As the gulf between modern and traditional building methods and materials grows ever wider, there is increasing concern for the long-term health of the skills required to maintain our built heritage. The value of repair and maintenance in Scotland, most of which is on pre-1919 buildings, is estimated at £1.2 billion a year. However, modern techniques dominate the building industry, particularly in terms of training provision.
The result is that there is work being carried out on Victorian and older buildings that is actually damaging them. Cement (as opposed to traditional lime) being poured into stonework and leading to damp in some instances and dry rot in others, is just one example.
In response to this, Pye Tait has been commissioned by key, strategically concerned parties to assess the state of traditional building skills and training in Scotland. We have carried out a telephone survey of 350 building contractors, taking care to include, as much as possible, a representative sample of different tradespeople, company sizes and contractors across all regions of Scotland - including the smallest firms in the most remote parts of the country, whose access to training and upskilling opportunities is the most problematic.
That work has been complemented by surveys of architects, surveyors, building stockholders and manufacturers and suppliers of building materials. The survey of manufacturers and suppliers is the first time such an exercise has been undertaken in the UK - at least to our knowledge, and that of our clients. It entailed the design of a questionnaire that could capture the extremely diverse activities in the manufacturing industries, from iron-foundries to joinery manufacturers to stone quarrying concerns.
In the process of broad consultation, we will be making recommendations for future action on how best to increase the availability of traditional training and improve the general standards of work on pre-1919 buildings. We owe it not only to our clients but also to ourselves if we hope to continue to enjoy the wealth of the architectural heritage all around us.