thursday last week after a series of controversies to hit HES, with the chief executive Katerina Brown suspended in September after taking a leave of absence in June, with another senior figure disciplined for allegedly twerking in front of the actor Martin Compston at an HES event, while a third was accused of misuse of hospitality.
MSPs also heard last Thursday that an investigation into allegations of corruption at HES been underway since June or early July after Scottish Government officials received a whistleblowing report in June, claiming “financial/procurement improprieties” involving a director at the heritage body.
Meanwhile, the auditor-general for Scotland Stephen Boyle said early last week that he intends to publish a Section 22 report — a procedure which follows concerns arising from audits of public bodies — into HES.
Mr Boyle told MSPs his concerns included that “aspects of wider leadership instability” at HES was “impacting on its culture and operation”.
In June this year Scottish ministers refused planning permission for a development on the Bannockburn battlefield site.
In June this year, a major development proposal near the Bannockburn battlefield site was refused planning permission by Scottish Ministers, overturning a previous approval by Stirling Council.
This specific application was for a mixed-use development, including a potential supermarket site.
Turning down plans, the Scottish Government ruled the proposals would “introduce new development and urbanisation in one of the few remaining undeveloped parts of the battlefield”.
As such it ruled the development “would have a significant adverse effect on the character of the battlefield, its setting and sense of place”.
The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was a decisive Scottish victory led by King Robert the Bruce against the English army under King Edward II during the First War of Scottish Independence.
Despite being outnumbered, the Scots used their knowledge of the marshy terrain and formations of spearmen to defeat the larger, heavily armored English cavalry and infantry.
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