About Heritage Burgh
Heritage Burgh is a guidance site for owners, landlords and property managers dealing with traditional buildings in Edinburgh and across Scotland. It exists because most guidance on older properties, sash windows, lime finishes, listed building consent, is written for England and Wales and doesn't translate cleanly north of the border. Scottish Building Standards, Historic Environment Scotland's guidance, and the Category A, B and C listing system are all different from their English equivalents, and getting that detail wrong can mean a repair job that a council refuses, or advice that quietly makes a damp problem worse.
Our Approach
Articles are AI-researched and human-reviewed against Historic Environment Scotland and Scottish Government guidance before publication. Where we give a figure, a cost range or a regulatory claim, we check it against a named primary source rather than repeating whatever generic advice is already circulating online. Where the honest answer depends on the specific building, its listing status, its location, the condition of the existing material, we say so rather than giving a false sense of precision. Costs quoted anywhere on the site are indicative ranges for the current year, not fixed quotes, and will vary by property and contractor.
Scope and Limitations
The site focuses on the building types most common in Edinburgh and central Scotland: sandstone tenements, Georgian and Victorian townhouses, and rubble-built cottages. Rules can vary between local authorities, particularly around conservation area boundaries and Article 4 directions, so guidance here is a starting point for understanding the system, not a substitute for checking with your own council's conservation officer before starting work. This is also not a contractor directory: we don't recommend, vet or take payment from individual tradespeople, and nothing here is project-specific advice for your building.
Topics We Cover
- Sash and case window repair, restoration and draught-proofing
- Lime plaster, lime mortar and other traditional finishes
- Harling, roughcast and limewash
- Stonework and lime pointing
- Listed building consent in Scotland
- Conservation areas and planning basics
- Where Scottish Building Standards differ from English Building Regulations
Sources We Reference
Primary sources include Historic Environment Scotland, the Scottish Government's Building Standards Division, local council planning guidance, and technical bodies such as the Scottish Lime Centre Trust. We reference general UK conservation research, such as guidance from the Building Research Establishment, only where it applies equally to Scottish conditions, and flag it as such.
Keeping Content Current
Regulations, fees and typical costs change. Each guide carries a last-reviewed date, and we welcome corrections if something has moved on since that review, particularly changes to Scottish Building Standards or Historic Environment Scotland guidance.
Editorial Disclosure
Articles on Heritage Burgh are AI-researched and human-reviewed against Historic Environment Scotland and Scottish Government guidance. We cite primary sources for regulatory and technical claims. We don't accept paid placements or affiliate links to specific contractors.
Contact
For corrections, source updates or factual errors, email [email protected]. We don't provide project-specific advice or contractor recommendations.