Why drive to net zero could see the rebirth of Scotland's disused quarries


With the eyes of the world on the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan this week, it is a good time to ask ourselves what more we can be doing at home to limit the damaging impacts of a warming planet.
I recently took up the role of chief executive at Historic Environment Scotland (HES), well known as the guardian of some of the nation’s most iconic historic sites. But our work extends far beyond castles, cairns and cathedrals, to the traditional buildings that make up the homes we live in, the places where we work and spend our free time. This national fabric has a crucial role in helping us cut emissions.
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Hide AdTraditional buildings – those built before 1919 – make up almost a fifth of Scotland’s housing stock. They are an under-tapped and overlooked resource when it comes to attaining net zero. Older buildings are too often wrongly seen as a draughty hindrance to cutting emissions. The reality is that retrofitting and reusing our historic environment presents a huge opportunity for Scotland to lead the way in reaching net zero, while boosting our economy and equipping our workforce with new skills.


This is one reason why we are in the process of creating a new national centre of expertise for retrofitting traditional buildings which we hope will help improve energy efficiency across Scotland and play an important role in reaching net zero.
If we embrace retrofitting at a national level, there could also be an exciting opportunity to restart the production of indigenous materials such as stone and slate, bringing traditional building materials back to the Scottish market.
139 disused quarries
Whether it’s the red sandstone of Dumfries or the grey granite of Aberdeen, potentially using resources that we already have could ensure money stays in communities, supporting local jobs and supply chains. It’s also more favourable than reliance on carbon-producing imports.
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Hide AdWe recently commissioned a report by the British Geological Survey (BGS), which highlighted a continued rise in the cost of importing stone from abroad for construction. The research, published today, should make us consider reviving Scotland's market for traditional building materials, including sandstone, flagstone, igneous and metamorphic rocks, and roofing slate.
The report shows there are 139 disused quarries across the country which may have the potential to supply a significant proportion of Scotland’s building stone needs.
4,000 years of building experience
The cost of importing stone construction materials has risen by up to 98 per cent since 2015. Combined with an overreliance on overseas markets, this leaves the construction industry increasingly vulnerable to erratic and volatile pricing.
It is currently difficult to source local materials to retrofit our traditional buildings, but that should be compared to the scale of the Scottish stone industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it served markets across the UK and further afield.
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Hide AdSeparate HES research found that built heritage generates £6 billion a year for our economy, £2.1bn of which is attributable to heritage tourism, as well as supporting more than 81,000 jobs. The BGS report shows it could potentially contribute even more.
We have more than 4,000 years of traditional building experience in Scotland – why not use our heritage and traditions to build a net-zero future that we can all be proud of?
Katerina Brown is chief executive of Historic Environment Scotland
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